ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PEDAGOGY IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE CYCLE
FULL ABSTRACT
“It's not magic; it's not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. It's a discipline and, like any discipline, it can be learned.” (Peter Drucker, 1986) According to the real business environment and the relationship between universities and the outside campus, Kevin Hindle (2004) designed a concentric circle model of entrepreneurship education teaching pedagogy. Although this model basically reflects the relevance and integration between entrepreneurship courses and other courses in curriculum setting, forming an entrepreneurship course group that can "embed" the existing curriculum system. However, it can be seen from the correlation among the elements of the model that the model lacks the advanced and coherent knowledge granting, and ignores the logic of education itself.
The principle of "step by step" put forward by J.A. Comenius in his book of "The Great Didactic" shows that order exists in all activities of nature and human beings, and teaching must be carried out step by step and systematically. (Comenius, 1632) The reason why teaching should be carried out in order systematically and coherently is that scientific knowledge itself has internal logical connection, and that human cognitive activities follow the order from known to new knowledge. Entrepreneurship education should be based on the students who are the main entrepreneurs. Therefore, the design of the teaching model should not only conform to the teaching law of cultivating entrepreneurial talents' ability, but also be combined with the objective law of the development of business entrepreneurship.
The concept of "business ecosystem" was first proposed by James Moore in 1993. Moore then put forward the
"life cycle theory" of business ecosystem. Moore divides the life cycle of business ecosystem into four stages:
development, expansion, leadership and renewal. With the maturity of the business ecosystem dominated by innovation and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities plays an increasingly important role in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. The entrepreneurship education led by the engineering school implemented by McMaster University and Ryerson University in Canada fully embodies the principle of gradual progress of life cycle theory, and forms a distinctive teaching model of entrepreneurship education.
The entrepreneurship education teaching model at the Walter G Booth School of Engineering Practice at McMaster University is a kind of commercialization process of students' start-up products, which consists of three stages and each of which has an evaluation procedure. At the end of each stage, the Entrepreneurship Review Committee (ERC)evaluates the progress of the entrepreneurship project and then decides the start-up whether to continue to the next stage or terminate the entrepreneurship project. The ERC calls it as the tollgate,
ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PEDAGOGY IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE CYCLE
THEORY
Lihui Xu & Pan Zhu
ABSTRACT
Many founders of small and medium-sized sci-tech companies are sci-tech personnel themselves. They know how to start research and development of the products, but they don't know how to transfer their research and development results into business smoothly or to start a technological enterprise successfully. They haven't received professional entrepreneurship education and training. Start-ups have different characteristics of business development in different stages of their life cycle. The characteristics of business development determine that entrepreneurship education must be carried out hierarchically and evolutionally development in combination with the objective laws of business development and talent training. This study aims at exploring such a new model - project-based learning (PBL) by using entrepreneurial project from the perspective of life cycle theory. The study takes McMaster University and Ryerson University’s entrepreneurship education programs as case study and proposes a "four stages of advanced entrepreneurship education model". The first stage is popularization stage, which means entrepreneurship awareness + confidence cultivation. The second stage is early stage, which means entrepreneurship thinking + idea extraction. The third stage is startup stage, which means entrepreneurship ability + resource integration. The fourth stage is maturity stage, which means entrepreneurship efficiency + strategic planning. At the end of the stages, the learners (entrepreneurs) will commercialize their entrepreneurial products or technologies and eventually go to the market.
KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship education; Project-based learning; Life cycle theory TYPE OF CONTRIBUTION: Practice-based abstract
PRESENTATION FORMAT: Roundtable discussion
FULL ABSTRACT
“It's not magic; it's not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. It's a discipline and, like any discipline, it can be learned.” (Peter Drucker, 1986) According to the real business environment and the relationship between universities and the outside campus, Kevin Hindle (2004) designed a concentric circle model of entrepreneurship education teaching pedagogy. Although this model basically reflects the relevance and integration between entrepreneurship courses and other courses in curriculum setting, forming an entrepreneurship course group that can "embed" the existing curriculum system. However, it can be seen from the correlation among the elements of the model that the model lacks the advanced and coherent knowledge granting, and ignores the logic of education itself.
