Get wet!
Teaching Innovation Theories
through Experiential Learning
A social-constructivist approach
Frido Smulders
Industrial Design Engineering
Delft University of Technology
Cluster
Corporate & Market Oriented New Product Development
• Total 16 ec
• 2 Theoretical courses (2x6 ec)
– Corporate New Product Development
– Market & Consumer Behavior
• 1 Design Project (4 ec)
– ‘Design in Context’
– Real Company case + roll play of CEO
• 250+ students
• 5 professors + 5 coaches
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Cluster
Corporate & Market Oriented New Product Development
Teaching Innovation Theories from six domains
• Strategy
• Organization
• Economy
• Consumer behavior
• Marketing
• Design
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What’s the situation: teaching perspective
• Teaching Product Innovation Theories to 3rd year Bachelor
Students Industrial Design Engineering
• Problem:
– Innovation theories:
•
•
•
•
Ambiguous
Overly abstract
Not (yet) robust enough
Many tools & methods
– Innovation is process of continuous integration of variety of
disciplines
– Students have no corporate experience => no knowledge base
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What’s the situation: practice perspective
• Low success rates: no laws, no formulas, no absolute truths
• Innovation is not about copying successful practices
• Innovation processes influenced by:
– Intuition
– Creativity
– Social processes
• Innovation is situational phenomenon
• Many departments involved: different thought worlds (Dougherty 1987)
– Knowledge base, language, symbols, metaphors, craft sensitivities
– Intrinsically harmonious => No unambiguous perspectives
• Innovating in companies is not just running from idea to market …
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What’s the situation: conclusions …
•
•
•
•

Deep and experiential understanding necessary to reach
proficiency
Integration across disciplinary boundaries: ‘sufficient’
understanding of other thought worlds (functions)
Experience needed with tools, methods, theories.
Classical form of teaching theories, i.e. ‘teaching about it’
is not sufficient
How can we teach Innovation? What is possible for large groups (≈
250)?
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Learning & Teaching: some perspectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
Robust & ambiguous theories
Static & dynamic components
Knowing & understanding
Abstract & concrete
Theories direct and indirect related to product design
Goal is to have the students develop relevant mental model(s)
• This implies that we need to blend
•
•
•
•
Theorizing & practicing
Experiencing & reflecting
Individual & social processes (intra- & interpersonal)
Different forms of reasoning
• … and must prevent…
• Too much learning by rote without understanding
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Didactic plan is blend from:
• Group dynamics
• Innovation theories
• Psychological theories
• Situated cognitive theories
• Theories of learning, individual & social
• ……
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A new mental model as goal
• Deeply held internal images of how the world around us works
(Senge 1990), also called Schemata (Rummelhart 1980), shows similarities to
‘Thoughtworlds’ (Doucherty 1987)
• Mental models consist of contextually bounded … (Kim ‘93, Driscoll ‘00):
– Knowledge structures and consistent reasoning structures
– (Inter-)Action structures
– Experiences over many years (education, training, experience, reflection, etc.)
• New mental model: Blending knowing & doing
=> Learning on two fronts
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Mental models + understanding
• Mental models have explicit & implicit knowledge
• This knowledge guides our understanding of new
information
• New info without relation to existing knowledge
structures (Postrel 2002):
=> No understanding!
