Scanbrain Ltd

 Our Mission: 

Our mission is to provide quality education and support for children ages 9-12 in the areas of invention, innovation, design thinking, problem solving skills and creativity, through hands on activities, inspiring personal stories from innovators around the world as well as collaborative virtual learning experiences our programs serve to foster future generations into emerging leaders who have a drive towards inventing solutions to benefit society today and tomorrow.

Our Vision: 

We envision a world in which all children ages 9-12 have the opportunity to engage with inventions, creativity and entrepreneurship. We strive to provide an inclusive environment where children are empowered through exploration and innovation so that they may discover their fullest potential. Our goal is to foster curiosity, introduce STEM principles, encourage critical thinking, stimulate problem solving skills, and instill a lifelong appreciation of learning. We hope our students will develop self confidence by utilizing tools and resources available to them on their journey of creative discovery. 

 Our Core Values:

• We embraces and encourage thinking critically about the world's problems.
• We teach children how to learn and be analytical so they can go out into the world as lifelong learners to solve the problems of the 21st century.
• All children are welcome to our INVENTION CAMPS and their uniqueness is celebrated, children in need, our priority.
• Our organization embraces the cultural diversity of our community. We accept all cultures in our centre and seek to learn about the unique perspective of people from cultures different to our own.
• We value and appreciate the power of science and the scientific method to improve the lives of ourselves, our country and everyone around the world.
• We believe change can be a positive opportunity for creating a better self, school and society.

The Team Lead is the Founder and President of our organization. His role are wide, which includes:

• Oversees the two programs operated by our organization, that's Best Inventor Ghana (BIG) and BIGkids, and make sure our annual national invention and innovation competition becomes successful.
• Developing and maintaining the organization's values, mission, vision statements and strategic plan.
• Setting up systems and procedures to ensure the organization's success over time.
• Developing an effective teaching and leaning strategies to promote services offered by our organization.
• Reviewing enrolment & attendance report, teaching & learning assessment reports, financial statements and other reports to access the organization's performance.
• Work in hand with the human resource manager for recruiting, hiring, training, coaching and managing all members of the organization's staff.
• Identifying new opportunities for teaching and learning growth, including new curricula and assessment methods that meet unmet needs in the marketplace.
• Communicating with employees about the organization's goals, objectives, and policies.
• Evaluating new technologies and teaching & learning practices to determine their potential impact on the organization's operations.
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders (Funders, Policymakers, TV stations, Network providers, District leaders, Educators, Technology developers, Chiefs/Traditional leaders, Parents and Caregivers, Youth/Students, Contractors, Volunteers and other Business contacts).

Our Team is well-positioned to effectively support the LEAP Project.

We have a visionary and dedicated Team Lead who is poised to commit 2-4 hours of work per week over the course of the 12-week LEAP Project sprint, and who will ensure the project maintains fidelity to our organization's original intent. He is very strategic and his directives mostly yields positive results. He respect time, know the importance of effective-communication and believes in team work. He is good in research, critical thinking, logical reasoning, problem solving and investigation. He has a clear knowledge and understanding of Invention Education for all ages. 

Our supporting team members are equally ready to commit 2-4 hours of work each per week over the course of the 12-week LEAP Project spring. Our team has a relevant technical knowhow on educational theories relating to invention activities tailored especially towards children ages 9-12 years old plus relevant resources and materials needed based on current best practices, related field studies and trial experiments with data involving youth people engaging in invention exploration.

We have the following measures in place: 