The principle of "step by step" put forward by J.A. Comenius in his book of "The Great Didactic" shows that order exists in all activities of nature and human beings, and teaching must be carried out step by step and systematically. (Comenius, 1632) The reason why teaching should be carried out in order systematically and coherently is that scientific knowledge itself has internal logical connection, and that human cognitive activities follow the order from known to new knowledge. Entrepreneurship education should be based on the students who are the main entrepreneurs. Therefore, the design of the teaching model should not only conform to the teaching law of cultivating entrepreneurial talents' ability, but also be combined with the objective law of the development of business entrepreneurship.
The concept of "business ecosystem" was first proposed by James Moore in 1993. Moore then put forward the
"life cycle theory" of business ecosystem. Moore divides the life cycle of business ecosystem into four stages:
development, expansion, leadership and renewal. With the maturity of the business ecosystem dominated by innovation and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities plays an increasingly important role in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. The entrepreneurship education led by the engineering school implemented by McMaster University and Ryerson University in Canada fully embodies the principle of gradual progress of life cycle theory, and forms a distinctive teaching model of entrepreneurship education.
The entrepreneurship education teaching model at the Walter G Booth School of Engineering Practice at McMaster University is a kind of commercialization process of students' start-up products, which consists of three stages and each of which has an evaluation procedure. At the end of each stage, the Entrepreneurship Review Committee (ERC)evaluates the progress of the entrepreneurship project and then decides the start-up whether to continue to the next stage or terminate the entrepreneurship project. The ERC calls it as the tollgate,
which is divided into three levels: 1) the concept initiation tollgate; 2) the business initiation tollgate; 3) the business start-up tollgate. Through this process, students can test the effectiveness of entrepreneurial projects, so that the deliverables of each stage can be refined and strengthened. In the process of continuous improvement, entrepreneurial projects have completed the whole commercialization process from entrepreneurial ideas to business concepts, and to the establishment of start-ups.
The Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) program at Ryerson University is mainly designed for engineering students and industry professionals who intend to establish technological start-ups.
The total duration of the program is 16 months, including 8 courses and 8 months of entrepreneurial practice.
The MEIE program has 8 courses in total, which provide entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge they need to master at each stage of their entrepreneurship program. In the practice stage of entrepreneurial projects, entrepreneurs need to develop and complete a business plan from commercialization of technical concepts to market entry within 8 months. At the end of the study, entrepreneurs will commercialize their entrepreneurial products or technologies and eventually go to the market.
It can be seen from the teaching model of entrepreneurship education in the two schools that the entrepreneurship education not only inspires the entrepreneurs' awareness of innovation and entrepreneurship, but also enables the students to master the skills needed in the process of entrepreneurship. At the same time, the process of entrepreneurship education is also the process of commercializing students' entrepreneurial products. The process of entrepreneurship education in the two schools is in line with the process of development, expansion, leadership and renewal of the life cycle theory model, which enables students to better understand the generation, development and evolution of entrepreneurship.
Based on the above model introduction and case analysis, we realize that entrepreneurship education on the one hand should conform to the essential characteristics of business entrepreneurship. On the other hand, it should be combined with the cultivation of entrepreneurs' personal quality. Not only that, entrepreneurship education should also pay attention to the coherence and logicality of knowledge education itself. Therefore, this study proposes a four-stages advanced entrepreneurship education teaching model with project- based learning (PBL) by using life cycle theory (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Four-stages Advanced Entrepreneurship Education Teaching model
The first stage: popularization stage (entrepreneurship awareness + confidence cultivation).
Entrepreneurial consciousness, which dominates the attitude and behavior of entrepreneurs towards entrepreneurial activities, has strong selectivity and initiative, and is an important part of the personal quality of entrepreneurs. On the one hand, the main teaching objectives of this stage are to carry out general entrepreneurship education for students and improve the entrepreneurial awareness of potential entrepreneurs; on the other hand, to cultivate the confidence of potential entrepreneurs, explore their entrepreneurial motivation and establish their entrepreneurial ideals.
The second stage: early stage (entrepreneurial thinking + idea refining).
Entrepreneurial thinking is a kind of special thinking mode that entrepreneurs actively train their own mental operation process based on their own knowledge structure and combine their own entrepreneurial ideas to form a preference for innovation and entrepreneurship. The main teaching goal of this stage is to provide the basic courses of entrepreneurship, at the same time, cultivate entrepreneurial thinking and ideas, and explore entrepreneurial ideas and ideas. At this stage, the technical mentor begins to get involved, so as to help entrepreneurs transform entrepreneurship concepts into product prototypes and prepare for the formation of entrepreneurial products in the next step.
