Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Ideas to get you fired up

20 minutes

Find Out: Issues and solutions

25 minutes

Take Action: Resource scavenger hunt

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will...

understand good ideas can spring from less successful ideas
see the value of resources at hand in the school.

Success criteria

Students can...

generate enterprise ideas for their social cause
work together to find the good hidden among deliberately ridiculous ideas
identify useful resources and suggest uses for those resources in their enterprise.

Tune In: Ideas to get you fired up

Step 1

Explain to students that in this lesson, they will be coming up with ideas for their social enterprise. The focus here is on IDEAS. Ask students to keep in mind that getting as many ideas out into the open as possible is incredibly important to a successful enterprise, and not to get bogged down in the details of whether it will or won't work (the planning aspect comes later).

Step 2

In the following video, students will see an excellent example of a good idea terribly (but also brilliantly) executed.

The Breakf a st Machine (youtube.com/watch?v=E2evC2xTNWg)

Step 3

As a class, briefly discuss:

What might be the aim of creating this robot?
How successful was the robot in achieving the aim?
Jokes aside, where might this sort of robot be useful?

The idea behind this is to highlight that while the robot fulfils its role of serving cereal and feeding its user, there are people in the world who could benefit from such devices. For individuals with mobility challenges or limb differences, a robot similar to this could make a significant difference to its user in terms of improving their quality of life. And so, for all this robot comically throws around the cereal and milk and fails to offer any food to its user, it is proof that a bad idea can be the first step to something much better.

Find Out: Issues and solutions

Step 1

To get the idea train on the tracks, break the class into small groups of no more than five students per group and hand out the large sheets of paper and markers. Tell students this activity is called 'Ideas to get you fired' and involves students putting themselves in the place of a group of employees tasked with coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible, no matter how ridiculous. If anything, we want ridiculous, we didn't give this activity that name for a joke!

Without a doubt, you've already thought of that one student who will take this just a little too far (or beyond "far" and into another dimension). You know your students, you know who needs a gentle reminder not to take liberties with the brief. We want to get fired for audacious ideas, not for being crude or vulgar.

Ask the groups to consider the social issue you are going to champion through your social enterprise: What solutions can the class come up with to solve the issue? Again, remind students that big, audacious, ridiculous solutions are what we are looking for here, so do not, under any circumstances, let the words "that could never happen" or "that will never work" be heard from anyone in any group. Remind students that their enterprise doesn't need to focus on products but can also be a service, too—something they can do in exchange for money.

Set a timer for 1 minute and 42 seconds (or whatever time you wish to give them, we just like random times) and tell each member of the group to write as many solutions as possible on the sheet of paper. No looking at what others write, no discussion of logistics, just getting fantastic ideas out of heads and onto paper.

Learning support: Some students might need more support in coming out of their shells to make truly ridiculous ideas for fear of being mocked or not taken seriously. It is important to create a space where silliness is to be expected. When looking for the positive aspects of "bad" ideas, students may find the sort of creative thinking required challenging. Consider offering some prompts for these students through conversation. You may wish to allow some students to take pictures of potential resources using a classroom device, such as an iPad or tablet.

Step 2

With the time expired, ask the members of each group to look at their teammates' contributions. Then, have each group go and inspect the work of the other groups. If chuckles abound, you know they've understood the brief.

Step 3

Ask the students to return to their groups and select their most ridiculous idea. What is at the core of the idea that actually makes sense? For each idea, students should take note of what is most effective about that idea. Through this, they'll start to see that there is no such thing as a bad idea, just a good idea waiting to be refined, like a statue from a block of marble.

For example, hiring a marching band to parade through the streets, playing a song about the very real threat of climate change isn't likely to cause the masses to abandon their diesel utes for electric vehicles, but it will get their attention and people will talk about the issue and that makes it a good idea.

To give the students a sense of urgency, set a timer again and display this on the board or play a lively song through your computer and tell students they have as long as the song lasts to complete this part of the task.

Step 4

Ask each group to share one ridiculous idea and what it was that made it an effective strategy.

Take Action: Resource scavenger hunt

Step 1

Now that students are familiar with the idea that no idea is a bad idea (keep encouraging this idea throughout each activity), we're going to send the students off on a scavenger hunt to identify resources that may be used in their social enterprise, either as a service they can provide or a product they can sell.

Explain to students, all around us are resources we can use to build a product or develop a service. Their task is to explore the classroom, their school (their local community, and even their homes if you wish to continue this activity as homework) to find resources that can be used to build their social enterprise. Again, remind students their enterprise doesn't need to be a product but can also be a service they can provide. By the end of this activity, students should have the beginnings of an enterprise idea germinating in their head, ready for the next lesson.

Step 2

Issue pairs or groups of students with a copy of the Scavenger Hunt Worksheet, remind them once more there are no bad ideas and set them loose! To ease into the task, we suggest starting with the immediate classroom before opening the door to the rest of the school. Give the students as much time as you have available to explore as far around the school grounds as possible, leaving enough time for a debrief. Before setting out, tell the class the time you expect them to be back in the room and on their seats and make sure at least one member of each group has some way of keeping an eye on the time.

You know your students and your school context better than we do, so consider all the logistical implications of having the class roam free. How much freedom will you give to the students? Will they roam free, with you circulating around the grounds to cast a watchful eye? Will you stay in a central place so the class knows where to find you? Who needs to be informed? What ground rules do you need to set? Who's going to be that one student who will instinctively seek out opportunities for shenanigans?

You may also wish to assign each group a specific area of the school to explore, so you know where everyone is likely to be and can manage the risk of unintended shenanigans.
Depending on the time of year, this might be better spent as a 'virtual' walk through the school grounds where students are encouraged to think about each area of the grounds and building and consider what opportunities might be available in each area. You could create a list on the board as a reminder for students.

Step 3

Once students have returned to the class, go around each group and ask them to nominate one resource they discovered and what it might be used for. Are there any other uses the rest of the class can come up with?

Creating a master list of all of the resources and their uses might be useful for giving the rest of the class enterprise ideas. You could create a shared online document and have the students add to this upon their return to class. A spreadsheet is a great way to record all the information and is flexible enough to add additional columns where costs or other useful information can be recorded.

Step 4 (Optional)

If you wish students to continue to search for potential resources, encourage them to take note of resources available in the community or at home (asking for permission where relevant, of course!). Students should come with these additional resources recorded for the next lesson.

Learning extension: Students could create a record of the costs of each resource as part of their consideration for whether or not they will use that resource in their enterprise. Where appropriate, students could also approach local businesses to find out wholesale costs might be available or whether the business offers discounts for activities aligned with a social cause.

Reflection

Step 1

Having completed the lesson's activities, ask students to consider the following and record their thoughts in their notebooks:

How might you see your world differently as a result of the resource scavenger hunt?
What skills did you bring to these activities?
What learning or activity do you think was most useful for you as you build your social enterprise, and why?

Social Enterprise Education - Finding Solutions and Resources

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Summary

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