• Our team has set out our expectations. We have a well defined goals in terms of deliverables. We've had discussions and an in-depth explanations regarding what the team is trying to achieve at the end of the 12-week LEAP project spring.
• We have a set of clearly defined milestones, which are in line with the three phases of work of the 12-week LEAP Project spring --- 4 week phases: (1) learning, (2) drafting and iterating, and (3) producing final deliverables. This is to ensure that our goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.
• During the learning phase, our Team is well-positioned to present crucial information and data that enables Fellows to immerse themselves in our education solution and goals of the LEAP Project.
• During the drafting and iterating research recommendation, our Team is well-positioned to work collaboratively with Fellows to include our thoughtful insights and feedback.
• We have establish communication schedules during the 12-week LEAP Project spring. We've set the time for recurrent meetings. These meetings aim to calibrate and maintain our goals as the project advances.
• We have identify potential risks and through transparent conversation, we have set-up plans for response during the 12-week LEAP Project spring. This will decrease tension at the very beginning of the project and increase the team's confidence. Typical risks are power-offs and slow internet services.
• We have establish the best means of communication during the 12-week LEAP Project spring. We have establish multiple communication channels for different types of issues.
• Our organization has a supportive infrastructure. We have created a conducive environment suitable for the LEAP project. We have improve the office for our team by putting in place measures that (a) have reduce noise levels,(b) have sound and visual privacy, and (c) have increase the overall amount of space.
• We understand potential benefits, procedures and alternatives and understand that we are being invited to participate in research.

Invention Education for children ages 9-12, teaching creative thinking and problem solving skills to empower the next generation of innovators.

The problem is "difficulty understanding abstract concepts, lack of imagination and creative thinking skills, lack of problem-solving experience and analytical ability among children ages 9-12 years". In Ghana, children ages 9-12 years, do well on textbook-style problems...They have a bag of tricks, formulas to apply. But that is solving problems by "rote". They floundered on the simple word problems, which demand a real understanding of the concepts behind the formulas.

A World Bank report on learning outcomes in Ghana, points out that over 300,000 school-age children in Ghana are not in school. Further, while a small number of children perform well, there is now a "missing middle" in terms of learning outcomes: every year an estimated 350,000--400,000 students (65% of sixth-grade students) leave primary school without having become proficiency in English or mathematics. The majority of these pupils are from Ghana's northern regions and deprived districts, poor and rural households and ethnic and linguistic minorities. Those students, who require the most support, tend to be the most neglected by the system. In the same report, the World Bank implemented an English exam to test P3 and P5 student fluency in naming letters, reading words and reading comprehension. Through assessment, 35% of 3rd graders and more than 15% of 5th graders received zero scores in reading comprehension exercises. This findings has some alignment with National Education Assessment (NEA) results, where in the reading comprehension portion of the English exam, 42% of P3 students had a 0 of 1 score (out of six questions). Zero score results on this exam and the NEA indicate that large numbers of children have passed through three or six grades of school having learned little to no English.

Another World Bank report, WASHINGTON, December 2, 2020 -- COVID-related school closures risk pushing an additional 72 million primary school aged children into learning poverty--meaning that they are unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10. It could increase the percentage of primary school-age children in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) living in learning poverty to 63% from 53% and it puts this generation of students at risk of losing about $10 trillion in future life-time earnings, an amount equivalent to 10% of global GDP.

A research by Chrysalis Advisors with TRECC and Jacobs Foundation -- 2020 EDTECH ECOSYSTEM: GHANA AND COTE D'IVOIRE, for Ghana: page 7, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (RELEVANCE) -- The curriculum content is overloaded and lacks attention to important skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and digital literacy and there is very little instructional leadership provided for teachers to deliver the curriculum. Again -- The outdated curriculum and assessment methods for teacher education have not encouraged the development of effective teaching skills. Skills like classroom management and teaching strategies geared to the level of the leaner are not emphasized. Basic education teachers are not trained to address the varying needs of learners at different levels, especially students with special needs and many teachers struggle to teach English and Mathematics. 

Our solution is called "BIGkids", which was derived from "Best Inventor Ghana (BIG)". BIGkids is after-school, activity-based learning program at INVENTION CAMPS to accelerating Equity-Focused Invention Education for children ages 9-12years, both in-school and out-of-school. BIGkids teaches fundamental structure for learning STEM, so children build on their imaginative and creative thinking skills, improved on their problem-solving and analytical skills and understand abstract concepts. This helps them solve complex problems and adjust themselves to today's rapid technological advancement. Using a worldwide-proven resource from Lemelson-MIT: INVENT IT, BUILD IT guide, children work in small groups to invent/innovate their own product. Each step require children to work collaboratively and apply their STEM knowledge to real-world inventions. Currently BIGkids serves 250 children from poor and low-income families.

TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS:

We encourage students to make good use of every available material-resource around them including trash.

