How to develop innovators? Innovation education for the gifted¹

Abstract

Many people correctly believe that a majority of innovators come from the population of gifted and talented children. If we want to develop innovative abilities of the gifted, then a special, new direction in gifted education is needed: innovation education. This article introduces innovation education, which refers to a wide range of educational interventions aimed at identifying, developing, and transforming child talent into adult innovation. Such educational interventions should include, but should not be limited to, the 10 interrelated components. This article describes each of them.

The Entrepreneurial Society

“…Moreover, pupils and students should be challenged, not pleased: human capital of a mathematical and natural science orientation, for example, has been shown to be important for science-based entrepreneurship (Shavinina 2013;Dilli and Westerhuis 2018). Indeed, this type of entrepreneurship typically delivers the most scalable and growth-enhancing innovations, and the most successful entrepreneurs in the world tend to have advanced technical degrees from international universities (Henrekson and Sanandaji 2014).…”

The linguistic construction of the giftedness discourse in the media texts of historical and digital times

“…Note that most of the relevant research, both historical and modern, address giftedness in children (Kaufman, Sternberg 2008, ECHA 2014, whereas giftedness in adults seems to interest but a few (e.g. Shavinina 2013). According to Laine (2010), who has studied the media coverage of gifted children, the discussion of a gifted child in Finland could be broader and more comprehensive.…”

“…Throughout history, giftedness has been regarded as a key sustainability factor for countries, peoples and communities (Simonton 2009: 911, Ziegler 2009: 1510, Shavinina 2013. In the modern globalized world, giftedness is more and more emphasized in the context of small nation sustainability (EA 2012, Mazzoli Smith 2014.…”

“…Later, the multiple intelligences suggested by Gardner have been added to by several theorists (e.g. Shavinina 2013). The idea of eugenics reflected in some historical treatments of giftedness, was introduced by Galton in his "Hereditary Genius" (Olari 2011, cf.…”

Realization of a Desired Future: Innovation in Education

“…It is logical to think that, in a world where the individuals are transforming the world and being transformed by the global world, old teaching methodologies, beliefs and ways are more like to have no practical use soon. Shavinina [26] defines innovation in education as interference in educational activities of students for raising them as innovative adults. With too much emphasis on the relationship between innovation and curricular and instructional activities, on the other hand, the relationship between innovation and ICTs cannot be underestimated.…”