Using Online Discussions to Develop the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Environmental Engineering Undergraduates: A Case Study

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is an important aspect of the U.S. and global economy. As such, developing an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial for both engineering students and practicing engineers. The purpose of this paper is investigate the role of online discussions, as a pedagogical approach, in the development of the entrepreneurial mindset, and explore a variety of approaches to assess student learning outcomes. Online discussions prompts were created for environmental engineering courses using the Kern Engineering Entrepreneurial Network (KEEN) framework. The framework proposes that an entrepreneurial mindset can be fostered in students by promoting curiosity, encouraging connections, and creating value. This paper describes the methodology and rationale that served as the foundation for this exploratory study. Examples are provided for online discussion prompts developed and administered in two different environmental engineering undergraduate courses: Introduction to Environmental Engineering (three credit, undergraduate, online course offered during two different summer sessions) and Seminar in Environmental Engineering (one credit, undergraduate level, face-to-face course offered during one semester). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze and assess potential impacts of online discussion prompt use. The findings provide lessons learned for applying the KEEN framework in an engineering classroom via online discussions.

The Influence of Online Project Collaborative Learning and Achievement Motivation on Problem-Solving Ability

“…Online learning has a positive correlation with student attitude, in which they like it, but it does not influence assessment results (Wong & Fong, 2014). The online discussion gives students essential time to create a response that stimulates thinking, encourages students to consider information to support each other in posting their discussion (Bosman et al, 2019;Salehudin, Hamid et al, 2020). E-learning is more efficient when all teaching and learning approaches are applied.…”

Student Perspectives on the Learning Resources in an Active, Blended, and Collaborative (ABC) Pedagogical Environment

“…Prior studies reported that the inclusion of multiple blended components in a single course without proper alignment (to pedagogies or assessments) can increase the cognitive load on students [16]. Students collaborating on blended learning platforms have reported a lack of trust while working with peers or team members, especially when they have insufficiently frequent face-to-face interactions [25]. It is therefore important to ensure that the structure of a course incorporating blended learning aligns well with the other blended and non-blended components of the course.…”

“…While most of the aforementioned studies reported the benefits and challenges of the individual dimensions of ABC learning environments or a combination of active and collaborative learning [26] or blended and collaborative learning [27] [28] [25], new challenges may arise when one simultaneously combines the ABC learning environments, making their implementation complex. This may explain the lack of wide-spread development and simultaneous adoption of ABC learning environments in core STEM courses.…”

On the Content of higher technical education curricula abroad: Current Trends (Review)

“…Обучение предпринимательству стало темой первостепенной важности в политике зарубежных технических университетов, при этом предпринимательская деятельность трактуется и как важный аспект мировой экономики [27], и как движущая сила инноваций [28]. Соответствующие навыки помогают превращать идеи в продукты.…”