Local Entrepreneurs: Student-Led PBL
If you are looking for a PBL business project, this one is the way to go! This PBL business project may be the best way to introduce entrepreneurship to your class. When students shadow a local entrepreneur, they learn first-hand about the implications of starting a business, getting it off the ground and running it. Try this authentic PBL business project with your students and have them share their stories amongst peers!
ROADMAP
Stage 1 - Coordinate Experience
In order to participate in this experience, you will need to identify an entrepreneur in your local community that inspires and interests you. You will then need to communicate with this entrepreneur and pitch your interest in shadowing or working alongside them to learn about their business. Once the entrepreneur has agreed to be your mentor, you can coordinate opportunities to meet with and work alongside them.
Identify a Local Entrepreneur: Brainstorm entrepreneurs in the community that you might like to work with using a medium of your choice. What are some local businesses that you'd like to learn more about? If you could own and operate your own business what product or service would you provide? Are there any businesses nearby that fit within those interests?
Plan Your Pitch: The entrepreneur that you would like to work with needs to agree to work with you. Write a script that you can use or reference when proposing the experience to your entrepreneur of choice. Include who you are, what you would like from them, and how the experience can be mutually beneficial.
Connect with Entrepreneurs: Contact entrepreneurs that you would like to work with. Propose the mentorship/shadowing experience to the entrepreneur(s). Record an entrepreneur that agrees to work with you here.
Set up Meetings: Create a shareable calendar using Google, Canva, or another calendar program of your choice and share it with the entrepreneur you will be working with. Set up your first meeting with the entrepreneur and add it to the calendar.
Stage 2 - Project Plan
In this phase of the experience, you will map out a general plan for the experience. You have secured an entrepreneur to shadow and a business that you will learn about. Now you will develop the details, purpose, and plan of action as it relates to the experience.
Purpose: The idea behind this experience is to gain insight into the world of entrepreneurship and highlight and celebrate local entrepreneurs. But your specific purpose is unique to you. Write a purpose statement that summarizes what this experience means to YOU. Example: The purpose of this experience for me is to encourage community members to invest in their communities by shopping locally.
Brainstorm Driving Question: Write a driving question that includes purpose, action, audience, and impact. Example: How can I create a video promotion that inspires locals to invest in the community by supporting local businesses?
Brainstorm Authentic Learning Activities: What authentic learning activities can you participate in that will help fulfill your purpose or answer your driving question? Examples: Shadowing the entrepreneur for a day, interviewing employees, visiting product production facilities, etc.
Final Product: Determine how you will document the mentorship experience (Ex: video promotion, portfolio, documentary, photo journal, profile article, etc).
Authentic Presentation: Determine how to best reach your audience. You will share your final product (video promotion, article, photo journal, etc.) with an authentic audience. Who is your audience and how will you reach them?
Stage 3 - Exploration
The focus of this project is to highlight one local entrepreneur. You will learn about the entrepreneur and their business by working directly with them. What do YOU want to know about the entrepreneur and their business? What do you wonder about the entrepreneur and/or the daily operations of the business? What do you want the community to know about the business? What do you hope to learn from this experience? Use this section to determine exactly what you want to explore and/or gain from this experience.
Background Research: Conduct research about the entrepreneur and the business before working with them directly. What is their service or product? What is their niche? How and when did they get their start? In what ways have they impacted the community? Add notes here using a medium of your choice.
On-Site Exploration: What do you still wonder about the entrepreneur and/or the business? Write a minimum of 10 questions that you would like to ask the entrepreneur during the shadow/mentorship experience.
Stage 4 - Task List
Now that you have a plan in place you can start to write a to-do list. Add every task you can think of to help you stay organized.
Plan a timeline of to do's
Stage 5 - Evidence of Learning
Add evidence of learning as you complete each element of your project-based learning experience.
Authentic Learning Experiences: Add videos, photos, a written reflection, or any other medium to showcase authentic learning activity experiences as you have them. For example, if you shadow the entrepreneur for the day, add evidence here. If you interview some of the employees, add evidence here.
