Social Work

Objective:

• To expose students to working within a high pressure, novel, real-world environment.
• To develop students presentation and communication skills.
• To develop students teamwork and interpersonal skills.
• To develop students ability to communicate information effectively to diverse audiences.

Overview:

The ability to work well as a team, to develop and manage effective relationships with a diverse range of audiences, and to be skilled in communication are essential for any student, irrespective of their programme of study, or future career aspirations.

This simple activity encourages students to develop these skills, by inviting them to become the teachers, working in teams to develop presentations, and delivering them to a given audience.

The activity requires minimal presentation, can be easily adapted to suit any group, with ample room to extension activities, and also serves as an effective revision activity for students.

Activity:

Pre-Activity

• Set-up for this activity is minimal.
• You may wish to gather any resources or props in advance of the session, available for students to use in delivering their presentations.
• You may wish to invite in a particular individual or group, to serve as an audience to student presentations.
• You may wish to set students preparatory work to do in advance of the session.

Part 1

• Inform students that they are to prepare a presentation of a given length, on a given subject, for presentation to an audience.
• Provide students with information regarding the subject matter which must be covered.
• Provide students with information regarding the audience for their presentation – To enhance the 'real' element to this task, an external audience may be invited to receive these presentations. This could include students from other courses or year groups, school students, industry relevant professionals or otherwise.
• Provide students with a deadline by which their presentations must be ready to deliver - To provide students with experience of working under pressure, with risk and uncertainly, this deadline could be very tight (i.e. a matter of minutes or hours), with no prior warning of the task. If depth of research and quality of presentation takes precedence, this activity could be spread across a number of sessions, or students provided with advance warning in order to prepare appropriately.

Part 2

• Students organise themselves into teams.
• Within teams, students delegate tasks, and research and prepare their presentations.
• You may wish to allow students access to any appropriate props and resources, computers etc. to support them in this (as time and circumstance permits).
• You may wish to set additional rules to groups (for example, every individual within the group must speak during the presentation).

Part 3

• Students deliver their presentations to one another, and their invited audience.
• You may wish to allow the audience to ask questions to presenters and for students to assess one another as they present.
• You may wish for presentation to be recorded.

Post Activity

• Students can feedback on their experience of the activity (what did they enjoy? what did they find most challenging? what did the activity teach them?).
• If filmed, recording of presentations may be watched and analysed, or made available to students as revision tools.

Skill Development:

• Students will develop their team work and communication skills, be better equipped to work to tight deadlines and under pressure, and more adept at communicating information in an appropriate way for a given audience.
• They will have had opportunities to reflect on their own abilities as communicators, and considers means by which they could improve.
• They will have consolidated the knowledge they were set to present through the task.

Resources:

• An appropriate audience for students to present to.
• Assess to resources, for students use in preparing presentations.

Associated Case Studies

• Teaching the Teachers

Objective:

Entrepreneurs need to be able to act out different roles in different situations. A good entrepreneur is a good actor. In building relationships with different stakeholders the entrepreneur will need to act out different roles –with a banker, venture capitalist, government official, employee, regulator, customer and so on. It is a key essence of entrepreneurship to see oneself through the eyes of major stakeholders. As well as building personal confidence there is a strong emphasis upon being creative under pressure making collective decisions rapidly and working together as a team.

Overview:

The use of drama is the creation and performance by an individual or group of an incident, scenario or sequence of events designed to portray the emotional and relationship as well as cognitive aspects of the scene. Its use can serve a number of purposes:

• It is a reminder that no information received from interviews and research approaches (no matter how good the checklist) is truly objective. The results always reflect the values and beliefs of the person interviewed and often their recent experiences and emotions. For example, a person who has recently been convicted by police of a speeding traffic offence will have a different response to questions about the role and value of the police force in general than someone who has just been saved by the police from an assault. A dramatic presentation of interviews will demand interpretation of the emotions behind the message.
• It demands of the creators of the drama that they must put themselves 'in the shoes' of the provider of information and see the results from their point of view. The conventional academic process of data collection often makes little or no demand upon understanding the data from the providers' point of view.
• Drama demands that individual characters in the drama are understood through the eyes of the other characters. The dramatist makes the character believable by portraying him/her through the eyes of other characters in the drama.
• Messages and information delivered in innovative ways will make a bigger impact and can create wider understanding. Entrepreneurs often need to use creative ways of delivering messages. TV advertising is, for example, drama. A presentation can be dramatic to make an impact.
• Drama provides training in acting skills, which build confidence and ability to personally project.
• Developing a drama demands the use of creative ability often the need is to develop a metaphor to enhance the impact of a message or indeed generalise it.
• Developing drama in groups also creates a powerful bonding process.

