Samples from the Enterprising Ways to Teach and Learn Series

School fair – marketing strategy     Book One

Using an Expert Jigsaw technique student teams develop a marketing strategy for the standard school fair.  Such ‘classic’ Cooperative Learning techniques facilitate maximum input for maximum output.   Also see Cooperative Learning Techniques book by the same author.

Super questions     Book One

This sample sets out six questions that teachers should ask themselves every day.  By answering these teachers are encouraged to consider ways to teach in a more enterprising manner.  These questions have been made into staff room posters and diary inserts.

Co-assessing     Book One

This review and reflection technique demonstrates how co-assessing helps the learners to both ‘rehearse’ and ‘reinforce’ a skill.  Co-assessing also encourages the learner to reflect on his or her progress and take more responsibility in general.

Presentations     Book One

This sample provides advice on getting the most out of presentations as a source of review and reflection.  Student handouts are included.

Running meetings     Book One

After actively studying text on how meetings are run and decisions are made, teams compete to run exemplar meetings.  But all processes must be mimed.

Making a Team Charter     Book One

Students use a three-step-interview technique to devise a team charter for their project.  Such ‘classic’ Cooperative Learning techniques facilitate maximum input for maximum output.  Also see the Cooperative Learning Techniques book by the same author.

The Enterprising Classroom     Book One

This questionnaire helps teachers to reflect on their classroom practices, particularly to the degree which they promote student responsibility and active learning.  More extensive questionnaires concerning the enterprising teacher and enterprising school are also available in Book One.

Glovers     Book Two                 

This simulation involves students acting as product designers in a glove manufacturing company that must reduce waste to survive.  Students enjoy this activity.

People . Profit . Planet     Book Two

Through games, cases studies and scenarios students explore the concept of the triple bottom line.  The sophisticated activity concludes with the students devising a TBL strategy for hypothetical businesses.

Contracting Christmas     Book Three

This pre-designed enterprise project challenges one team of students to ‘outsource’ another project team to run a Christmas party for senior citizens.  The central task is project management.

Trader for a Day     Book Three

With this pre-designed enterprise project pairs of students are allocated a retail outlet in the high street or a shopping centre.  They are given baskets of heavily discounted items from the store to sell as ‘loss-leaders’ – as a way of enticing customers into the store.  They gain extra points if they sell customers further items once they enter the store.  They compete with other pairs.

Island     Book Three

This pre-designed enterprise project involves two schools running an e-business. One team of students, acting as retailer/importers, must recruit another school on an island (anywhere) to export value-added produce to them.  The project teams must both collaborate and compete.  Teams must try to make enough money for one school to visit the other.  The team that makes the most money will decide who visits whom.

Fishbone     Book Three

This pre-designed enterprise project involves student pairs applying quality-management techniques such as the ‘fishbone’ to their school and then introducing the techniques to people in local workplaces. This sample includes templates.