STAGES OF INSTRUCTION:

(1) FIND PROBLEMS TO SOLVE:

We encourage kids to keep their eyes open for problems. We remind them that they don't need to look far. They can find opportunities to make improvements in their:

• community(animal shelters, grocery stores, shopping malls, recycling center, parks, etc.).
• school(lunch room, auditorium, playground,classroom, lockers, etc.).
• home(backyard, garage, bathroom, mailbox, kitchen, etc.).
• favorite activities(sports, music, reading, etc.).

(2) BRAINSTORM:

• We list the problems the kids identified.
• We discuss different ways to tackle these problems. We record each idea. Seeing ideas together helps kids make imaginative connections that can often lead to even better solutions.

(3) DEVELOP A PRELIMINARY DESIGN:

• We make sure kids define what it means to succeed by having them set a goal and outline performance criteria.
• We have kids phrase their solutions as: "I will invent an x that does y".
• We encourage kids to talk to people who might use their invention.
• We have kids anticipate problems they will need to solve as they build their projects.

(4) BUILD:

• We ask kids to list the materials they will need.
• We have kids figure out substitutes for things that are unavailable or too expensive.

(5) TEST, EVALUATE, AND REDESIGN:

• We get kids to identify the kinds of tests that will help them perfect their invention.
• We have kids tell us how they will know when their invention has succeeded.
• We suggest that family, friends, and the ultimate users evaluate a kids invention.

(6) SHARE SOLUTIONS:

• We encourage kids to enter their invention in a contest.
• We have kids use the Internet to find out if a similar invention exists.

(7) EXPAND SKILLS:

Kids often dream-up designs beyond what is possible given the materials, skills, and time available to them. We help them develop skills so they can tinker at home and turn their visions into reality by suggesting the following.

• Take discarded items apart to see how they work.

ASSESSMENT METHOD:

We deploy rubrics assessment tools which take into account criteria such as creativity, critical thinking skills, and application of principles learned in class.

CONCLUSION:

"BIGkids" trains children to join "Best Inventor Ghana (BIG)".

Our organization operates 2 programs, "Best Inventor Ghana (BIG)" and "BIGkids". Best Inventor Ghana (BIG) which started operation in 2015, is an annual national invention/innovation competition shown on TV. This program provides employment opportunity and job training to unemployed youth in Ghana and then sells its products on the open market. Our organization received a 100% endorsement from the general public/Stakeholders (parents, educators, community leaders and children), who called on us to create a special INVENTION program for kids, and this gave birth to "BIGkids". Upon request, our organization started conducting research on what expects are saying about INVENTION EDUCATION for primary school children in Ghana and the following are our findings.

Foundational Research: 

(1) Literature Review -- A publication on ResearchGate: International programmes and research on effective activity-based learning (ABL): What can Ghana learn from International best practices?

(2) Desktop Research -- A publication by Ghana News Agency (GNA): on August 11, 2022, Mrs Mawusi Nudekor Awity, Director-General, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), says children must be prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She said they must be introduced to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at an early stages to be prepared for the future. 

(3) Desktop Research --A speech delivered by Mr. Joel Kofi Degue, Vui-Keta, Ghana: Creativity And Innovation In Education In A Disrupted World.

Formative Research:

(1) Case Study -- A research by Chrysalis Advisors with TRECC and Jacobs Foundation -- 2020 EDTECH ECOSYSTEM: GHANA AND COTE DIVOIRE, for Ghana: page 15, INTRODUCTION (line 4 & 5) -- Schools, community colleges, adult learning centers and universities should be incubators of exploration and invention. Again in the same report, page 27, GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES (last paragraph) -- The Covid-19 pandemic will cause a rethink of how technology can be adapted for the education sector and open conversation around homeschooling and rethinking after-school learning activities. Not necessary EdTech replacing schools but serving as a support system for schools.

(2) Case Study -- Making primary school science education more practical through appropriate interactive instructional resources: A case study of Ghana.

