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Abstract In today's rapidly evolving landscape, innovation is the cornerstone of high value creation. This fast pace necessitates a fundamental reevaluation of educational paradigms. The imperative to emphasize lifelong learning, inquisitiveness, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to continuous self-improvement is abundantly clear. At the heart of this educational recalibration lies two questions: To what extent can personal innovativeness be honed and amplified through curricular innovations? and What are the requisite strategies for nurturing students' practical skills, thereby enabling a perpetual journey of discovery? This work is focused on the design of a course called "Innovation Mind and Skill Sets for Design and Research," tailored specifically for students in the STEM disciplines. The class equips students with a comprehensive innovation-focused skill set, empowering them to synthesize their specialized knowledge within broader societal contexts and, in turn, navigate the complex terrain of breakthrough innovation. This paper delves into the course's framework, which draws inspiration from the vast reservoir of innovation literature and two decades of the instructor's industry experience applying and improving innovation business processes with her teams in a fast-paced, high-tech industry. The core hypothesis of this paper is that innovation is fundamentally a learning process, that personal innovativeness can be cultivated and elevated through the teaching of established principles derived from the realm of learning science. These principles encompass the elevation of metacognition, the deliberate integration of intentionality into the learning process, and the embedding of reflective practices into the students' educational journeys. In addition, the curriculum integrates pedagogical principles related to systems thinking and Transformative Learning Theory for adults. The coursework is designed to impart practical techniques that serve as scaffolds for students' innovation processes and enhances their metacognition. The journey through this educational framework leads to an ascent through the tiers of Bloom's Taxonomy, guiding students to cultivate enduring habits that are essential for the sustenance of the innovation process. These practical skills are honed through active participation in a team project, revolving around the innovation process, with guidance and feedback from innovation practitioners. The learning experience is further enriched through a deliberate emphasis on reflection, integrated into classroom presentations. These aspects of student progress and improvement are assessed against traditional design curricula using the Innovator Mindset® Assessment. The results are analyzed to underscore the impact of curricular innovation in fostering and amplifying personal innovativeness.
Hassan et al. (Sun,) studied this question.