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Raleigh Werberger is a high school humanities teacher that
worked with a group of teachers to implement a new kind of project based
learning for his ninth grade students.
He and his colleagues were motivated to really engage the students in
their learning, seeing it as a way to have them take charge of their learning
and find some happiness in it.
He and his team came up with the idea of having students
create a startup business for a local aquaponics farm. Students assigned themselves roles like
contractor, designers, and salesman to complete the project. The results were staggering. The students were so highly engaged in the
project that its success spilled over into other academic areas as well. Teachers reported higher involvement in math,
science, and language arts, to further their understanding of how to get their
business up and running. The students
saw each lesson as a potential learning experience to better their business
plan. Also, members of the community and
the parents of the students were heavily involved. Werberger easily conceded to professional
engineers and accountants as they worked with the students to accomplish their
business goals. One team even got their
business bankrolled by a few local entrepreneurs while the other teams vowed to
find funding for their businesses as well.
I think this idea of introducing entrepreneurship at the
high school level is a brilliant idea. A
lot of times students do not feel connected to the material they are learning
and it becomes a chore to participate or engage in lessons. This project clearly shows that students can
be motivated to take charge of their learning and funnel it towards worthwhile
outcomes outside of the classroom. I
think this kind of project could really benefit a lot of students and schools.
Werberger, R. (n.d.). Using Entrepreneurship to Transform Student Work. Edutopia. Retrieved June 9, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-entrepreneurship-transforms-student-work-raleigh-werberger
Wow, very cool! Any time a real-world situation can be used it's value is immeasurable. One of my colleagues, teaching computers, started a "Genius Hour." I don't know much about it, but it sounds similar to what you're describing. It's based off of Google and something they do. She said she had heard that's how Google Docs was created, out of Genius Hour.
ReplyDeleteShe had the students take total control and had some awesome projects, like a Clothing Closet for our middle school where people donate their clothing and those that may need some can come and shop!
What I like most about your article is the fact that it carried over from one subject area to the next, and it gave each area a 'purpose' to students.
Very cool!