January 2023, BIGkids was introduced at three INVENTION CAMPS, before enrolment, we assessed all 250 students on their proficiency levels in English-- reading comprehension, listening and speaking, and writing. For mathematics-- shapes/geometric patterns, algebra, calculations and measurements, data analysis and graphs. For Science-- observing things, classifying things, quantifying things, predicting outcomes, controlling variables, interpreting figures, and forming conclusions; using Rubrics Assessment Tools which takes into account criteria such as creativity, critical thinking skills, and application of principles learned in class. For six-graders, 27% passed the English comprehension test, 18% passed mathematics test, and 22% passed the science test. That was very low performance. We assess them bi-weekly. In three months later, there was a massive improvement from the previous results. For six-graders, 66% passed the English comprehension test, 53% passed mathematics test, and 57% passed the science test. All 250 students are working and improving on their INVENTION PROJECTS.

The research/studies we have conducted has revealed several important findings about our solution BIGkids that can inform and guide our work moving forward. These include the following:

• Providing a hands-on approach is essential -- this helps students make more meaningful connections with their learning as they are given opportunities to explore, experiment, and build on ideas collaboratively.
• Asking questions should be encouraged -- by encouraging in discussion with students, it assists them to think about problems or insights they may have related to their inventions at all stages of development.
• Setting realistic expectations for what outcomes will look like -- this positions inventing activities within achievable goals that students can reach while still gaining valuable knowledge along the way .
• Allowing time for "failure" -- sometimes mistakes need to happen so that contextually relevant solutions emerge through perseverance and risk taking.
• Communicating clearly around objectives when assigning tasks so children feel enabled rather than mystified by creativity processes is also a key factor linked directly reported successes when children are creating inventions.

Moving forward, our solution, BIGkids, should lead the 21st century education and should be able to train people who are creators, innovators, inventors, and originators of novel things to be able to provide solutions to crucial world problems. Indeed, creativity and innovation, strategic thinking and planning hold the key to finding better, long-lasting and impactful solutions to the crucial problems in a disrupted world. Yes, the post COVID-19 type of education should be totally different, STEM based in order to become the panacea to critical and crucial global problems in a world that has undergone and still undergoing great disruption in all aspects and facets of life. Moving forward, it is clear that there is an urgent need to step up opportunities to accelerate learning and close the widening opportunity gap. Research points to a number of priorities for investment, including expanded learning time with culturally relevant, small group instruction that reinforces core academics, builds skills for the fast-changing economy, and integrates social-emotional learning alongside academic development. Best practices suggest a focus on acceleration, not remediation, with teacher professional development (teachers need to be versatile in many areas of knowledge and skills), to support a shift to student-centered learning. Taken together, the research on effective practices to turn the tide on COVID-19-related learning loss and support children to leapfrog forward presents a compelling case for Invention Education. Invention Education will not only leapfrog students in leaning, it will prepare them to tackle any challenges life may throw their way -- including a global pandemic. Invention Education builds the core competencies that drive innovation: creativity, resourcefulness, and agility combined with an ability to dissect a problem, prototype, experiment and iterate. It puts children in the driver's seat of their own learning, making it more relevant, fun, and impactful. Perhaps most importantly, these experiences build children's confidence, identify, and agency -- fundamental skills that children carry with them into future academic and career opportunities.

In order to strengthen the evidence-based of its invention education solution for children ages 9-12 years, our organization needs to conduct research and evaluation in a variety of areas. This should include: 

(1) Conducting surveys on focus groups with teachers, parents, and students to gain insight into what type of invention-related activities are most engaging for this age groups and how those activities might be part of their platform's offering. 

(2) Knowing the learning preferences, goals, interests and ideas that kids aged 9-12 will bring when they use the service --these need to serve as cornerstone data points throughout invention education development journey so decisions can be made according to understanding students wants/needs deeply (and also keep students engaged). 

(3) Investigating empirical data that illustrates the effectiveness of inquiry learning methods (i.e., case studies) that have increased students success in problem solving tasks under controlled experimental conditions. 

(4) Examining existing schooling system infrastructure and pedagogical approaches to determine how these can be adapted or improved upon when introducing an invention thinking curriculum, with special emphasis placed on analyzing typical obstacles related to implementation such as inadequate funding, teacher engagement, gender bias, age-specifics and persons with disabilities.

(5) Our organization need to have an objective evaluation from external expects who will undertake research on our program for further verification.