Activity:

Use of drama can take a number of forms including Role Play and Hot Seating (see further How To Guides).

Participants can be asked, in small groups, to create a scene portraying a single message, often through metaphor. For example, in the entrepreneurship context they can be asked to prepare a short scene portraying one of a number of entrepreneurial behaviours or attributes e.g. entrepreneurial risk taking; opportunity identification; initiative taking; strong sense of autonomy; networking; learning by doing, and so on. The 'audience' of other participants is then invited to guess the message, to score the creativity of the metaphor and the degree of entertainment delivered.

The drama can also be constructed around a piece of research - for example, in the context of dramatising a series of interviews as a method of enhancing insight into the results of formal data collection. In this case the key issues arising from the research are discussed in a group and the messages to be delivered are set out. A metaphor is then created and dramatised under guidance and later performed. The audience is then asked to record the key messages of the drama and to score the presentation for creativity and entertainment.

Skill Development:

Participants gain understanding of the emotional aspects of knowledge and how difficult it is to be truly objective. They understand the importance of gaining empathy and insight into the passions, emotions and contexts of situations. They learn about the process of consolidation of ideas and of the importance of presenting these creatively but in a form that will be easily understood.

Resources:

• A Compendium of Pedagogies for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Professor Alan Gibb and Alison Price  
• For further guidance on related activities referenced in this guide (above) see the ETCToolkit How To Guides 'Compendium of Pedagogies: THE USE OF ROLE PLAY' and 'Compendium of Pedagogies: THE USE OF HOT SEATS

References:

N/A

Objective:

• Break the ice and build energy in a classroom setting.
• Encourage students to think more creatively when problem- solving.
• Feel how movement can be an active component of the learning process.

Overview:

How do you make rain inside a room? This is the opening question for a playful, kinaesthetic, exercise that can help students begin to think more creatively and collaborate as a group. In a round circle of 15 or more, participants work together to create the sound of light rain that then escalates to a powerful storm and back to light rain. 

Usage Suggestions

This exercise works for all audiences, undergraduate, graduate, and executive. The exercise is best positioned at the start of a session or a class as a non- traditional opener. 

Activity: 

Pre-Work Required by Students

• None.

Time Plan (15 minutes)

Exercise 0:00–0:08 (8 minutes)

The instructor should begin with the following challenge: "If we wanted to make it rain in this classroom right now, how could this be accomplished?"

Students will offer the more obvious solutions such as: light a fire so the sprinkler system will go off; bring in a bucket of water and throw it up in the air; shake a closed bottle of carbonated water and then open it. Note that many of these solutions are individual based, and they are neither realistic nor innovative. When there are no more ideas, ask the students to form a circle (shoulder to shoulder) in the room and announce the following: “We are going to make rain together as a group. Only do what the person to your right is doing and don't start until the person on your right starts.” The “rain” is made during a series of seven rounds. The instructor begins each round, and then the person to the left will do exactly as the instructor does. The rounds flow into one another; there is never a break in the flow of making the rain.

• Round 1: rubbing hands together. The instructor begins by rubbing his or her hands together palm to palm. The person on the immediate left should immediately follow. Eventually the entire group will be rubbing their hands together. When hand rubbing reaches the person to the immediate right of the instructor, it's time for round 2.
• Round 2: snaps. While everyone is still rubbing their hands together the instructor then begins snapping his or her fingers of both hands. The person on the left should immediately follow. Eventually the entire group will move from rubbing hands to snapping fingers. When the snapping of fingers reaches the person to the immediate right of the instructor, it's time for round 3.
• Round 3: slapping hands on thighs. Repeat the format of the previous rounds. Transition to round 4 when thigh slapping reaches the person to the instructor's immediate right.
• Round 4: stomping feet while slapping hands on thighs. The storm is at its peak during this round. Repeat the format of previous rounds.
• Round 5: return to slapping hands on thighs. Repeat the format of the previous rounds.
• Round 6: snaps return, and the storm begins to subside. Repeat the format of the previous rounds.
• Round 7: rub hands together so the light rain returns, and then end. Repeat the format of the previous rounds.

