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Creating a Master “Entrepreneurial Mindset” Concept Map

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Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

ENT Division Technical Session: Assessment Tools and Practices

Tagged Division

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34345

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/34345

Download Count

1655

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Paper Authors

biography

Cheryl A. Bodnar Rowan University

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Dr. Bodnar is an Associate Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as integration of innovation and entrepreneurship into the engineering curriculum. In particular, she is interested in the impact that these tools can have on student perception of the classroom environment, motivation and learning outcomes. She was selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium in 2013, awarded the American Society for Engineering Education Educational Research Methods Faculty Apprentice Award in 2014 and the Raymond W. Fahien Award for Outstanding Teaching Effectiveness and Educational Scholarship presented by American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Chemical Engineering Division in 2017.

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biography

Siddharthsinh Jadeja Rowan University

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Siddharthsinh Jadeja is a Mechanical Engineer, having more than 10 years of experience in academia. He has worked as an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in higher education, and his passion for Engineering Education has motivated him to enroll as a Ph.D. student in Experiential Engineering Education, Rowan University. Before joining this program, he has also completed a professional training certification course from IUCEE, underpinning for engineering education.
Siddharthsinh plans to become a professor after completing his Ph.D. and continue his journey as a life long learner.

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biography

Elise Barrella P.E. Wake Forest University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-0020-2035

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Dr. Elise Barrella is a Founding Faculty Member of the Department of Engineering at Wake Forest University. She is passionate about curriculum development, scholarship and student mentoring on transportation systems, sustainability, and engineering design. Dr. Barrella completed her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Georgia Tech where she conducted research in transportation and sustainability as part of the Infrastructure Research Group (IRG). In addition to the Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Dr. Barrella holds a Master of City and Regional Planning (Transportation) from Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University. Dr. Barrella has investigated best practices in engineering education since 2003 (at Bucknell University) and began collaborating on sustainable engineering design research while at Georgia Tech. Prior to joining the WFU faculty, she led the junior capstone design sequence at James Madison University, was the inaugural director of the NAE Grand Challenges Program at JMU, and developed first-year coursework.

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Abstract

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with an entrepreneurial mindset continue to be debated within the entrepreneurship field. Although overlapping in their properties, there exist several definitions of what comprises an entrepreneurial mindset within engineering. For instance, as summarized in a recent review by Zappe [1], entrepreneurial mindset can range from a problem-solving approach applied within one’s life, to the associated skills and behaviors such as opportunity recognition, creativity, and risk mitigation that may be developed within individuals. Due to this range of definitions, it can be difficult to assess whether the entrepreneurial mindset is being developed within engineering students. One method for assessment that could address this lack of an exact definition is concept maps. Concept maps are used to assess the knowledge and understanding of a specific topic area. The graphical representation of the concept map, through nodes and links, captures a broader perspective and comprehensive knowledge of the centralized idea by the participant. In this work, we explore the development of a master concept map as a tool that can be used when assessing students’ understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset. The master concept map was developed through the review of 26 concept maps on the subject “Entrepreneurial Mindset” prepared by faculty members at institutions across the United States with expertise in the engineering entrepreneurship field. We followed a systematic investigation process to go through each concept map identifying concepts across all of the maps, and counting the frequency of each concept’s occurrence. Preparation of this concept list from the experts’ concept map was considered as a holistic list of all the concepts pertaining to the entrepreneurial mindset, although not necessarily comprehensive. Afterward, we developed overarching themes that described the concepts present and then mapped them according to proposed linkages provided within the experts’ maps thus generating a master concept map for “entrepreneurial mindset”. Upon completion of the master concept map, we reviewed it against the different frameworks available in the literature to determine hierarchies in need of expansion, connection or further refinement. This master concept map on entrepreneurial mindset represents a first step in the development of an assessment approach that can assist with direct assessment of students’ entrepreneurial mindset development.

Bodnar, C. A., & Jadeja, S., & Barrella, E. (2020, June), Creating a Master “Entrepreneurial Mindset” Concept Map Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34345

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