Distinguishing between Invention and Innovation
Activity Options
Download activity (Microsoft Word)
Activity Sections
- Teacher Instructions
- Distinguishing between Invention and Innovation
- If the Soviets Were So Smart, Why Weren’t They Rich?
- No More Slide Rules – The Costs and Benefits of Innovation
Time required
½ - 1 class period
Materials
- Readings #1, 2, 3 – 1 per student
- Visual #1
Procedures
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Display visual #1 and review with students the difference between invention and innovation.
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Distribute handouts. Assign reading and discussion questions. The articles are short enough to lend themselves to a variety of formats, including homework or in-class work with individual reading and written responses, round robin discussions in which each of 3 students reads one article and shares with the other 2 group members, a large group discussion in which 1/3 of class reads each article, etc.
- Debrief, emphasizing the main points from the reading assignment questions:
- How does innovation differ from invention? Give examples, from the readings and from your own experience, of the stream of innovations in products, processes, and services that flowed from the invention of cellular technology.
- Use the example of cell phones to evaluate the argument that the poor benefit from innovation more than the rich.