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Framework for Integrating Entrepreneurially Minded Learning in Upper Level Courses

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Conference

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Columbus, Ohio

Publication Date

June 24, 2017

Start Date

June 24, 2017

End Date

June 28, 2017

Conference Session

New Tools for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Tagged Division

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--28385

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/28385

Download Count

558

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Paper Authors

biography

David Jamison IV Villanova University

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Dr. David Jamison is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University. His expertise and teaching focus is in orthopedic biomechanics and solid elastic mechanics. Dr. Jamison earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University in 2013.

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Abstract

Title: Framework for Integrating Entrepreneurially Minded Learning in Upper Level Courses

To succeed in today’s evolving market, engineering graduates need to possess more than just the breadth and depth of technical knowledge that is aptly taught in most college curricula. Students are best served by also developing an entrepreneurial mindset – expressing curiosity about our changing world, drawing connections between technical theory and other resources to gain insight, and identifying unique opportunities to create value from technologies old and new. Many institutions now offer extracurricular activities to help hone students’ entrepreneurial skills and encourage ideation. However, there remain few co-curricular opportunities for students to develop an entrepreneurial skillset and practice entrepreneurial thinking. In particular, opportunities are rare for students to merge entrepreneurially minded learning (EML) with the high-level subject-, project- and collaboration-based learning approaches typically seen in senior-level elective courses. Developing the entrepreneurial mindset will serve our students well by preparing them to be more impactful engineers. We have developed, implemented and assessed a framework for integrating EML into senior-level elective courses via an Ideation Project. In the affected course – Introduction to Biomechanics – the curricular project focused on developing skills related to opportunity identification and impact evaluation. Expected EML outcomes from implementing this framework were behaviors related to expressing curiosity and creating value. We evaluated how well the students met the desired learning objectives and assessed the effectiveness of the framework in developing an entrepreneurial mindset, as evidenced by successful completion of the project deliverables and demonstration of the skill areas and behaviors mentioned previously. Assessment was conducted via summative course assessments and project pre and post surveys, which required students’ self-assessment of their entrepreneurial skills and ability to practice entrepreneurial behaviors (outcomes). Changes in EML skill level before and after completing the ideation project were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in some cases; moreover, all areas had a higher post-project score compared to the corresponding pre-project score. The results indicate that the framework was successful in integrating EML in a senior-level elective and developing an entrepreneurial minded skillset.

Jamison, D. (2017, June), Framework for Integrating Entrepreneurially Minded Learning in Upper Level Courses Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28385

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