Critical Thinking in Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the college where I teach, the president of the college writes reflective pieces to share with our campus - giving all of us opportunities to think about topics and issues relevant in higher education and our communities at large.  I always appreciate his thoughtful and positive tone.  Today he shared a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that I hadn't heard before and I find it useful as our campus spent extra time focusing on critical thinking skills before the start of the spring semester.

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
~ MLK

It made me think of another quote I've shared before:

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you.  If you really make them think, they'll hate you."
~ Don Marquis

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and because we are in an election cycle, perhaps we can practice our critical thinking skills by choosing to hear, and seek understanding of, political voices we disagree with as we strive to reduce the likelihood of our good intentions leaving us ignorant.  For example, last night was the Democratic debate and today Donald Trump is speaking to Liberty University.  How likely are we to watch both events that share, and do not share, our "best" ideas for our country?

When we hear ideas that do not fit with what we currently believe, researchers have provided evidence with several findings that could represent a high likelihood of continued ignorance rather than critical thinking.  For example,  we may immediately discount what we have heard or we seem unaware that we were even exposed to a new way of thinking.  This may also relate to the Marquis quote - when we hear ideas we disagree with, we may label the people sharing them as dumb or as having negative intentions.  These are critical thinking errors that can be overcome.  

Below is one of my favorite descriptions of a "highly developed individual" labeled The Elder (adapted from Coaching with Positive Psychology).  I believe that MLK's broad ability to contribute to positive social change in his time, and still in ours, can be related to this way of being that exemplifies critical thinking (and creative thinking, too).

The Elder sees and understands the perspectives of others and uses those perspectives to continuously transform their own system becoming more expansive and inclusive.  He or she does not use the perspectives of others to fine tune his or her own argument or principles; rather, she or he puts the entire system at risk for change with each interaction with others.

Innovation Challenge Questions for Higher Ed and a look at ASU and GCU

I've said these things a few times and decided to write them down today ... I'm really wound up about the opportunities we have in higher education!  Today - at this moment ... we could DO so many things to create more value for students and contribute to American productivity ...

So ... Have you heard people say, "The first step is admitting you have a problem"?  Well, we still have a conformity and/or lack of innovation problem in higher education.  Here is real world evidence in the form of challenge questions:

1.  Would University of Phoenix ever have come into existence if the traditional universities addressed those unmet market needs?  Now, the traditionals are taking this business back with their prestige advantage.

 

  

2.  Why did Grand Canyon University have to be saved by investors?  The campus is bustling with excitement now!

 

 

3.  As the Thunderbird School of Global Management shared its wisdom with students about how to lead international companies, why did they experience a slow public death in the global economy?  ASU, the #1 Innovative college (US News & World Report), came to the rescue!

If we are aware, we can open our minds to new ways of being.  We can change!  We can be non-conformists and innovators!  Let's look at just two recent examples from ASU and GCU to inspire us ...

ASU Innovation - for students
President Michael Crow, known as an innovator, has said, "...we can't keep doing things the same old way."  (Arizona Repulic 12/13/13).  One ASU innovation that represents a real growth opportunity for students is the Entrepreneurship Challenge (see links below).  This is a series of competitions such as the Changemaker Challenge that is currently offering a $10,000 award.

ASU video on their Entrepreneurship Challenge Opportunity

ASU video on entrepreneurship


GCU Innovation - for students
For students considering GCU, one of the most noteworthy innovations is their new hotel through the Colangelo School of Business.  If you want students to learn the hospitality business, why not open a hotel for them to run?  So much better than a text book!

And, GCU must be good at developing relationships because Jerry Colangelo has shown a highly personal commitment to the college.  He is present on campus speaking for small groups of students and offering expansion advice - much more than just a name on a college.  

Welcome to GCU video


Conclusion

Regardless of the culture(s) we are part of, we always have a choice ... we can go beyond conformity and what most people around us would typically do.  Thank you to ASU and GCU for examples of creativity, innovation and ... entrepreneurship in higher education!


Additional Reading

The following articles calls for specific innovations within higher education:

U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES MUST TAKE ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES, ACCORDING TO KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION REPORT. (2012, June 7). States News Service. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA292238485&sid=summon&v=2.1&u=mcc_pv&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=d8381facb0f0b57f2e2c363bff3291d7

Intrapreneurship, Positive Social Change and Social Entrepreneurship - more inclusive skill building invitations on campuses?

Who can be entrepreneurial?  WE can.

Yes, I just published a little writing about entrepreneurship and a common rebuttal within higher education is, "Why are we involved in this entrepreneurship fad - sure, lots of people say they want to have their own business, but do you know how few people are actually "real" entrepreneurs responsible for significant job creation?"

When some people think of entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurial individuals, only legends like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg come to mind, but ...

1. Do small businesses and large organizations need people who are capable of solving yet-to-be-solved-problems and/or creating yet-to-be-created-solutions?  Intrapreneurship
2. Have we solved all of the humanitarian issues that matter to us?  Positive Social Change
3. What do you think of generous people who start organizations contributing to individuals, groups and/or society going beyond profit motives?  Social Entrepreneurship

For those who are unmoved by discussions of entrepreneurship or see that as a topic limited to business departments, perhaps intrapreneurship, positive social change and social entrepreneurship invite more participation in developing the entrepreneurial skills of students and creating more entrepreneurial practices in college systems?

