Lighthouse as a Transdisciplinary Boundary-Crossing Learning Innovation

Abstract

The Lighthouse was a learning activity that offered entrepreneurship pedagogy outside the academic structures of higher education, in a religious context, and among grassroots practitioners. Over three years, participants passionate about their local communities were gathered nationally from across Aotearoa New Zealand. A weekend workshop introduced two artifacts: an Idea to Mission Opportunity Canvas and a Next Steps template. These were process-facilitation structures that through contextualised approaches, empowered participants to embed entrepreneurship processes in their local context. Pedagogical concepts of boundary-crossing and collaborative spirals of learning provides ways to understand the Lighthouse as a transdisciplinary learning innovation. Boundary-crossing learning mechanisms, including identification, coordination, perspective-making and transformation, inform analysis of the weekend. The mechanisms of identification and coordination provided ways to subvert traditional clergy structures. A collaborative spiral of learning provided a way to weave together religious resources with entrepreneurial processes. Participants felt empowered by the perspective-making of the Apostle Paul as an innovator. Participant feedback pointed to the need for a fifth boundary crossing learning mechanism, life-long learning.