Now is the right time to engage in a LEAP Project because;

our organization see the post COVID-19 era as an all-inclusive development era which calls for urgent action, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) like Ghana, where primary school-age children living in learning poverty could increase by 10% from 53% to 63% and it puts this generation of students at risk of losing about $10 trillion in future life-time earnings, an amount equivalent to 10% of global GDP. "Effective action today to mitigate large and mounting learning losses, recover, and rebuild stronger is needed more urgently than ever to accelerate the acquisition of foundational skills and, increasingly, 21st-century skills for every child." said Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Global Director for Education.

In order to support and equipped these vulnerable children in Ghana with 21st-century skills through INVENTION EDUCATION;

• our organization want to demonstrate the effectiveness of its solution and accelerates the solution's impact through a stronger connection to evidence;
• our organization want to have access to a global pool of research and social entrepreneur fellows who apply their knowledge and skills to help answer our research questions to support our education solution's evidence journey;
• our organization also want to have access to valuable networking opportunities across the globe cohort of LEAP Fellows and Project Host for continuous mentorship;
• with the expected outputs of the LEAP Project, which will strengthen the evidence-based of our solution, our organization want to intensify our advocacy on the "recommendation made by Chrysalis Advisors with TRECC and Jacobs Foundation" for all schools, community colleges, adult learning centers and universities to be "Incubators of Exploration and Invention".

"Now is the time to collaborate and innovate".

(1) What are the key benefits of teaching invention and innovation to children ages 9-12?

(2) How does learning about invention and innovation enhance creativity in young students?

(3) Are there any age--specific challenges when incorporating invention education for children ages 9-12 into curriculua?

Our desired outputs of the 12-week LEAP spring. 

Foundational Research:

Our desired outputs from this research type should include;

• it should help us teach and increased knowledge in children of basic scientific concepts related to engineering design such as systems theory and forces;
• it should help us teach and improved creativity skills in children such as brainstorming, lateral thinking and idea generation/refinement through team projects or individual investigations surrounding how things work from a physical perspective;
• it should support our teaching and enhanced confidence in children when applying critical thinking strategies like breaking tasks down into small steps or solving problems by trial and error rather than giving up too soon;
• it should support our teaching and help children foster a greater appreciation for STEM topics within their own lives outside the classroom which could lead to participation in further activities with these industries later on if they decide it's something they want to pursue long term.

Formative Research:

  Our desired outputs from this research type should include; 

• it should give insight on the type of resources (e.g., books/videos etc) that are most appealing and impactful for younger learners;
• it should identify key questions areas or concept frameworks which should be given focus when discussing invention/innovation;
• it should show clear understanding of the kind of activities students enjoy participating in within these contexts;
• it should identifying possible gaps either at a structural level indicating inappropriate milestone where logic leads need addition; 
• it should establish optimal methodologies for educational issues among young people regarding innovation such as gender bias and age-specifics;
• it should show interest levels mismatch with prior knowledge due to economic status ensuring fair access etc.

Summative Research:

Our desired outputs from this research type should include;

• it should examine how well students are able to generate creative ideas in order to solve a given problem or challenge. This can be done through surveys, interviews and observations with students;
• it should assess student's knowledge about product design and mechanics such as circuitry, motors etc., using quizzes based on previous exposure/recommendations from educations during the course or grade level content delivery;
• it should evaluate levels of enthusiasm among learners when presented with various components related to their project(s). This could include asking questions related to motivation factors, perceived barriers (real or otherwise), what they found most challenging while working on projects etc., again through survey methods mentioned above -- but also by observing behavior in individual contexts before/during/after teaching sessions including STEM subjects like robotics coding classes where applicable within age groups preselected for this study scope approaches outline hereabove.
• It should identify the most recent advance tools and assessment methods for assessing children inventiveness.

After conclusion of the LEAP Project spring, our organization will put the outputs (fellow-produced research recommendations, guidance and strategies that can inform our approach to strengthen the evidence-based of our solution) into action by implementing the followings steps:

(1) Hold meetings with stakeholders (policymakers, funders, district leasers, educators, community leaders, teachers in our school, parents and caregivers, technology developers, mentors in STEM, other interested organizations, and children), and share the outputs of the LEAP Projects with them. Receives their taught and inputs about the outputs of the LEAP Project.

