Evidence that the Entrepreneurial Mindset Works
Evidence that the Entrepreneurial Mindset Works
by Patrick Herak, September 1, 2019. This article originally appeared in the KEEN 2019 Annual Report. Reprinted with permission.
The Ohio State University’s (OSU) goal is to embed entrepreneurial mindset (EM) at scale, starting with first year engineering students. The curriculum and instructor training for the first year program is overseen by OSU’s Department of Engineering Education (EED). EED promotes evidence-based instruction, so the first step in advancing EM at scale was an 18-month research project to explore an EM intervention and its impact.
The effort began with research across KEEN and then a faculty workshop that identified EM-related course objectives. Following that, curriculum was revised and an assessment structure created to evaluate students’ demonstration of the 3C’s.
Then, among OSU’s 2,300 first-year engineering students, three sections totaling 210 students participated in the EM intervention.
In this pilot, students were required to complete an open-ended Integrated Transportation System (ITS) design project.
The remaining sections continued with curriculum that included a standardized kit containing components to complete a design-build-test protocol without any customer discovery, open-ended ideation or entrepreneurial engineering discussion.
Preliminary findings confirm that engineering students benefited in many ways from the EM project with no drop (and in some cases improvements) in technical skills achievement. Specifically, we found that although students initially demonstrated a performance mentality (e.g., finding the “right” answer), the EM intervention groups were more adept at connecting their classroom work to real world contexts.
In addition, the EM intervention groups could apply the problem definition process more effectively.
Continuing EM Implementation
OSU’s first year program covers many important engineering concepts, including technical communications, professional skills and problem-solving approaches. Embedding EM has proven valuable as well, and we expanded the pilot to 800 more students in the following semester. We will continue improving on our initial implementation, scaling it to all first year students, and advancing EM into senior capstone design as we engage more OSU faculty. In the meantime, we will continue to measure impact and share what we learn with the Network.
Associated Content
Impact of EML in a Large First-Year Engineering Course
Curiosity Improves in First Year EML-Infused Course
Comparing EM Course Learning Objectives
Bibliography
- KEEN 2019 Annual Report. The Kern Family Foundation.
Meet the Author
Patrick Herak, Senior Lecturer, The Ohio State University
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