Teaching Entrepreneurship

Yesterday I got home from InnoOmnia, where we had a two day seminar about teaching entrepreneurship. Very interesting topic indeed. I got some new ideas about teaching the subject through playing games. Also dealing with cases from business life is a good way to learn team working, problem solving and creativeness. It would be even better if the outcomes were assessed by real business people. This is something, I could think of using in my teaching. In my customer service course I could provide students with real cases from local enterprises. I already have a quite good network, which I could use for this purpose.

I still feel that the seminar was mainly for teachers, who are teaching entrepreneurship or something related to it. But how about all the other teachers? A mathematic teacher will not ask the students to solve problems related to running a business. But how could he/she provide students with entrepreneurial skills and mindset? This is something we have not really covered in our course yet, even though it is still a very important topic.

Teaching Entrepreneurial skills

The Finnish Qualification requirements for Vocational Education and Training apply key competences of lifelong learning. One of those competences is Initiative and entrepreneurship. The curricula (The Finnish Qualification Requirements in Vocational Education and Training) state:

"The student or candidate works towards completing the objectives set. He/she takes initiative and acts in a customer-oriented way as an employer and/or entrepreneur. He/she plans activities and works to reach the objectives set. He/she acts economically and is result-orientated. He/she sets personal goals in line with the overall objectives."

All these skills can and should be taught in every subject. But what are the best methods? 

I learned one interesting method the other day. Exams could be held as open book exams taken in small groups. The idea is that a group would learn to work together to find the best strategy to find, handle and reflect information in order to achieve the goal. A group that finds the best strategy usually performs the best as well. The groups can also compete against each others during the course.

Schools should also teach that failure is not bad if a positive lesson is learned. In other words, failure should be seen as an opportunity to learn something from it.

Below you can find a list of different methods that could be used when teaching entrepreneurial skills according to Jaana Seikkula-Leino (Ruskovaara, Pihkala, Rytkölä & Seikkula-Leino 2010.):

• co-operative learning
• problem-based learning
• group and peer work
• project work
• team work
• learning by doing
• pedagogical drama
• learning diaries
• school and business co-operation

In my opinion a teacher should also underline the importance of networking. For example groups and teams should be built up so that people with different kind of skills would work together. This would help students to realize that it is good to have people doing different kind of tasks based on their skills in order to work efficiently as a team. Too often students take just the easy option and work with their best friends. In work life this is not the case, and students should step outside their comfort zones.

Teaching creativeness

I found this really interesting blog by Dr. Margaret Haviland.
She states that

"Rather than a final grade, students should be getting regular feedback, constructive criticism, probing (as opposed to leading) questions from their teacher and their peers. This feedback needs to measure specific aspects of the learning as laid out in the unit or topic goals. Rubrics geared towards creativity need to be clear and based on learning objectives... Formative rubrics should be the focus in teaching creativity with summative assessment focused on the overall process as much as the product. Rubric writing with creativity as the learning goal is an area for fruitful professional learning whether it’s an all day in-service, an ongoing project with a colleague, or a workshop led by someone who feels successful. I think peers are often the best teachers.... If we want students to learn to write an analytical essay, we assign an essay, then grade it for form, style, grammar, content, and correct bibliography. If we want students to think and act creatively than the assessments we create for them must measure creativity.Ingenuity, inventiveness, originality are non-linear, iterative, and prone to failure. Failure is great!" (Haviland 2012.)

She also writes that teachers, who are creative can teach creativity well as they show example by sharing their experience with their students. Not every teacher has to be a successful author or businessman, but every teacher should be transparently sharing with their students their own creative efforts whether it’s rethinking an approach to teaching, solving a problem with the class or their engagement with an issue. (Haviland 2012)

So in a nutshell: all teaching and assessing should support creativity, and a teacher should act as a role model.

Finally, I would like to share this video by Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to stay in school, recognize business opportunities, and plan for successful future.

References:

Haviland,Margaret. (2012) "Encouraging Teachers to Teach Creativity." Powerful Learning Practice. Retrieved November 25, 2012 from http://plpnetwork.com/2012/06/05/encouraging-teachers-teach-creativity/

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. (2010) "Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship." Youtube. Retrieved November 26, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEu9boYTqUw

Ruskovaara, E., Pihkala, T., Rytkölä, T. & Seikkula-Leino, J. (2010) "Studying Teachers’ Teaching Methods and Working Approaches in Entrepreneurship Education." Lappeenranta University of Technology. Retrieved November 25, 2012 from http://developmentcentre.lut.fi/files/muut/ESU_2010_Tartto_2.pdf

"The Finnish Qualification Requirements in Vocational Education and Training." Finnish National Board of Education. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from http://www.oph.fi/english/sources_of_information/core_curricula_and_qualification_requirements/vocational_education_and_training