(2) Establish goals and objectives based on the fellow-produced research recommendations, guidelines and strategies that can inform our approach to strengthen the evidence-based of our solution. This will provide a framework to guide the development of lesson plans, activities, and materials related to invention education.

(3) Develop comprehensive lesson plans that incorporate interactive learning strategies such as problem solving, role playing, simulations, hands-on projects, discussions and debates concerning inventions. These lessons should take students through an in-depth exploration of different aspects of inventing (the creative process) so they gain critical thinking skills useful for problem solving and tasks themselves in other areas as well.

(4) Connect with interested teachers who are properly trained to teach invention classes using appropriate materials and resources provided or developed by our organization such as printouts from websites about patent information sources, videos tutorials, web conferencing with scientists concerned with patents applications involved in technology transfer processes, access to scientific events organized jointly by high tech companies assisting schools etc. Our organization will ensure that this connection is ongoing even after training programs have already been implemented so feedback could be collected efficiently and data analyzed continuously leading towards positive outcomes where applicable.

(5) Evaluate effects and results pre and post intervention (assessing knowledge acquired relationships between performance measures before/after interventions taking place).

(6) Disseminate successful examples found during evaluations phase within team making items available online publicly if desired so new members joining initiative might benefit directly from previous achievements while contributing their own ideas further expanding basic model created initially!

Organization:

Short-term outcomes.  

One of the goals of our organization is to develop "A Community Approach To Accelerating Equity-Focused Invention Program". With outcomes of the LEAP Project, we hope our organization will open 20 after-school learning centers (INVENTION CAMPS) in areas often labelled as "Marginalized or Disenfranchised" in 1year, where poor children, ages 9-12 years, can walk-in, learn through hands-on activities to develop their creative and critical thinking skills. Again outcomes of the LEAP Project will help our organization founders to engage with stakeholders such as foundation funders, policymakers, community leaders, district leaders, educators, parents/caregivers, and children, to support this wealthy program. We hope to increase students enrolment from 250 to 1000 from poor and low-income families in 1year time, and hope to improve our solution BIGkids from Level 1 to Level 2 of The Nesta's Standards of Evidence.

Long-term outcomes. 

Through the LEAP Project expected outcomes, hopefully our solution BIGkids will improve to hit Level 3 of The Nesta's Standards of Evidence. Outcomes of the LEAP Project will pave way for our organization to work with state institutions like Ghana Education Service (GES) and international organizations such as MIT-Solve, Jacobs Foundation, and Lemelson Foundation in order to catalyse our organization's 5year scale-up plan to enrol 50,000 children from poor and low-income families throughout the country. Our organization is expecting Ghana Education Service (GES) to adapt our solution BIGkids and integrate it into our current curricula for basic schools in Ghana. Our organization will achieve advocating for all schools, community colleges, adult learning centers and universities to be "Incubators of Exploration and Invention" 50% in 5years time.

Solution:

Short-term outcomes.

• 83% students gain English proficiency skills in the following areas: 1) Improved in reading comprehension and vocabulary development. 2) Improved in listening and speaking ability. 3) Improved in writing fluency and creativity enhancement.
• 95% students gain Mathematics proficiency skills in the following areas: 1) Understand Shapes/Geometric patterns. 2) Improved in algebraic thinking. 3) Improved in calculations and measurements. 4) Gained skills in data analysis and graphs. 

• 89% students gain Science proficiency skills in the following areas: 1) Improved skills in observing things critically. 2) Improved skills in classifying things correctly. 3) Gained skills in quantifying things. 4) Develop skills in predicting outcomes. 5) Improved knowledge in controlling variables. 6) Improved knowledge in interpreting figures. 7) Improved skills in effective communication. 8) Improved knowledge in forming conclusions.

Long-term outcomes

• 100% students develop an understanding and appreciation for creating new products through the process of design, problem solving and experimenting.
• 100% students acquire particular skills associated with inventing such as identifying real world problems and forming meaningful solutions in order to engineer tangible inventions.
• 100% students gain confidence in their environments by realizing they can meaningfully contribute while having fun at the same time -- leading them towards future accomplishments both educational and professional.
• 100% students make informed decisions when working collaboratively with others exploring topics related to invention education, preparing themselves further for potential collaborations down the road.