A collaborative autoethnography on cultivating innovative attitudes in undergraduate engineers through a co-curricular initiative

Abstract

Innovative attitudes are critical affective learning outcomes for engineering graduates. However, affective learning requires immersive environments and ill-defined problem contexts which are difficult to create in traditional curricula due to resource and time constraints. The Aircraft for Rhino and Environmental Defense (AREND) project is a long-term, co-curricular learning initiative that has succeeded in cultivating innovative attitudes in students. Through collaborative autoethnography, we identify that immersion in an authentic innovation process and a project-based learning environment foster attitudes of experimentation, risk-taking, adaptation, alternatives seeking, self-reliance, implementation, persistence, user-focus, being visionary, being passionate, leadership, being a team player and being persistent. The paper offers practical insights to educators wishing to create similar experiential learning environments.