2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This evidence-based complete paper documents the infusion of Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) in a General Chemistry course. EML emphasizes educating the “whole person” by supplementing traditional theory with nontechnical concepts related to curiosity, connections, and creating value (the three Cs). Integrating the EML framework has been a strong focus in curriculum changes in many engineering programs, both old and new, across the United States. Many of these changes have been infused into multidisciplinary courses that impact all engineering disciplines, including first-year engineering coursework. However, a significant, if not a major, share of typical first-year engineering courses are taught by instructors from other STEM fields. Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry are perhaps the most obvious. EML is relevant to all these fields. General Chemistry classes are often overwhelming and stressful for first-year students because they are content-heavy and require the use of many fundamental STEM principles. Students usually memorize the exact procedure for a calculation, step by step, but do not think about how the concepts could apply beyond the specific problem. Teaching students how to think outside of the box about problems and how to apply their knowledge beyond the chemistry classroom is an important aspect of EML. This paper describes the development of a series of “Fun Fridays” activities for a General Chemistry classroom to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset for approaching chemistry problems. These in-class activities involve solving chemistry problems in myriad real-life scenarios, while leveraging one or more of the three Cs of EML. Instead of focusing on the solution steps, the problems encourage students to think outside of the box and apply their chemistry knowledge in a broader context. Surveys were conducted at the middle and end of the semester to gauge student perceptions of the "Fun Fridays" activities. Qualitative and quantitative results from the surveys are presented in this paper. Incorporating these problems in General Chemistry increased student engagement in the classroom and helped them view chemistry in a broader societal context. Students were excited about Fridays’ activities and felt less stressed in the classroom. They left the classroom with confidence that they were able to solve different types of problems and apply the concepts they learned in general chemistry beyond the classroom. High levels of engagement in introductory chemistry courses may contribute to increased retention of all STEM majors, including first-year engineering students.