The Innovation Engine

Can creativity be taught and learned?  We often talk about this, since creativity involves doing new things, and Tina Seelig, executive director of Stanford University’s Technology Ventures Program, thinks that it is certainly possible to increase a person's ability to come up with creative ideas.  She has devised a model called the Innovation Engine - shown in the diagram to the left.  She writes that the 3 parts on the inside of the Innovation Engine are knowledge, imagination and attitude:

• Knowledge provides fuel for your imagination
• Imagination transforms knowledge into new ideas
• Attitude sets the Innovation Engine in motion.

On the outside of the Innovation Engine are resources, habitat and culture:

• Resources are your community assets
• Habitats are your local environments (home, school, office)
• Culture is the collective beliefs, values and behaviours of your community.

She writes that "creativity is not just something you think about - it's something you do."  I'm keen to read her book inGenius to find out more about how we can promote creativity in our students.