A Resource-Efficient Modular Course Design for Co-Teaching Integrated Sustainability in Higher Education: Developing the Next Generation of Entrepreneurial Leaders

Abstract

Society faces mounting pressures related to economic growth, social injustice, and environmental degradation. Building upon scholarly consensus regarding the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches to address such complex problems, the entrepreneurship classroom, broadly defined, can be a learning laboratory to integrate across disciplines, encouraging more impactful opportunity identification for students looking to create social, environmental, and economically inclusive value. We examined recent exit survey data from graduating seniors at a small, private business college in the US that emphasizes entrepreneurship, finding large gaps in skills and knowledge related to ethics and creative problem solving – both of which are key competencies central to meeting the challenges of building a more sustainable world. To address these identified needs, we developed a co-taught course focused on sustainability and consumerism across liberal arts, physical science, and business disciplines. We present our course material in the context of five key competencies related to teaching sustainability in higher education, and review the strengths and drawbacks of this approach for schools looking to implement a similar design. In a time of economic uncertainty in higher education, our model may be useful for other schools looking to integrate entrepreneurship across disciplines—with little added expense to the institution.

Bridging the Research Gap—A Framework for Assessing Entrepreneurial Competencies Based on Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy

“…This suggests that there is a need for widening the discussion on entrepreneurship education to promoting entrepreneurial competencies. The discussion should also be expanded to be more interdisciplinary, as students can no longer be educated in subject orientated academic silos [1]. Thus, we need to develop a more in-depth understanding of entrepreneurial learning in different research and practical settings, as well as to identify which factors have an impact on human entrepreneurial behavior.…”

“…Fostering entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior can be key drivers of societal, environmental, and economic change [1]. They can, as an example, facilitate the transition towards environmentally sustainable societies whilst contributing to innovative activities.…”

Interdisciplinary co-teaching in higher education: Comparing results from music-drama and music-physics partnerships in Sweden and Ireland

“…Contemporary societies face complex problems. Therefore, it is essential that interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning are adopted in higher education, to promote the integration of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries (Carey et al, 2021).…”

“…Co-teaching in the context of this study refers to two or more teachers with complementary experience or expertise, working together to improve student learning and the teachers' capacity to teach (Kerin & Murphy, 2018;Murphy, 2016;Roth & Tobin, 2005). Research into interdisciplinary co-teaching (relating to more than one discipline of knowledge) in higher education has been conducted in areas such as business, medicine, and design education (Carey et al, 2021;Colton et al, 2022;Daniel et al, 2018;Kliegl & Weaver, 2014;Rooks et al, 2022;West, 2016). In teacher education, scholarship on interdisciplinary co-teaching suggests improved learning for faculty in teaching styles and collegiality, while students appraised co-teachers' different perspectives (Rooks et al, 2022), and enhanced social interaction amongst lecturers (Chian et al, 2021).…”

“…Interdisciplinary co-teaching has been considered difficult given that teachers may apprehend the subject content problem differently (West, 2016). Although committed in theory to the concept of sharing expertise, in reality, teaching can remain siloed (Carey et al, 2021). Specific challenges to interdisciplinary co-teaching are cited as deficits in time, training, commitment, and collaboration skills (Bennett & Fisch, 2013).…”