Congratulate the students for making rain and creating a storm and initiate a round of applause.

Debrief 0:08–0:15 (7 minutes)

The following questions are suggested for debriefing:

• When I asked the question about creating rain, why did your answers not consider “sound” or other ways to create rain?
• What does this mean for how you think about creating opportunities? Problem solving?
• What was your reaction when I asked you to get into a circle?
• How did you feel before, during, and after the exercise?

Teaching Tips

Here are a few tips to ensure a true rainmaking experience:

• Every round must flow into the next without stopping.
• The instructor sets the tone for each round because he or she is the first to go. For example, it's important to slap hands on thighs rather hard to get the sound needed. The same can be said for stomping.
• Students have a tendency to want to all start rubbing their hands together when the first person starts. It's important that each person waits to start (or change) until the person to his or her right starts or changes. The instructor may have to start, stop, and restart in the first round to make the point regarding who does what activity when.

Skill Development:

Key Takeaways

• Our frames of reference are the starting point for problem solving and creating, yet these frames are limiting.
• There is usually uncertainty associated with asking students to get into a circle, but through collaboration this uncertainty is diminished and something completely unexpected is created.
• Entrepreneurship requires action. Simply moving your body can have an immediate impact on emotions, motivation, and confidence to continue.

Resources:

• The following YouTube video illustrates the power of the exercise: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v5LKDGCgXtETc.
• The full text 'Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach' can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.114 – 117). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Attribution

• This exercise has been used by teachers of all levels, though it's not clear who created the exercise. See http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index. php?title5Make_it_Rain.

Theoretical Foundations

• Gardner, H. 2011. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Author:

• This exercise is taken from, Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.114 – 117). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub, and is reprinted with the kind permission of the authors.

Objective:

• To encourage students to work effectively in teams.
• To develop students' abilities to delegate tasks, make decisions quickly, and deliver results under pressure.
• To develop students creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Overview:

The Egg Challenge is a fun activity, ideal to stimulate effective team working, creativity and effective problem solving with any group.

Split into small groups, learners are each given a real, raw egg, and a simple challenge: to prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 2 metres!

To assist them, students are given a small number of resources, and set against the clock to complete the challenge.

The activity works well as an ice-breaker, or as the introduction to a larger topic. It takes approximately 20 – 30 minutes to complete.

N.B. This activity uses raw eggs, and will not be suitable for learners will egg allergies.

Activity:

1. Organise the group into small teams (2 – 3 per team is ideal)
2. Provide each team with a raw egg (stress that the egg is raw, and should be handles carefully!)
3. Instruct teams that their eggs will soon be dropped from a height of 2m, and their challenge will be to prevent their egg from breaking. (You may wish to drop eggs from a different height, based on accessibility, and the space available. For example, if safe and appropriate, you may wish to drop eggs from an upstairs window, or in a stair well, to provide a considerable height. The higher the eggs are dropped from, the more exciting the challenge becomes!)
4. Inform teams that to complete the challenge, they will be given a set of materials (2x pieces of A4 paper, 4x drinking straws, 1m of string, 1x balloon and a role of sticky tape).
5. Using these, and only these materials, they must construct something around their egg, to protect it as it as drops.
6. Instruct the group that successful teams will be those whose eggs survive without a crack, and that they have 20 minutes to complete their constructions!
7. As groups work, ensure all stick to the rules that have been set, and provide regular time checks. (You may wish to play fast-paced music in the background as students' work, to add additional energy and tension to the task).
8. To add an element of silliness, you may wish to encourage teams to come up with team names (egg puns always prove popular), or provide felt-tips for teams to draw character faces on their eggs!
9. When time is up, instruct all groups to pass their constructions (eggs included) to the testing area. (In view of the whole class, set up an appropriate area for testing. You may wish to ensure the floor is appropriately covered to cater for any mess if eggs break!)
10. One by one, invite teams to explain to the group the reasoning behind their designs, before dropping their constructions from a height.
11. Retrieve the egg, and announce to the group whether the team have been successful, inviting applause.
12. Finish the session by inviting students to identify the skills they have developed through the activity, and how these apply to their academic and business practice. What was the difference between successful and unsuccessful teams? (Team work? Build Quality? Etc.).

