Towards an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Empowering Learners in an Open Laboratory

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter demonstrates how Humanities students in a blended learning course become active learners, use an entrepreneurial approach, and reflect on the achievement of an entrepreneurial mindset. Students at the Master's ICT-based Educational Design, where they work with information- and communication technology in an educational context, were challenged to create value for themselves and others in their professional life by experimenting with ways to combine the online with the offline with their own students/pupils.

Methodology/approach

We present a case study over the period of one semester of five entrepreneurial teams of Masters students on an ICT-based Educational Design. Effectuation, as a process, was combined with a design structure to help guide the students. Data were drawn from observations, written material in the form of blogs and assignments, as well as recorded conversations on Google Hangout with groups of students.

Findings

The use of reflection, collaboration, and the effectual process in the open laboratory provide the vehicle to nurture and support the achievement of a creative and innovative ways of working with real life practices. We suggest that nurturing experimental communities of practice in open learning laboratory settings may provide an opportunity for establishing an entrepreneurial mindset in students and as such has to the potential as a method to confront future societal challenges.

Originality/value

This chapter makes an important contribution to entrepreneurship education in general by demonstrating how the combination of particular online/offline strategies can support the enhancement of entrepreneurial mindsets that will serve learners throughout the life course.

Citation

Thestrup, K. and Robinson, S. (2016), "Towards an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Empowering Learners in an Open Laboratory", Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Education (Advances in Digital Education and Lifelong Learning, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2051-229520160000002008