Teach Entrepreneurship in the Classroom
Project Based Learning Includes Positive Multidisciplinary Outcomes
Aug 24, 2009
The value of project based assignments extends beyond a simple understanding of facts. The experience students gain throughout the lesson, from initially deciding what to do and how to do it through presenting the results, has effects difficult to assess through a standardized exam. Students gain valuable insights into their own abilities, including how they can learn on their own and from their peers.
Through experiential learning students are able to combine different subjects with their own interests. For example, students might be asked to build a historical structure out of toothpicks or straws. Students would need to use their knowledge of history, mathematics, and engineering or science principles to create the project. Depending on the requirements, English skills may also be necessary, as well as presentation skills, group work, and more. Another skill that could be included in this project would be entrepreneurship.
What is Entrepreneurship?
At its foundation, entrepreneurship is the act of one person, or a small group, starting a business. America.gov, a site produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs, states that entrepreneurship itself involves much more. There are two major components involved; job creation and economic stimulus. There is also a community aspect.
In a classroom, entrepreneurship can be taught as a concept, or experienced as a project. Teaching it as a concept might involve a video, worksheets, and perhaps a guest speaker. To turn the concept into an experience would require including the basic elements in a project.
How to Include Entrepreneur Concepts in a Project
It would not take much extra classroom time to extend the historical structure project to include entrepreneur concepts. One, community, may already be partially included. Two pieces that would assist with including community is if it is a group project, requiring the ability to work with others, and if the final presentation required students to explain how the historical structure affects, or affected, the community where it is located.
The other two components, job creation and economic stimulus, involve a bit more. Job creation could be included by having students provide an explanation as part of their presentation as to what jobs were created or necessary for building the structure. Economic stimulus could be more present-day, requiring students to provide a detailed accounting of all costs, predicted and final, involved in creating the tooth-pick or straw replica.
Providing experience with entrepreneurship can be accomplished with a little adaptation to an existing project based assignment. Doing so gives students exposure to how their ideas can affect jobs, the economy, and the community.
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