Challenge Solution

There are numerous ways of successfully completing this challenge. Design ideas include;

• Using the paper to make a parachute
• Shedding the paper and using as padding
• Using the balloon as cushioning
• Constructing a basket for the egg using straws.

Successful designs tend to be those where weight is well balanced, where the egg resides near the centre of the construction, and where there is no way of the egg making direct contact with the floor on impact!

Skill Development:

After this activity, students will have a greater appreciation of how they work as teams, and how well they can perform in completing a time-limited challenge as a team under pressure. They will have stimulated their creative and problem solving capacities, and be better equipped for creative thinking, team-working, and problem solving based activities going forward.

Resources:

For each team;

• 2x pieces of A4 paper
• 1m of string
• 4x drinking straws
• 1x balloon
• 1x roll of sticky tape
• (Additional items may be added if desired to make the challenge harder / easier)

For the facilitator;

• A bin bag / floor covering for the testing area (just in case!)
• A step or footstool (if required).

Objective:

• To understand team dynamics and how teams come together to achieve a goal
• Understanding the importance of careful research, discussion and planning
• Listening to other members of the team
• Research
• Idea generation
• Sales, persuasion techniques (as needed)

Overview

This exercise is a fantastic way to get people working together as they tackle up to 10 tasks in a given time frame. With limited information (on each other and the tasks presented) the group must navigate through the challenges in order to be the most successful group (back within the time frame; most tasks achieved; most accurate delivery of the tasks). Depending on the tasks selected, specific industry or sector knowledge can be tested as widerskills of background knowledge, research and creative thinking are required. Insist upon evidence of the achievements (photos on flip or camera phones) as well as delivery of objectives.

Activity : This activity needs a long session (such as 120 minutes) to complete, reflection and analysis takes place at the end of the session.

The groups of up to 6 people are sent out to complete > 10 tasks (usually 3 cryptic, 3 researched and 4 fun)

Examples of these could include:

• To find an encryption or statue (or similar engraving) in the University Library
• Two examples of their subject/discipline in practice (photographs or illustrations of)
• Interview a relevant professional in the field
• Find a particular journal article
• How many people can you fit in a phone box
• Share a message on social media as widely as possible

These tasks should be developed beforehand to suit the environment where the day is taking place. Ensure there are fun tasks involved and that everyone has a chance to engage by creating a range of challenges that involve the physical, mental, social aspects of your learners.

To manage this challenge effectively, if it important that you:

• Give strict time frames and penalties for not meeting the time
• Consider the health and safety aspects of all the challenges and adapt to suit your learners (by keeping everyone on campus; in 1 building; or keeping all the tasks within the 1 room etc as necessary).
• Consider whether you wish to keep them all together as a team or are happy for individuals to split off to deliver tasks back to the group.

Practically it can also be helpful to give them a puzzle to solve before they can leave and a further one when they return. This means they are leaving at different times and they return to a final challenge, so that you can record time and award points.

Skill Development:

Depending upon the challenges you create, there is a wide range of transferable skills and knowledge base that you can test during this challenge. You can create tasks that draw upon their:

• Imagination and creativity
• Communication and Strategy
• Problem solving
• Teamwork and organisation
• Route Planning
• Research skills
• Leadership/Persuasion
• Decision making
• Logistics/Systems
• Speed/Precision/Efficiency
• Reflection/Review/Analysis
• Feedback

It is important that you review the challenges and how the groups tackled the tasks in order to draw out the subject learning and these wider skills, before reviewing the wider team experience by exploring:

• How the initial discussions went, did someone take the lead, was it a bit of a shouting match, was it chaos, was there a lack of ideas/too many ideas
• Whose ideas were listened to the most and why
• Who planned the route
• Who was ignored and why
• Whose ideas were taken on board and why, was a consensus achieved
• Who allocated roles
• Who put themselves forward for roles
• How did the actual production go, smooth, chaotic, who took the lead, who organised, how did it progress, how was the mood of the team?
• Was everyone involved? Did everyone need to be involved?
• How did the dynamics between the members of the group change as they went through the different stages
• Were more people involved, less people involved
• How did people participants feel at each stage, did confidence grow or recede
• What skills were employed by the task
• How are these important to a task/team

Drawing out the team dynamics will allow the students to identify the lessons that they can take forward that will improve their future group work and learning experiences.