The third stage: start-up stage (entrepreneurship ability + resource integration).
which is divided into three levels: 1) the concept initiation tollgate; 2) the business initiation tollgate; 3) the business start-up tollgate. Through this process, students can test the effectiveness of entrepreneurial projects, so that the deliverables of each stage can be refined and strengthened. In the process of continuous improvement, entrepreneurial projects have completed the whole commercialization process from entrepreneurial ideas to business concepts, and to the establishment of start-ups.
The Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) program at Ryerson University is mainly designed for engineering students and industry professionals who intend to establish technological start-ups.
The total duration of the program is 16 months, including 8 courses and 8 months of entrepreneurial practice.
The MEIE program has 8 courses in total, which provide entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge they need to master at each stage of their entrepreneurship program. In the practice stage of entrepreneurial projects, entrepreneurs need to develop and complete a business plan from commercialization of technical concepts to market entry within 8 months. At the end of the study, entrepreneurs will commercialize their entrepreneurial products or technologies and eventually go to the market.
It can be seen from the teaching model of entrepreneurship education in the two schools that the entrepreneurship education not only inspires the entrepreneurs' awareness of innovation and entrepreneurship, but also enables the students to master the skills needed in the process of entrepreneurship. At the same time, the process of entrepreneurship education is also the process of commercializing students' entrepreneurial products. The process of entrepreneurship education in the two schools is in line with the process of development, expansion, leadership and renewal of the life cycle theory model, which enables students to better understand the generation, development and evolution of entrepreneurship.
Based on the above model introduction and case analysis, we realize that entrepreneurship education on the one hand should conform to the essential characteristics of business entrepreneurship. On the other hand, it should be combined with the cultivation of entrepreneurs' personal quality. Not only that, entrepreneurship education should also pay attention to the coherence and logicality of knowledge education itself. Therefore, this study proposes a four-stages advanced entrepreneurship education teaching model with project- based learning (PBL) by using life cycle theory (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Four-stages Advanced Entrepreneurship Education Teaching model
The first stage: popularization stage (entrepreneurship awareness + confidence cultivation).
Entrepreneurial consciousness, which dominates the attitude and behavior of entrepreneurs towards entrepreneurial activities, has strong selectivity and initiative, and is an important part of the personal quality of entrepreneurs. On the one hand, the main teaching objectives of this stage are to carry out general entrepreneurship education for students and improve the entrepreneurial awareness of potential entrepreneurs; on the other hand, to cultivate the confidence of potential entrepreneurs, explore their entrepreneurial motivation and establish their entrepreneurial ideals.
The second stage: early stage (entrepreneurial thinking + idea refining).
Entrepreneurial thinking is a kind of special thinking mode that entrepreneurs actively train their own mental operation process based on their own knowledge structure and combine their own entrepreneurial ideas to form a preference for innovation and entrepreneurship. The main teaching goal of this stage is to provide the basic courses of entrepreneurship, at the same time, cultivate entrepreneurial thinking and ideas, and explore entrepreneurial ideas and ideas. At this stage, the technical mentor begins to get involved, so as to help entrepreneurs transform entrepreneurship concepts into product prototypes and prepare for the formation of entrepreneurial products in the next step.
The third stage: start-up stage (entrepreneurship ability + resource integration).
Entrepreneurial ability is the assembly of all knowledge and skills to ensure that entrepreneurs can successfully achieve their entrepreneurial goals. It is the main condition reflected in entrepreneurial practice that affects the efficiency of entrepreneurial practice and promotes the smooth progress of entrepreneurial practice. Resource integration means the formation of entrepreneurial team and business model in this stage. The main teaching goal of this stage is to test the teaching results of the first two stages and to screen the entrepreneurial projects.
At this stage, the business mentor begins to get involved, and the entrepreneurship education begins to enter the incubation stage.
The fourth stage: mature stage (entrepreneurial efficiency + strategic planning).
Entrepreneurial effectiveness is a study on the field of entrepreneurship by scholars using social cognitive theory.
