Recognizing that entrepreneurship is on the rise and important to life in northwestern Ontario, one of the KPDSB elementary schools planned and hosted an entrepreneurship-focused Dragon’s Den project and subsequent competition during the spring of 2022. Two other elementary schools participated. This project involved presentations from local entrepreneurs and northwestern Ontario’s Head Start in Business organization, in addition to lessons from their Pathways teachers about key elements in business, such as marketing and finance. Students were challenged to showcase their creativity, ingenuity, and business sense by developing a business idea and then pitching it to judges who would determine the best ideas.
The theme for the project was “Imperishable Inventors” (sustainable, environmentally friendly inventions). When students worked on their prototype, it had to be made entirely of reusable or recycled products aside from glue, tape, and the like.
School-level competitions provided three representatives each for the area-wide competition. The winning projects were then judged by a team of local trustees, the leader of experiential learning, and a central administrator. It was a great, authentic, and engaging learning experience for grade 7 and 8 students!
In 2022–2023, entrepreneurship is extended to the Experiential Learning portfolio for students in grades 7 through 12.