Ask if they started by sharing their knowledge and skill set or just started on the tasks (the most typical response) and whether they would do that again. Ask when, or if they ever start a task by reviewing when they have collectively or individually undertaken something similar and what was learnt that they could take forward.

Resources:

• Prepared tasks – such as Two indoor puzzles/tasks
• Research the area for tasks to complete
• A flip phone or check if students have their own camera phone
• Flip boards or wall space to show evidence
• A prize
• A timer or watch

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• How to Guide Template
• Template Guidance

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Objective:

• To provide learners with opportunities to network and learn from their peers.
• To provide learners with opportunities to network with industry relevant experts.
• To provide learners with opportunities to enhance their subject relevant skills and knowledge.
• To provide learners with opportunities to reflect, and to plan.
• To improve learners confidence and self-belief.
• To support learners in setting up and growing their own Enterprises.

Introduction:

In north east Wales a number of criminology students (along with peers from a variety of degree programmes) develop their enterprise skills by engaging with expert guest speakers, facilitated by the Business Entrepreneurship Network.

The Business Entrepreneurship Network for Wrexham and Flintshire is a network of businesses, business support organisations, entrepreneurs and education institutions with a shared interest in supporting individuals (especially young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds), in developing their confidence, aspirations and abilities, and supporting them through the process of starting up their own businesses.

The network was established by Askar Sheibani, CEO of Comtek Network Systems LTD, and an appointed 'Entrepreneurship Champion' to Welsh Government. In 2014, having been successfully developed in Flintshire, the Network's provision was extended to Wrexham. Speaking at the launch of the Wrexham Network, Mr Sheibani said, "The aim is to increase the number of business start-ups in Wales and this trial in Wrexham will give us a better ideaof how the Flintshire model can be improved and applied in other regions. The Wrexham trial is supported by the Welsh Government and we are confident that the model – which was developed within the community at a grass roots level - will prove to be a practical and innovative way to increase the level of entrepreneurship and business start-ups in Wales."

Amongst the ways in which the Business Entrepreneurship Network supports entrepreneurs, is via fortnightly 'Enterprise Clubs.' These clubs are coordinated in Wrexham by NE Wales based further education institution Coleg Cambria, and feature presentations by invited guest speakers, followed by informal networking.

The use of guest speakers at enterprise clubs has been of tremendous value to learners. The clubs are held at Wrexham Library, a centrally located and publicly accessible venue, and are open to students, graduates and members of the public free of charge.

A number of regular attendees are current NE Wales based undergraduate students, from a wide-variety of degree programmes. Attendees range from those setting up their own businesses, to students looking to develop their networks and skills for employment, to those simply wishing to develop their confidence and find out more.

Activity:

Planning Guest Speaker Sessions

There is no budget to facilitate guest speakers to the Enterprise Club. As such, appropriate speakers are identified from a variety of sources, including;

• Contacts from the professional networks for the Business Entrepreneurship Network and its supporters.
• Representatives from a variety of business support organisations (who are able to cover their costs from their own funds).
• Funded schemes, for examples, the Welsh Government funded 'Big Ideas Wales Role Model' network.
• Experts from further and higher education (able to offer their time in kind).

Club members are invited to suggest the topics and themes they would like the club to cover in the coming weeks and months, and speakers are sourced to meet these specific needs, ensuring sessions are always relevant to their audience. Speakers are generally confirmed two weeks prior to a club meeting, allowing for the sessions to be promoted through a club mailing list, through professional networks, through general press release, and through social media.

Facilitating Guest Speaker Sessions

_{Figure 1. Attendees discussing ideas at the BEN Enterprise Club}

Enterprise Club sessions last for 2 hours. The general running order is as follows;

• The club’s facilitator (Lynn Williams, Business Lecturer at Coleg Cambria) welcomes attendees.
• The speaker is introduced to the group.
• The speaker delivers a talk / workshop for approximately 1 hour. AV presentation facilities are provided for speakers who require them. (The majority of guest speakers deliver sessions inclusive of amble discussion points and break away activities).
• The facilitator invites Q and A from the group at the end of the talk.
• For the second hour of the session, refreshments are provided, and guest speakers and club members are invited to stay, discuss the content covered in the session, and informally discuss problems, achievements and ideas.
• The facilitator thanks for guest speaker and group for their attendance, and the group are invited to suggest topics they would like to visit at the club in the weeks and months ahead.
• The details of the following club presentation are promoted to the group, and the club is brought to a close.

