Institutionalization and Expansion of Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) from the First Year to Capstone

This project expands the work of the pilot grant by applying our Entrepreneurial Mindset Learning (EML) learning objectives to new environments, by exploring the research associated with the infusion of EML in a variety of first-year engineering courses and capstone projects, and by training faculty how to effectively implement EML in their environments. These are areas of focus given the potential impact that this work could have on other KEEN Partner schools, especially those with large programs and with faculty who hold diverse roles (e.g., primarily teaching or research).  

In our pilot grant, three program goals and 32 learning objectives were developed. Recognizing the need to refine these learning outcomes to focus more on the entrepreneurial mindset, this project will undertake the following:  

• Gather additional college of engineering stakeholder input as the learning objectives are edited and the focus is refined.  
• Use experiences and lessons learned from the pilot as the current first-year engineering curriculum is mapped to the new set of mindset learning objectives. This will identify areas for additional EM content in the first-year courses and curriculum re-design will occur.     
• Repeat this process with capstone faculty throughout the College of Engineering.   

EM Learning Objectives and Content Integration

The Formal Learning team is working on integrating Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) content into courses throughout the entire coursework of undergraduate engineering students. To accomplish this, we have been developing a set of measurable course learning objectives that encompass some of the most important EM skills for an engineer to master. Some of these skills include how to identify an opportunity to create value, learn from failure, and protect intellectual property. These learning objectives are subdivided into three proficiency levels to better capture the student learning process. Additionally, rubrics for each level are being developed by the Research and Assessment team so researchers or instructors can directly assess courses using this content. Additional goals of the Formal Learning team are to work with faculty and TAs to facilitate the integration of EM content into engineering courses. E-learning modules are being adapted from those made by the University of New Haven for use by OSU engineering instructors. We are also working on developing lessons, assignments, and labs that meet our learning objectives for first-year engineering and capstone courses. 

Our Work: We aim to generate answers to research questions that examine the impact of entrepreneurial minded learning (EML) on students at OSU. To accomplish this, we have three main goals. First, seamlessly infuse entrepreneurial mindset-related standardized assessments and instruments into first-year engineering and capstone courses to aid in tracking of student data over time while establishing yearly analysis efforts. Second, conduct mentored entrepreneurial mindset-related research in formal learning environments based on proposals from College of Engineering personnel. Third, report research and assessment findings to research communities, practitioner communities, and broader communities of interest. 

The area of instructional team development is an important aspect of the project and based on the pilot grant it was evident how important the training is for our instructors and teaching assistants.

Objectives for this team include:

• Develop and improve the training methods based on feedback from the pilot.
• Based on the knowledge that the instructional team needs support as they are making these changes to their curriculum or if they are researching and assessing the changes.  Thus a learning community is an appropriate format to provide that on-going support.