Introduction to Entrepreneurial-minded Learning for Faculty of Foundational STEM Courses Using the KEEN Framework

Abstract Data shows that many students leave engineering during their first year because of poor performance in foundational STEM courses (e. g. calculus, chemistry, biology) and/or their inability to see the connection of those courses to a career in engineering. Furthermore, students struggle with professional skills (communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem solving and critical thinking, and enthusiasm, commitment, and motivation) upon entering the workforce. A College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at a University is working to improve the connection across disciplines, instill entrepreneurship education, and improve retention rates, while improving students’ professional skills through a partnership with the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). The College hosted a two-day STEM Faculty Teaching Institute that included participation of 20 faculty members from Engineering, Aviation, Math, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Computer Science. The purpose of the workshop was to expose STEM faculty to various evidence-based teaching practices, along with the KEEN entrepreneurially minded learning (EML) framework, and to encourage participating faculty to submit medium-sized (10-25K) Program Transformation Grants through The College with a focus on EML implementation. The workshop provided an interactive introduction to active learning and EML along with examples of modules for potential implementation in STEM courses and time for faculty to create modules for their respective courses. Participating faculty were asked to take a pre- and post-survey to evaluate their familiarity with active learning techniques and EML and to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop. This paper will provide an overview of the workshop’s organization, the results of the participants’ evaluation, and a summary of the program transformation grants submitted by attendees along with three samples of the modules developed to-date.