EduCon 2.7

Our conversation will explore the journey students would take in a Social Entrepreneurs class, an authentic problem-based course. Students in the course will learn about themselves as members of an organization, about themselves as collaborators, and about their learning styles. This course is not theoretical; students will translate their ideas into a working business model beyond the classroom. Ultimately, students in this course will become part of an educated, ethical, and empathetic classroom community.

Participants in our conversation will follow the scope of the course by engaging in self-reflection and by identifying our passions. From there we will marry our passions with a social justice need in our communities. Next we will organize into functional teams and engage in early stages of the design thinking process such as research and empathy. We can fast-pace the simulation by plunging into the final element of the course and the latter components of design thinking as we iterate business plans for our student-run business.

We will conclude the conversation by discussing ways to bring this type of course into our schools, the challenges such a course presents, and the benefits of this type of offering for students.