From Doing to Thinking: Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset through Scaffold Assignments and Self-Regulated Learning Reflection

Engineer, innovators, and designers play a critical role in the economy by addressing pressing problems and creating solutions that are new and innovative. It is a role that involves technical skills but also requires curiosity, an ability to connect pieces of knowledge to discover solutions, and a focus on value creation – which are all characteristic of the entrepreneurial mindset. There are many different design-focused frameworks that can be used to enhance the entrepreneurial mindset; this study focuses on four of them: systems thinking, design thinking, the value proposition canvas, and the business model canvas. The purpose of this paper is to highlight a new approach to developing the entrepreneurial mindset that goes beyond the proverbial “checking boxes” to providing an approach for demonstrating the integration of doing (artifact development) and thinking (reflection). This innovative and experimental approach offers two unique attributes. First, it is a scaffold in that instruction of each of the four modules builds on the other, further enhancing and grounding the learning experience. Second, students are required to continuously reflect on the process. This encourages students to think about learning in a holistic manner, allowing the ability to connect classroom learning with specific current and future utility. The findings suggest that students were able to recognize why the design-focused frameworks and learning activities were important outside of the classroom, particularly in relation to workforce preparation and securing future employment