Innovation pedagogy in management education: Student-centered learning with arts-based methods

Arts-based methods (ABMs) encompass the use of visual arts, music, and drama in education. ABMs also foster empathy in management and leadership, as ABMs are linked to the development of cognitive, behavioral, and personal skills. Despite their impactful potential, ABMs remain an understudied methodology in management education. This study addresses this gap by exploring the integration of ABMs into student-centered innovation pedagogy within business and management education. This study investigates the following: 1) the role of ABMs in student-centered learning and 2) the impact of ABMs on the critical skill development of students at the individual, group, and network levels. From a 10-year case study of an innovation management course, our findings reveal that ABMs promote reflection, dialogic learning, and emotional engagement, which enrich students’ understanding of innovation culture. These results advocate the use of ABMs to build the emotional skills necessary for motivating large-scale change and innovation within business contexts. • ABMs foster emotional, reflective, and dialogic learning in management education. • The case study shows that ABMs build innovation skills at all learning levels. • Students gained confidence, creativity, and empathy through ABM experiences. • Teachers need facilitative skills and support to implement ABMs effectively. • ABMs blend cognitive and behavioral learning for transformative education.