The importance of informal learning in science for innovation education

In this chapter, we contrast the roles of formal and informal learning in fostering the skills needed for innovative and creative thinking in science. Informal learning, whether it be at the hands of a mentor, in the environment of a science centre or a science club, or through a demanding hobby that requires an understanding of science, can be a powerful change agent in developing innovative skills. Formal education can, on the other hand, stifle such skills. Through specific case studies of innovators from the world of science, the authors show that there are common factors that may be identified and explored in order to bring more opportunities for innovative thinking into the formal science education sphere.