Integrating Entrepreneurship and Art to Improve Creative Problem Solving in Fisheries Education

We adapted instructional activities from entrepreneurship and art training to improve student skills in creative problem solving in fisheries and natural resource fields. The teaching module included: (1) individual exercises that apply specific thinking strategies to improve originality, flexibility, and fluency for creative thinking; (2) group exercises using an entrepreneurial business framework for collaborative, creative problem solving that focuses on effective brainstorming and decision making; and (3) art inquiry experiences centered on creating emojis to help students explore and communicate their experiences in the field. These techniques were introduced and practiced during an undergraduate sustainable fisheries field course to creatively address topics ranging from reducing bycatch in fishing gear to sustainable fisheries management, and repeated in a graduate-level short course for students in natural resources. Evaluation of student learning showed significant improvement in pre- and post-originality scores, class performance, and positive student and faculty feedback.