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Experiential Learning Model, David Kolb 1984
Concrete
Experience
Concrete
Reflective
Observation
Active
Experimentation
Abstract
Abstract
Conceptualization
Active
Passive
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CE
AE
RO
‘Academic Learning’
AC
Frido Smulders (PhD)
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Template for cluster
Theoretical knowledge Discipline A
Discipline projects A
DESIGN PROJECT
Discipline projects B
Theoretical knowledge Discipline B
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Didactic plan
• All 3 courses spread over two quarters
• Discipline courses start
– Classes
– Discipline projects + Fish Bowls: related to phase in
Design Project
• Design Project starts after 3/4 weeks
– Identical groups of students
– Company Case: existing company
– ‘CEO’ being roll played by staff
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Fish Bowl Sessions
• Session consisting of two groups:
– Participants
– Spectators
• Modern term for old Phenomenon:
– E.g. Public Gallery
• Lower House
• Court room
• Panel discussion
 In Education:
 Anatomy Lesson
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Fish Bowl Sessions
• Two groups:
– Those that present
– Those that listen and (later) participate in discussion
• Process:
– Students present answers 1st version report
– Socratic Dialogue: looking for inadequacies and inconsistencies in
reasoning underpinning the answers
– Lecturer presents own vision on answer
• Students are allowed to adjust their first answer resulting in
2nd version of report. Motivation is important
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Concrete Experience
Concretizing solution
Write down, 1st version
Study assignment +
Understanding +
First ideas
Active
Experimentation
‘Testing’ theories
Simulation + adjust …
Reflective
Observation
Study Literature =>
Theoretical solutions
1st learning cycle
Discipline Project
Abstract Concept
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Concrete Experience
Revise 1st answer
+ motivate
Fish Bowl:
Alternatives groups
Theory by lecturer
Socratic Dialogue
Reflective
Observation
Active
Experimentation
2nd learning cycle
Discipline Project
Compare alternatives
Discussion & Reflection
Identify mutations
Abstract Concept
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Concrete Experience
Present results
to ‘CEO’
Carry out plan
Prepare new presentation
Active
Experimentation
Devise
detailed plan
Design Project:
weekly cycle
Discipline courses
Reflect on past weeks phase
Thinking about
this week’s goal
Reflective
Observation
Make activity plan
Integrate theories
Identiy
Theories
Abstract Concept
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Theories relevant
Design Project
CE
AE
Theoretical &
process issues
CE
RO
AE
RO
Identification
relevant theories
AC
AC
Discipline project
+
Fish Bowl
Design Project
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Example Discipline project:
Innovation Processes
• Compare Theoretical Innovation Processes
– Compare the models: similarities & differences.
– What’s missing in both models
– Who are users of these models
• Micro case study: Make Offer Innovation Consulting
– Process steps
– Actors involved
– Draw up an Estimation ($ + planning)
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1st step Design Project
• Understanding the Company and its situation
• Preliminary assessment of present situation
– Problems
– Provisional directions, vision
• Devise a plan
– Steps
– Content of steps
– Gates & presentations
• Prepare first presentation for Client
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Subjects of Discipline Projects
• 2nd: Strategic assessment & audit tools
• 3rd: Financial Case Study
• 4th: market introduction strategies
• 5th: business & implementation plan
• In general: create rudimentary understanding and use of
innovation theories and tools.
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Some quote’s from students
• 57% was satisfied with combination discipline course and
design project (19% very satisfied)
• “An attractive way to present theory”
• “Get the theory sharp that needed to be applied in design
project, however, not without making adjustments.”
• “…the interactive feedback and the possibility to make
corrections…”
• “One teacher is more proficient at leading Fish Bowl sessions
than the other…”
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Conclusions
• Kolb’s experiential learning model is robust enough for
serving as base for didactic formulas
• Integration of theoretical classes, Fish Bowl-projects and
design projects provide successive but slightly different
learning cycles around same subjects
• These learning cycles seem to lead to more profound
internalization
• Teacher needs to develop facilitation skills and not have a
dominant position
• Learning theories and innovation theories provide different
perspectives on same phenomenon …(oeps!)
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Discipline Projects + Fish Bowls
Week 1
Week 2
Mo
2007.1 on
Blackb.
Intro +
1st lecture
Tu
We
Th
2nd Class
Fr
17.00 hrs
Turn in
2007.1
Fish Bowl
2007.1
2007.2 on
Blackb.
17.00 hrs
∂ 2007.1
Turn in
3rd Class 2007.2
Fish Bowl
2007.2
17.00 hrs
∂ 2007.2
Week 3
4th Class
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Thank you!
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Management Implications
• We have learned that innovation is to be seen
– Social process
– Multi-disciplinary effort
– An integration of these disciplines
• Therefore innovation is favored by:
– Actors with multi-disciplinary background and posses
multiple ‘thought worlds’ and therefore have learned to
switch between these different thought worlds
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Beoordeling groepsopdrachten BPO
• De antwoorden van de groepsopdracht die het eerst zijn
ingeleverd worden vergeleken met de voorgestelde
verbeteringen die daarna zijn ingeleverd.
• In één keer goed + goede motivering bij de verbetering
krijgt een hogere score als in twee keer goed.
• Geen verbeteringen aanbrengen, terwijl deze wel nodig
waren, is desastreus….!!
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