CHAT to the Future’s Social Entrepreneurship Program
Since today is #GivingTuesday I thought I would take some time to showcase and display the curriculum we’ve been working on this past semester. As the sole employee for CHAT to the Future’s Social Entrepreneurship program I have been lucky to work with so many amazing teachers, students and entrepreneurs throughout our great province.
Below I have included a brief synopsis of the material and lessons we can offer and provide in classrooms throughout the province. These have been refined and modified after different visits, and are the foundation for our program within the classroom. Some of the resources we use in the classroom can be found within the resource section of our website, however, this section is still a work in progress and will be updated before the start of the next semester (https://chatentrepreneurs.ca/resources/). Feel free to browse around and take a look at what we have created and curated thus far.
What we offer:
Social Entrepreneurship Program: 10 lessons
CHAT’s signature Social Entrepreneurship program providing extensive hands-on, project- and problem-based learning activities. Any interested teacher can pick and choose what lessons or activities they wish to incorporate into their classrooms.
Lesson 1 — Introduction of Entrepreneurship Mentor and CHAT to the Future.
- This will be a brief overview of what businesses currently use this in NB and throughout the globe. This lesson will be tailored specifically to the course being taught
Lesson 2 — What is Social Entrepreneurship?
- This lesson/activity gets them to explore the different social enterprises that exist and has them complete a bio on one they find that on the internet that interests them. (Computer access required)
Lesson 3 — Skype Session with CHAT U & What is a B Corp?
- Schedule permitting we would ideally like to introduce you to our students, and follow that up with an introduction to social entrepreneurship, CSR as well as B Corps.
Lesson 4 — Creative problem-solving: focusing on the problem, not the solution.
- Using a video of Dan Martell we hear the story of his brothers startup and how he almost lost it all. His ability to pivot at the last minute allowed him to turn his business around and become one of the premier home building companies in Moncton. The accompanying activity gets students to think differently about their product/service they create.
Lesson 5 — Tower of Power and how to pitch your idea/solution.
- This amazing activity really gets the students moving. They learn to collaborate, plan, design, and create all in one lesson.
Lesson 6 — Tower of Power Pitch sessions.
- This is a follow up lesson to Tower of Power. The students have to explore a set of questions and reflect on their project the day before. Afterwards, they have to pitch to a potential investor, why their tower was the best, and what they could have done differently. (This 2 day set is a must!)
Lesson 7 — Full ideation session using Enterprise Saint John Model.
- Following the ideation session that ESJ uses we will have students map out problems they see in their community or in the globe to get into the mindset of an entrepreneur!
Lesson 8 — Understanding your market.
- Students will dive deeper into the lean canvas model and start to understand the market they are entering. They have to answer a series of questions and do research to determine why their product is unique. (computer access preferred).
Lesson 9 — Finding your market and creating a “purple cow”.
- Read the following article on what millennial’s are looking for. Have them complete the Abacus Data’s quiz to determine what type of millennial they are. Once they understand that there are different segments within given demographics, get them to imagine a product that would be desirable for one of the 6 segments in the Abacus Data profile. Have them create a mini pitch to explain what aspects of the millennial made them chose such a product/service (computer access required).
Lesson 10 — Funding your idea
- This lesson gets students to explore the different methods of funding. They are introduced to crowdfunding and have to evaluate and find a specific idea that is currently on one of the many crowdfunding platforms and explain why they would invest in that one. (Computer access required)
Cross Curricular Program:
This program is specially intended for teachers who wish to add a social entrepreneurship perspective to their World Issues, Economics or Environmental Science course. Teachers are encouraged to choose all five lessons, but are free to cherry pick lessons that best suite their curriculum or interests.
Lesson 1 — Introduction to ethics and entrepreneurship, Fair Trade and green business.
- This will be a brief overview of what businesses currently use this in NB and throughout the globe. This lesson will be tailored specifically to the course being taught.
Lesson 2 — Skype with CHAT House & intro to social entrepreneurship
- Schedule permitting we would ideally like to introduce you to our students, and follow that up with an introduction to social entrepreneurship, CSR as well as B Corps.
Lesson 3 — Creative problem-solving: focusing on the problem, not the solution
- Using a video of Dan Martell we hear the story of his brothers startup and how he almost lost it all. His ability to pivot at the last minute allowed him to turn his business around and become one of the premier home building companies in Moncton. The accompanying activity gets students to think differently about their product/service they create.
Lesson 4 — How to pitch your idea/solution.
- Using Dan Pink’s methodology students practice elevator pitches for the 21st This is followed up with an activity that gets them to understand the perspective of the people they are pitching to.
Lesson 5 — Funding your idea
- This lesson gets students to explore the different methods of funding. They are introduced to crowdfunding and have to evaluate and find a specific idea that is currently on one of the many crowdfunding platforms and explain why they would invest in that one. (Computer access required)
Feedback
At CHAT to the Future we are open to feedback, and would love to hear from anyone who is interested in having us come into their school for a guest lecture, or just to support students who are working on entrepreneurship projects.
Feel free to comment on the current offering above. We welcome any and all suggestions to supplement and modify what we’ve currently created.
