Much of traditional schooling in America is built around systems of compliance and control, characteristics which stifle the creative and entrepreneurial instincts of the children who are subjected to these tactics. This article explores a different approach to education, one that involves capturing the interest of the student through the use of problem and project-based instruction delivered via the Internet. Called Entrepreneurs in Action, this program seeks to involve students in a problem at the outset and to promote the learning of traditional subject areas as a process of the problem-solving activities that are undertaken. The program's details are explained, from elementary school through university level courses, and the authors outline their plans to test the efficacy of the program at each level.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Unemployment claims Rise for Third Straight Week, The Tennessean, p. E2, August 18, 2000
2.
BrittD.BrawleyD.Forging Links between the Academic and Business Communities, Journal of Education for Business, 71:3, pp. 125–131, 1996
3.
ClouseR. W.Entrepreneurship Education for the 21st Century, Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 34:1, pp. 36–40, 1997
4.
DeBergC.ThorntonK.Entrepreneurship Education for At-Risk Youth: A Successful Model for University/Business Partnerships, Proceedings of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, USA, pp. 173–192, 1999
5.
KourilskyM.The Kinder-Economy: A Case Study of Kindergarten Pupils' Acquisition of Economic Concepts, The Elementary School Journal, 77:3, pp. 182–191, 1977
6.
BennettW. J.FinnC. E.Jr.CribJ. T. E.The Educated Child, Free Press, New York, 1999
7.
BrownJ. S.CollinsA.DuguidP.Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning, Educational Researcher, 18:1, pp. 32–41, 1989
8.
RushingF. W.Entrepreneurship and Education, in Entrepreneurship Education, KentC. (ed.), Quorum Books, New York, 1990
9.
RoebuckD. B.BrawleyD. E.Forging Links between the Academic and Business Communities, Journal of Education for Business, 71:3, pp. 125–131, January 1996
10.
ClouseR. W.GoodinT. L.HelbigJ.Cyberspace Entrepreneurship Program, in United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Sailing the Entrepreneurial Wave into the 21st Century, RichardsJ. (ed.), San Diego: University of San Diego Press, San Diego, p. 788, 1999
GundersonG.Thinking about Entrepreneurs: Models, Assumptions, and Evidence, in Entrepreneurship Education, KentC. (ed.), Quorum Books, New York, 1990
13.
RabbiorG.Elements of a Successful Entrepreneurship/Economics/Education Program, in Entrepreneurship Education, KentC. (ed.), Quorum Books, New York, 1990
14.
SherwoodR.Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, Design and Research Issues in the Development of Multimedia Environments for Science Learning, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, in press
15.
BridgesE. M.HallingerP.Implementing Problem Based Learning in Leadership Development, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 1995
16.
OrmrodJ.Educational Psychology: Principles and Applications, Simon and Schuster, Englewood Cliffs, 1995
17.
BransfordJ. D.BrownA. L.CockingR. R. (eds.), How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1995
18.
LampertM.Knowing, Doing, and Teaching Multiplication, Cognition and Instruction, 3, pp. 305–342, 1986
19.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, Anchored Instruction and Its Relationship to Situated Cognition, Educational Researcher, 19:6, pp. 2–10, 1990
20.
SimonH.What We Know about the Creative Process, in Frontiers in Creative and Innovative Management, KuhnR. (ed.), Ballinger Publishing Co., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1986
21.
KimS.Essence of Creativity, Oxford University Press, New York, 1990
22.
DruckerP.The Executive in Action, Harper Business Pub., New York, 1996
23.
EngelP.The Exceptional Individual, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1998
24.
ClouseR.MillerR.Entrepreneurship: Views from Educators and Business Executives, Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 33:3, pp. 43–49, 1996
25.
JelinekM.LittererJ.Toward Entrepreneurial Organizations: Meeting Ambiguity with Engagement, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, pp. 137–168, Spring 1995
26.
ReillyR.A Longitudinal Study of Upward Feedback, Personnel Psychology, 49:3, pp. 599–611, Autumn 1996
27.
BolmanL.DealT.Reframing Organizations(2nd Edition), Jossey-Bass, Inc., San Francisco, 1997
28.
AshmoreM. C.Starting At the Top, Vocational Educational Journal, pp. 35–38, April 1996
29.
VodopivecM.Turning the Unemployed into Entrepreneurs: An Evaluation of a Self-Employment Program in a Transitional Economy, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 3:1, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia, 1998