Skills and traits associated with entrepreneurship are transferrable and valuable in a variety of contexts.  

You can easily find a plethora of popular and scholarly lists of entrepreneurial traits and skills.  For example, according to a 1/6/16 article published by Inc. (link below), the five most important skills for an entrepreneur are:  sales, planning, communication, customer focus and curiosity.  An 11/26/13 article published by Forbes (link below) asserted the following "top skills" for entrepreneurs:  resiliency, focus, investment for the long term, finding/managing people, selling, learning, self-reflection and self-reliance. 

An article by David Siefert, of Sinclair Community College, available on the NACCE website (link below) lists the following 25 traits associated with entrepreneurs and I agree with him that the entrepreneur within each of us can be awakened ... this is an interdisciplinary opportunity for higher education to prepare our students, the workforce, for success in an ever-changing global economy:

 

1. Achievement Orientated

2. Ambitious

3. Business Acumen

4. Communicator (clear thinker and communicator)

5. Competitive

6. Creative

7. Critical Thinker

8. Customer Oriented

9. Decisive

10. Enthusiastic

11. Flexible

12. Focused (able to)

13. Goal Oriented

14. Implementer

15. Independent

16. Innovative

17. Learner (Continuous learning and experimenter)

18. Opportunistic

19. Passionate

20. Persistent

21. Problem Solver

22. Risk Taker (calculated)

23. Self-Confident

24. Self-Disciplined

25. Strategic Thinker

 

 

Who can be entrepreneurial?  WE can.

 

David Siefert article available at NACCE:
http://www.nacce.com/news/35132/

Inc Article:
http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/5-most-important-business-skills-every-entrepreneur-must-have.html

Forbes Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2013/11/26/the-top-skills-every-entrepreneur-needs/

Why not straight to entrepreneur?

When I think of higher education conversations about infusing entrepreneurship into the system, I think of three related continuums.  1) From creator to entrepreneur for students and 2) From teacher centered to student centered models of teaching and learning for faculty and 3) From bureaucracy to entrepreneurship for organizations.  I'm not usually a fan of linear models, but I think these linear continuums are illustrative as we work toward implementing meaningful entrepreneurship initiatives.   

A student continuum

It's hard to change and move along a continuum that involves well established mindsets and behaviors.  One way to nudge progress is to take steps in the right direction without being overwhelmed by how far we still have to go.  So, for example with students, rather than beginning with, "what kind of start up do you have planned?", we might begin with "what creative endeavor would you like to experience?" and this could take place in a class representing any discipline.  In asking students what they are good at during the first week of classes, I have found that many students are at a loss.  A good starting place on this student continuum is to help students see what they are capable of creating and remind them that being a creative person is not limited to being skilled in the arts.

A faculty continuum

As I think of my students' future careers, I want to be part of creating an entrepreneurial context so that my classes offer students learning experiences without limits - studio or incubator type experiences that are facilitated but not controlled by me as the teacher.  I'll call this "taking the top off the syllabus."  I can get students to check the boxes of my stale teacher centered assignments and earn an "A" for convergent thinking about course content, but what if they engage in divergent thinking and design part of their learning experience that represents their own goals?

While I'm part of teams that want to produce and support entrepreneurs (and I do, too!), I believe all of our students will be more marketable (e.g., intrapreneurs) and have a better chance of directing their lives if we reduce (not eliminate) our passive learning models and increase active learning that builds students' identity around their skills and awareness of their potential role in their success while increasing the likelihood that we capture their attention and intrinsic motivation leading to their personal accomplishments of meaningful goals.  For example, I have students who wrote and performed a play about gender for a psychology and gender class where participants clearly felt the creative endeavor was a meaningful achievement.  The students demonstrated a variety of academic and entrepreneurial skills as they explored and debated course content.  This could be contrasted with more typical successes you hear on campuses such as, "Thank God, I got a 91% on my multiple-choice test."

An organizational continuum

We may work in a largely bureaucratic context (it's safe and predictable compared to working for a start up organization), but that does not keep us from offering interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary opportunities so that our students, and our colleges, can move on a continuum toward more entrepreneurial thinking and behavior.  In other words, before we open an incubator or find the next 21 year old who is going to sell their new technology for 6 billion dollars, why not offer all of our students a chance to take a step along the continuum - even if they aren't signed up for business classes?  This is a first step, and a very easy step, for colleges to become more entrepreneurial because our students are likely to help us expand our ideas of what really is possible when we give them these opportunities.  

So, why not straight to entrepreneur?

Some will say that entrepreneurs are born, not made.  If so, then we should encourage these genetically blessed individuals to skip school and not waste time and investment dollars on our classes - with their entrepreneurial thinking and behaviors they can get what they need without us.  But, if higher education has a role in the teaching and learning of entrepreneurial thinking and behavior, then we should be prepared for students to come to us anywhere along the relevant continuums.  And, if we are good at what we do, then we can be part of helping today's creators become tomorrow's entrepreneurs.