How can you encourage a curious child to move from first ponderings to a quest of discovery? From Frans Johansson’s insights into what he has called the “Medici Effect,” in which combining disciplines leads to creative discoveries, and from my own work as a scientist and as an entrepreneurship educator, I’ve have identified seven strategies…
A family that lived in Italy 700 years ago changed history so much that we still talk about it today. The Medici were wealthy, entrepreneurial, politically powerful, religiously connected (producing four popes) and, as if that weren’t enough, influential in helping to kick-start the Italian Renaissance. The Medici were a curiosity-driven bunch. They loved a good conversation,…
Our pop-culture mind values creativity in music, the visual and performing arts, media, digital design, and self-expression. But our K-12 education system is heavily focused on student “outputs,” how well children perform on standardized tests, and how well they tell admissions officers what they want to hear. In today’s society, we praise creativity but penalize children…
Curious girls are often inclined toward science because scientific questions are fascinating and the answers potentially world-altering. Once girls get in a ryhtym for their curiosity, they can generate fascinating questions, big and small, on topics that are doctorate-worthy. Here are some intriguing questions from some of the brilliant, curiosity-driven children we’ve worked with at…
In my last couple of posts, I looked at how improvisation and entrepreneurialism are related, because improv helps foster the skills to think on the fly and be open to ideas, and entrepreneurialism runs with those skills to help develop new products and processes from ideas. As with improv, in entrepreneurial learning, an idea has…
“Improv makes you an amazing listener,” says Kevin Benson, who coaches entrepreneurs. “Listening involves more than just speaking and hearing. Listening is a deeper level of awareness for the communication and messages being sent by others.” Improv performers learn to pay attention to details and nuances that can open up a scene to entirely new…
If you’ve ever been to an improv theatre, you’ve seen performers who are quick on their feet, creating storylines on the spot while they collaborate with the other performers. In fact, improvisation and the entrepreneurial process have a lot in common: improvising with the materials on hand, playing off individual strengths, stretching beyond comfort zones, changing…
Explore the concept of ‘free-range curiosity’, where simple natural observations like feathers can inspire deep questions and lead to expansive learning. This article delves into how nurturing curiosity can connect children with nature and potentially guide them towards innovative environmental solutions.
Discover the pivotal role of curiosity in cultivating resilient and engaged lifelong learners. Learn valuable insights on how encouraging inquisitive thinking from a young age can empower children to navigate and thrive in uncertain environments, fostering a proactive and adaptable mindset.
Jonathan Mugan is a robot guy, a computer scientist who devotes time to studying how children learn, particularly the curiosity cycle. By understanding the minds of children, especially preschoolers, its possible for humans to create robots that can learn in similar ways. Mugan dissects how children learn by building mental models—for example, learning that by…
Too few girls pursue careers in technology, computer science, engineering, and the complement of eSTEAM subjects. All over the country, parents, teachers and industry leaders have studied, surveyed, incentivized, intervened, mentored, recruited. They’ve done everything they think they can do to encourage more girls to pursue eSTEAM. There are fantastic programs, such as First Bytes,…
In my last post, I began sharing the story of Bri Connelly, who is now an associate product manager at Google. She learned a lot about grit and determination from putting in the time to master dance as a young woman. She hadn’t yet moved into computer science—the field her father was in—but that would…
By thinking entrepreneurially and diving into ESTEAM education, girls can become the leaders that our economy and society needs. In these next few blogs, I will tell you the story of one brilliant entrepreneur, Bri Connelly, who learned grit and determination and applied it to her career. Computer science wasn’t on Bri Connelly’s radar as…
Our nation’s future depends on instilling entrepreneurial skills in all students, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Learn how fostering curiosity, confidence, and a growth mindset in young women can reshape the future of business and innovation.
You might think that the U.S. must lead the world in teaching entrepreneurial skills to our youth. Actually, no. Many school officials under pressure to raise test scores are understandably resistant to any proposal that requires more classroom time with so many competing demands. Good intentions have led the U.S. to obsess on raising standardized…
“True entrepreneurs are rare—and getting rarer. Yet it is crucial to our economy and national security that we find them,” says Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup, whose company closely watches social trends. “Without a growing entrepreneurial economy, there are no new good jobs,” he says. “We are focused on innovation. But what we need are…
We’re on a mission to create the next generation of diverse innovators and changemakers by making entrepreneurship education accessible to ALL youth.
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