Final Product: Add evidence of your final product using a medium of your choice. Write a short reflection on the final product creation experience. Examples of evidence include an attached video promotion, a short clip of your documentary, a link to a digital photo journal, etc.
Authentic Presentation: Add evidence of your authentic presentation. You can choose the evidence medium (written reflection, photos, video, etc.)
Stage 6 - Progress Feedback
Evaluate progress as you go. You can ask for feedback anytime, especially at times when you're feeling stuck. Evaluation periods have been outlined in this project stage. Feel free to use the rubric attached here as an evaluation tool.
Final Product First Draft: Share the first draft of your final product with your peers for feedback. Make adjustments based on their suggestions. Summarize feedback and suggestions here.
Self-Evaluate Second Draft of Final Product: Self-evaluate the project experience as a whole. Summarize your self-evaluation here.
Third Draft Final Product: When you are at the stage of finalizing your final product, share the current draft with your instructor for feedback. Summarize feedback, suggestions, and adjustments made here.
Stage 7 - Reflection
Reflect on this project-based learning experience as a whole. You can write a written reflection in essay format, create a video or audio reflection, or even reflect verbally with a peer, your instructor, and/or community experts.
Reflect on the experience using a medium of your choice (ex: essay, video, audio, etc). What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome those obstacles? What are you the proudest of? What strengths did you bring to the experience? What are the implications of this experience? How has this experience impacted the community as a whole? How will this experience continue to impact the community? How can you apply this experience to your life or your future?
Stage 8 - Extension Options
What more could be done to continue your work? How could you build upon the experience, learn more, gain more skills? Browse the extension options/suggestions provided here.
Iterate: This extension option suggests hosting an in-person or virtual career day that focuses on business. Invite local entrepreneurs to set up booths/exhibits that students and community members can visit. Brainstorm event ideas and elements using a medium of your choice.
Plan: Develop a planner/calendar and plan the details of this event.
Final Product: Add evidence of your final product (ex: photos, slides, video).
Reflection: Summarize and reflect on the experience. What went well? What challenges did you face? What was the most important takeaway from the experience? How did this experience impact your community?
Write a Business Plan
Ideate: Now that you have experienced business in action, consider writing your own business plan. Use the project-based learning experience with a local entrepreneur to inspire business ideas. Brainstorm business ideas here using a medium of your choice.
Business Plan: Write your business plan. You can find business plan templates online or at community business bureaus. Attach your business plan here.
Reflection: Summarize and reflect on the experience. What went well? What challenges did you face? What was the most important takeaway from the experience? How did this experience impact your community?
Marketing Plan
Ideate: Help the business that you worked with for the first part of your project market their product or service. Collaborate with the business to create and execute a marketing campaign. Brainstorm marketing campaign ideas here using a medium of your choice.
Final Product: Add evidence of your final product, which in this case is the marketing campaign that you developed.
Reflection: Summarize and reflect on the experience. What went well? What challenges did you face? What was the most important takeaway from the experience? How did this experience impact your community?
Choose Your Own
Ideate: Brainstorm ways to deepen learning by extending this PBL experience. Use a brainstorming method of your choice (mind map, sketch, brain dump).
Final Product: Add evidence of your final product (ex: photos, a slideshow, video footage, etc).
Reflection: Summarize and reflect on the experience. What went well? What challenges did you face? What was the most important takeaway from the experience? How did this experience impact your community?
Stage 9 - Final Evaluation
Share your project experience with your class and instructor. You can also consider inviting the entrepreneur that you worked with to observe your presentation as well. Collect evaluations from your audience. Use the rubric included here as your evaluation form or create your own evaluation. Communicate with your instructor about the evaluation tool that you will use.
Self-evaluation: Self-evaluate and summarize your evaluation here.
Peer evaluation: Collect peer evaluations and add some of their feedback and suggestions here.
Instructor evaluation: Summarize your instructor's evaluation here.
Community expert evaluation: Have your community expert(s) complete evaluations and summarize them here.
If you are interested in trying out this PBL business project with your students you can access the project on Spinndle.