Impact:

The guest speaker sessions have made a huge impact on the club attendees. The first hand, up-to-date, and relevant knowledge and expertise which speakers have passed on to club members, is directly applicable to the groups of needs and endeavours, and the opportunity to network with speakers and fellow club attendees has led to numerous mentoring relationships and collaborative projects, and allowed members of the group to identify bespoke solutions to their own specific problems.

Approximately 100 unique individuals have participated in the guest speaker sessions to date, with average attendances of 10 participants at each club meeting, and with many new enterprises being launched by club members.

Learner outcome:

Comments from regular club attendees have included;

"The staff, the entrepreneurs and the members have helped me out a lot and not just with my business. They have boosted my confidence and made me feel like I could really achieve my dreams."

"BEN has helped me a great deal with starting up my business and I have been given so much positive feedback from both mentors and fellow members."

"The BEN Club has allowed me to work with a great mentor and meet great people with passion for business."

Resources:

• An appropriate meeting venue.
• A network from which guest speakers can be provided.
• For a How-To Guide and utilising guest speakers, see 'Guest Speaker Guidance.'

References:

• Coleg Cambria - Entrepreneurship. 2015 [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cambria.ac.uk/about/entrepreneurship/. [Accessed 21 August 2015].
• Role Models | Big Ideas Wales. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://business.wales.gov.uk/bigideas/our-role-models. [Accessed 21 August 2015].
• Welsh Government | Business Entrepreneurship Network launches in Wrexham. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at:http://gov.wales/newsroom/businessandeconomy/2014/8464399/?lang=en. [Accessed 21 August 2015].
• Zone Enterprise Hub. 2015. Course: Zone Enterprise Hub. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37%2522%2520target%253D%2522_blank%2522. [Accessed 21 August 2015].

Author:

www.macorcoran.com

With thanks to Lynn Williams, Coleg Cambria – lynn.williams@cambria.ac.uk

Objective:

This 4 day programme took a self-led journey of discovery in the great outdoors, with the design of the course giving time to reflect between tasks and activities. This dynamic concept was transformational complimenting the standard (Kolb) cycle of learning (see references).

The programme had a focus on leadership, communication, problem solving skills and teamwork: all higher education driven employability skills. It supported a mixed group of students and service users of an addiction rehabilitation service, working together to support their own development and build skills.

It was a collaboration between Glyndwr University Careers, ARCH Initiatives and Active Adventure. The project group included service users and HE students working collaboratively, alongside support staff from all of the 3 partner organisations.

Introduction:

Experiencing the outdoors can be a powerful stimulus for learning. Being deep in a forest, feeling alone on a hillside or just sharing a cup of tea around a fire can set us off on a path that changes the way we think about ourselves, our relationships and way we live our lives.

Being outdoors unlocks a rich collection of stories and concepts to explore.

Through this project individuals were able to reflect and make changes – often over a long period of time. Some participants were helped by others to make sense of something and appreciate it.

The project looked at being outdoors as an educational experience, exploring questions including;

• What can we do to deepen learning and support change?
• How can learning be ‘brought back home or to the classroom’?
• How can experiencing the outdoors become part of people’s everyday lives and relationships?
• In developing community capacity, how we encourage and help adults and young people in local communities to see the importance of outdoor experience and take opportunities to enjoy and learn from it?

Activity:

Day 1: Mountain Biking and a Raft build (Teamwork-Leadership-Communication) based on the Marine Lake at Rhyl in North Wales.

Day 2: Quality Mountain Day with a team task (Teamwork-Leadership-Communication) located within the mountains of North Wales.

Day 3-4: Team Development Course (Residential) – The final exercise, within bunk house accommodation, concluding with a final presentation which involved participants delivering their own learning log to the rest of the group, reflecting on the physical and mental journey they had taken over the duration of the course.

Figure 1: The group enjoying their activities

Impact:

The impact was significant as outdoor learning brings people into a direct relationship with the ‘elements’ – earth, air, water and fire and strips away many of the means we have developed to ‘protect’ ourselves from their impact. Making do with what’s around and having an experience that’s not catered, comfy and plain sailing, with things that are not planned (but safe!) helps/forces us to try something that’s scary: for example, night games in dark fields with no torches!

