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General Card #1018
"Master" Entrepreneurial Mindset Concept Map
Updated: 8/30/2024 2:43 PM by Elise Barrella
Reviewed: 10/17/2022 8:04 AM by Becky Benishek
Summary
This card describes the process that was followed in the development of a "master" entrepreneurial mindset concept map and presents the final map.
Description

We have continued to build upon this work as we've developed a toolkit for using concept maps in your EM classes or research. Please visit and favorite Card 3450 for access to the toolkit and the most up-to-date information on the this topic.

To better serve the engineering entrepreneurship community, we sought to develop a "master" entrepreneurial mindset (EM) concept map that captured faculty insights as to what properties are relevant to the term "entrepreneurial mindset". 

Development Process
The "master" EM concept map was developed from content included in the EM concept maps of 26 faculty members that attended a concept map workshop at the 2019 KEEN National Conference.  Terms from the faculty concept maps were abstracted and literature was used to provide additional concepts that were missing from the original maps.  Concepts were then grouped into categories using an iterative process similar to thematic analysis to allow development of a working copy of the "master" EM concept map. This working copy of the EM map had only hierarchies present and no cross-links to avoid researchers' biases influencing the relationships the maps should portray.  The working copy of the EM concept map was shown to seven faculty experts in the Engineering Entrepreneurship field for review and comment.  Changes suggested and cross-links identified were then incorporated into the final "master" EM concept map.

"Master" EM Concept Map Overview
The "master" EM concept map (attached below) captures the "who", "what", "why", and "how" aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset within the context of engineering education.  The "who" branch focuses on what type of individuals may exhibit an entrepreneurial mindset such as entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs, the organizations within which these individuals may work, and the processes they may use to enact their EM.  The "what" branch captures knowledge, skills, and attributes that are associated with having an EM.  The "why" branch focuses on providing insight as to the motivation behind individuals developing an EM or enacting an EM.  It includes elements like creating value and stakeholders relevant to work in this area.  Finally, the "how" branch is very useful to educators since it documents ways through which students may develop an EM while mainly being in an academic setting.  Examples include both formal and informal education experiences as well as personal experiences.

Curiosity: The "master" EM concept map provides an opportunity for faculty to explore deeper what is meant by EM and how it manifests itself within academic environments.  It can also be a starting point for faculty to explore motivations associated with an EM and use this knowledge as the basis for course and lesson planning.  Faculty can consider asking their students to make a map of EM and then compare to the "master" concept map included to see where their students are in the development of an understanding of this complex construct.

Connections: The "master" EM employs connections through its use of cross-links to reinforce the relationships that exist between different facets associated with an EM.  It provides an opportunity for faculty to understand the framing of different aspects of an EM and how they could be related through academic courses or activities.

Creating Value: The "master" EM concept map provides significant value to the engineering entrepreneurship community as it provides a snapshot of faculty's perception of EM as there has been much debate in the literature over how to define this complex construct.  It will also serve as a reference tool that faculty can use in their own course planning or as an assessment tool for faculty that might be interested in measuring their students' perception of EM.

Details for Implementation and Use
The "master" EM concept map can be used in a variety of settings and with different target populations ranging from first-year undergraduate students to post-docs.  The flexibility of concept mapping as a course activity or assessment tool allows for it to be modified depending on the faculty's instructional environment.  For instance, in class, concept maps can be constructed individually using sheets of papers and post-it notes or in a remote/digital setting, concept maps can be built using a variety of online technologies that are freely available such as CmapTools. Concept maps can be used anytime throughout a class or activity but have been most often used as a pre/post assessment.  In these implementations, they should be used with a significant length of time in between the assessments since it can take time for students to integrate knowledge and be able to display it in this manner.

This card includes a copy of the ASEE paper discussing the design and development of the "master" EM concept map and more examples of how concept maps could be implemented in EM modules or courses.  The card also has an image of the final "master" concept map as this may be an easier reference tool than to look at the paper itself.  The "master" concept map is meant to serve as a reference for faculty so that when they go about scoring / assessing their students' concept maps they have a broad understanding of what terms should be present in the map and the linkages that should exist between these concepts.

Learning Objectives
After reading this card, faculty will be able to:
  • Describe the key aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset
  • Relate the key aspects of entrepreneurial mindset to one another
  • Use the "master" entrepreneurial mindset concept map as a reference for course planning or assessment
Instructor Tips
The ASEE paper provides an initial idea of ways through which faculty can use the "master" EM map including but not limited to:
  • Assessment of student EM concept maps
  • Course planning
  • Research on EM differences between diverse populations (student or otherwise)
There is a lot of literature that is available on the subject of concept maps and as such the authors suggest familiarizing yourselves with this literature as a starting point for implementing concept maps as part of your curriculum or using them in your course planning process.  Some suggested references on concept maps and their scoring methods are included here:
  • J. D. Novak, Learning, Creating, and using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations. New York, NY: Routledge, 2010.
  • M.K. Watson, J. Pelkey, C.R. Noyes, M.O. Rodgers, “Assessing conceptual knowledge using three concept map scoring methods”, Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 105, no.1, pp. 118-146, 2016.
  • M. Besterfield-Sacre, J. Gerchak, M. R. Lyons, L. J. Shuman, and H. Wolfe, “Scoring concept maps: an integrated rubric for assessing engineering education,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 105-115, 2004.
More specifically, there has been some initial work the authors have participated in related to EM based concept maps that can also be a useful resource.  The references for this work are shown below:
  • C. Bodnar, and C. Hixson, “Capturing Students' Perception of Entrepreneurial Mindset: Tools for What and Why,” Advances in Engineering Education. vol. 7, no. 1, 2018.
  • M.M. Martine, L.X. Mahoney, C.M. Sunbury, J.A. Schneider, C. Hixson, C.A. Bodnar, “Concept Maps as an Assessment Tool for Evaluating Students' Perception of Entrepreneurial Mindset,” in ASEE 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition, Tampa, Florida, June 2019.
  • Concept Mapping Workshop at 2019 KEEN National Conference - card available here.
Finally, when having students prepare concept maps it can be helpful to guide them through an example activity first.  The authors have used "french fries" and "ice cream" before as starting concepts to model how to create a concept map with students.  This preliminary activity will ensure that students understand what is meant by a concept and how to link concepts both within a branch as well as across branches. 
We would like to thank the Kern Family Foundation through the KEEN Network for providing the funding for this study. The authors are very grateful for this support.
Folders
Description
This folder contains the final pdf copy of the ASEE paper and a copy of the "master" concept map image that faculty can use for their concept map implementation.
Title Type Ext Date Size Download All Downloads
"Master" EM Concept Map Photo / Graphic .jpg 5/18/2020 1.2 MB 918
ASEE Paper Journal / Article .pdf 9/25/2020 1.1 MB 1228