Entrepreneurial thinking: A signature pedagogy for an uncertain 21st century

Abstract

This paper outlines a pedagogical approach for entrepreneurship education, with a specific focus on students who do not necessarily identify as entrepreneurial. We advance seven essential and teachable entrepreneurial thinking skills (ET-7) to form future leaders: (1) problem solving, (2) tolerance for ambiguity, (3) failing forward, (4) empathy, (5) creativity with limited resources, (6) responding to critical feedback, and (7) teamwork approach. ET-7 offers an integrative framework that unites previously distinct perspectives of entrepreneurial competencies, and outlines how to teach and develop these skills in a 12-week mandatory entrepreneurship course through an innovative pedagogical approach. This approach to entrepreneurial education was built on the concept of a signature pedagogy (Shulman, 2005) and encompasses three components (i.e., the flipped classroom, learning through failure, and access to open educational resources). This pedagogical approach to entrepreneurial education supports entrepreneurial learning through experiential activities that simulate the environment entrepreneurs face. Thus, this paper contributes to the literature by outlining the entrepreneurial thinking skillset (ET-7) required to be successful in today's modern careers, along with considering the methods, tools, and pedagogy that is most likely to support ET-7 skill development.