It is the specific application of self-efficacy in the field of entrepreneurship. Scherer (et al, 1989) defined entrepreneurial efficacy as the strength of belief that individuals can successfully play the role of entrepreneurs and complete entrepreneurial tasks. The main teaching goal of this stage is to evaluate the entrepreneur's ability in the entrepreneurial activities, including the judgment of self-confidence in completing the entrepreneurial tasks, as well as the entrepreneurial strategic planning. This stage is to provide continuous entrepreneurship education for those entrepreneurs who have already carried out business, which also marks the start-up enterprises begin to enter the formal operation period.
At present, the governments in all over the world take technological innovation as the driving force of national economic growth, and universities as incubators to enhance national "capabilities”. (Ruth Graham, 2014) Colleges and universities should build a more scientific and reasonable advanced teaching model of entrepreneurship education, accelerate the cultivation of innovative and entrepreneurial talents, and then provide strong talent support for social and economic development.
REFERENCES
Drucker, P.E. (1986). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. New York: Harper and Row.
Kevin, H. (2004). Teaching entrepreneurship at university: from the wrong building to the right philosophy. The 21st Annual Conference of the Canadian Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. University of Regina.
Michael, H. M., et al. (2013). Entrepreneurship Programs and the Modern University. Edward Elgar Pub.
Moore, J. (1993). Predators and prey: a new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review 71, 75-86.
Moore, J.F. (1996). The death of competition: leadership and strategy in the age of business ecosystems. Harper Paperbacks.
Robert F. S., et al. (1989). Role Model Performance Effects on Development of Entrepreneurial Career Preference.
Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice 13.3: 53-71.
Ruth Graham. (2014). Creating university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems - evidence from emerging world leaders. MIT Skoltech Initiative.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Lihui Xu, xulihui@tsinghua.edu.cn, China, International Center for Engineering Education, Tsinghua University (corresponding author)
Pan Zhu, zhupan@tsinghua.edu.cn, China, International Center for Engineering Education, Tsinghua University
Entrepreneurial ability is the assembly of all knowledge and skills to ensure that entrepreneurs can successfully achieve their entrepreneurial goals. It is the main condition reflected in entrepreneurial practice that affects the efficiency of entrepreneurial practice and promotes the smooth progress of entrepreneurial practice. Resource integration means the formation of entrepreneurial team and business model in this stage. The main teaching goal of this stage is to test the teaching results of the first two stages and to screen the entrepreneurial projects.
At this stage, the business mentor begins to get involved, and the entrepreneurship education begins to enter the incubation stage.
The fourth stage: mature stage (entrepreneurial efficiency + strategic planning).
Entrepreneurial effectiveness is a study on the field of entrepreneurship by scholars using social cognitive theory.
It is the specific application of self-efficacy in the field of entrepreneurship. Scherer (et al, 1989) defined entrepreneurial efficacy as the strength of belief that individuals can successfully play the role of entrepreneurs and complete entrepreneurial tasks. The main teaching goal of this stage is to evaluate the entrepreneur's ability in the entrepreneurial activities, including the judgment of self-confidence in completing the entrepreneurial tasks, as well as the entrepreneurial strategic planning. This stage is to provide continuous entrepreneurship education for those entrepreneurs who have already carried out business, which also marks the start-up enterprises begin to enter the formal operation period.
At present, the governments in all over the world take technological innovation as the driving force of national economic growth, and universities as incubators to enhance national "capabilities”. (Ruth Graham, 2014) Colleges and universities should build a more scientific and reasonable advanced teaching model of entrepreneurship education, accelerate the cultivation of innovative and entrepreneurial talents, and then provide strong talent support for social and economic development.
REFERENCES
Drucker, P.E. (1986). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. New York: Harper and Row.
Kevin, H. (2004). Teaching entrepreneurship at university: from the wrong building to the right philosophy. The 21st Annual Conference of the Canadian Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. University of Regina.
Michael, H. M., et al. (2013). Entrepreneurship Programs and the Modern University. Edward Elgar Pub.
Moore, J. (1993). Predators and prey: a new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review 71, 75-86.
Moore, J.F. (1996). The death of competition: leadership and strategy in the age of business ecosystems. Harper Paperbacks.
Robert F. S., et al. (1989). Role Model Performance Effects on Development of Entrepreneurial Career Preference.
Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice 13.3: 53-71.
Ruth Graham. (2014). Creating university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems - evidence from emerging world
Ruth Graham. (2014). Creating university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems - evidence from emerging world