As such outdoor learning throws people back on their own resources, and allows them to connect with the world in a different way. It often entails challenging situations where the unexpected can happen and where different responses are demanded.

People find incredible strength, confidence and self-determination through operating in the outdoors, pushing the boundaries both physically and culturally. Clients have been encouraged to gain the Mountain Leader’s Award, and are able to take others climbing with confidence and transfer positivity onto other young people.

Outdoor learning is often demanding in terms of our bodies: we have to learn new skills and carry on when we would rather stop. In my experience it pushes people to the edge of their comfort zone, throwing them in the deep-end to deepen their learning.

This project is maintaining a long term perspective as changes often take time to surface or to become embedded. People need space to talk and think about their experiences and opportunities to try things out with consistent support over time.

That is why we are using the MTQ48 measure so we can map outcomes over a period of time (see references).

Learner outcomes:

Learner outcomes have been measured by using the MTQ48 resilience measure at the beginning of the 4 day programme and again at the end of the project.

A distance travelled report is generated and trained counsellors support participants to reflect upon the findings and develop action plans to move forward.

Each participant also completes an Employability Skill Audit which allows the participants to reflect upon achievement made and new skills gathered whilst exploring further development required where gaps are identified.

Resources:

• Outdoor pursuit equipment
• Mountain bikes
• Climbing and safety equipment.
• Transportation: minibus hires, public transport, walking distances etc.
• Accommodation: residential centre, camping, self-built shelters, boats etc.
• Food: self-catering, all inclusive, ration packs etc.

References:

• ARCH - Transforming futures. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.archfutures.com/. [Accessed 14 December 2015].
• Glyndŵr University - Careers. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/en/Studentsupport/Careers/. [Accessed 14 December 2015].
• Inspiring Partnership to Help Transform Lives. Liverpool Echo. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/in-your-area/sponsored-10559897. [Accessed 14 December 2015].
• Kolb's Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle. Simply Psychology. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html. [Accessed 14 December 2015].
• MTQ48. AQR. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aqr.co.uk/page/mtq48. [Accessed 14 December 2015].

If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the Case Study.

• Case Study Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.

Objective:

• Develop their own ‘marketing message’ – content that can be used to describe their product / service that will inform customers about what it is; inspire them to make a purchase by explaining the benefits the product / service offers; and provide details of how to engage so that the customers knows what to do to make a purchase.

Overview:

The focus of this task is to develop a well-constructed marketing message which describes the benefits of a product/service to customers.

Activity:

Instructions  

Invite the entrepreneur to complete the ‘Message Matrix’ below to describe their product or service:

By sharing and discussing their Message Matrix with a business development provider or fellow entrepreneur, the ‘Marketing Message’ can be refined and developed to ensure that it is clear, understandable to a wider audience and that key information is not omitted.

This activity can be undertaken for different groups of customers as a slightly different message may be needed for each.

Skill Development:

By working in groups, or through watching each other present their work, students are able to learn further and deepen their own work.  It is useful to draw any presentation or discussion session to a close by asking what they now wished they had done, or what they are now going to do, in order to ensure there is action from learning.

Objective:

• Know about a range of ideas and concepts about enterprising mind-set and entrepreneurship
• Reconnecting with your creativity 
• Introduction to design thinking and exploring a challenge 
• Apply design thinking to addressing a challenge 
• Developing a chosen idea (including proto-typing if possible) 
• Introduction to engaging others in your ideas (moving beyond a ‘Pitch’) 
• Introduction to crowd funding and funding the idea from within the student and stakeholder audience (external if possible)

Introduction: 

This session suits larger groups of learners being introduced to the concept of enterprise, creative thinking and solving complex challenges. Working with interdisciplinary groups works best to encourage maximum creativity and adds depth to the chosen solution. An introduction to effective engagement with audiences which moves beyond a pitch is introduced and the session closes with the audience crowd funding the idea using specially designed local currency. 

Activity:

This is best run over a 4-6 hour period and can be split between 2-3 sessions to allow for further research into the challenge. Session starts with some team building activities set firmly within the context of the challenge. This can help students to better appreciate the challenge area and develop empathy with various perspectives/realities in relation to the challenge.  

Then follows some creativity exercises with an introduction to design thinking. Teams then apply this process (as time allows) through to completion with ideally prototypes being developed (if not posters/electronic adverts etc). 

Then the large group is introduced to the need for effective and authentic engagement of themselves and their ideas (moving beyond the ‘pitch’). Individual or group presentations are developed and practiced. Depending on timing and group size, there can then follow a couple of rounds of presentations with a final selection presenting to the whole group. Ideally this should include at least one external stakeholder/s linked to the challenge context (clinical/engineering/finance etc) able to provide authentic feedback. 

It can be fun then to introduce/revisit the concept of crowd funding and provide everyone in the audience with some currency (we have developed some university notes) and get them to fund their favourite proposal. Of course it could be that there will be some real funding available…

Impact:

This works best with some facilitators to help support the various groups as they progress through each activity and often can make a significantly positive impact where groups from different curriculum areas meet for the first time. Utilising external stakeholders to share their challenges can also help to add real value and excitement for learners. Learners tend to enjoy the active nature of the workshop and the rigours of presenting to an external stakeholder with potential solutions to the challenges set. 

Learner outcome:

Tend to see an increased awareness of wider enterprise and boost in confidence in terms of team working, design thinking, negotiation and engagement with audiences. A useful taster for deeper enterprising learning. Skilled reflection is vital throughout and post session/s through on-going programme.  Depending on the nature of the ‘challenge’ this can be extended to a module/programme duration.

Resources: 

• Team building activities based in context – e.g. Clinical setting/Engineering/Creative/Education. 
• Usual flip charts and pens etc. 
• Raw materials for prototyping if possible 
• Electronic devices to film short presentations 
• Bespoke Currency for crowd funding session 
• Prizes 

References:

Brown, T (2008) Design Thinking, Harvard Business Review, June 2008  (pages 85 – 92)
Dweck, C (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, By Dweck, Carol S. ( Author ) Dec-26-2007 Paperback
Krueger, N.F.Jr. (2010) 13 Looking Forward, Looking Backward: From entrepreneurial Cognition to Neuroentrepreneurship in Acs, Z.K and Audretsch, D.B. (eds.), 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, Springer 
Westfall, C (2012) The New Elevator Pitch: the definitive guide to persuasive communication in the digital age, Marie Street Press  

Objectives:

• To build a profile of (future) customer as a person
• To develop the business offer through a broader understanding of the customer needs
• To  support critical thinking and evaluation of ideas 

Overview: 

This exercise enables students to demonstrate their understanding of their potential customer and deepen that understanding to create a robust offer.

Activity: 

Give each group or individual a sheet of paper with an outline of (non-male or female) person drawn in the middle. 

Ask them to depict on the figure what they might know about their (future) customer.  This requires them to visually-describe their customer, including things like: 

• Where do they live, work, spend time outside of work and home
• How much do they earn
• Where else might they access products/services like yours
• How do they think, feel
• What experience do they expect 
• What concerns do they have
• What life to do they lead

The purpose is to try and establish a real understanding of what is important to a potential customer, rather than drawing out key “facts” about them (disposable income etc).

Once all the drawings are done, everyone looks collectively at the different customer outlines and tries to add further understanding from what they can see.  The owner of the drawing need not accept these, but can include anything relevant onto their picture.

Once every drawing has been explored, each team/individual needs to articulate one message that they have learnt from this exercise that they can take forward into their planning.  So if offering fast-food to a student customer base, they may have identified price as critical.  However the wider discussion might have identified that students may also select to eat somewhere that is offering free wifi to allow them to connect with others or make plans with each other.  Or if the customer base was a family, then other elements that are important to them such as child-friendly parking, might indicate 1 premises to be more attractive than another.  This “linked” thinking allows the student to draw out the wider benefits of their product or service and explore it in order to create an effective offer.

Skill Development: 

Whilst this task can be based on initial research undertaken by the student, the critical thinking comes from the assumptions that the wider group offer to develop their thinking.  This shows the power of group work and allows the students to deepen their own thinking through the examples of others.

It is useful to explore this task at the end of the session to see how the groups found sharing and testing their assumptions in a group environment.

Resources: 

Paper, pens, flipchart (outline of a person)

If you would like to have your How to Guide featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the How to Guide.

• How to Guide Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.

If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the Case Study.

• Case Study Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.