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Problem Solving:
Strategies:
Synergy – joint work toward a common end
Memory as Information Processing – learners will transform information as they acquire and retain information perceived by the senses in aural, visual and symbolic form via the interactive game. Elaborative processes that form the heart of memory will store the information in long term retrieval memory. The learners will extract meaning from concrete or symbolic experiences based on choices made for their venture linking new information with existing memory utilizing stored memory as a series of networks between concepts. Collaboratively, incorporating brainstorming, they will dialog conceptual relationships exchanging, sharing, and sometimes compromising on strategies ultimately cementing the ideas in their memory.
Information Extending Processing – independently and collaboratively, the gamers will engage in inductive or convergent thinking. Specific instances/generalizations (problem solving strategies) made by the learners will converge into new experiences where refinement and modifications generate patterns. Inductive reasoning is processed utilizing selective encoding, sorting relevant from irrelevant information such as the varying costs of permits based on which district/location their stand is situated, perhaps by combining and comparing this and various other elements. It is at this point that the entrepreneurs’ experiences held in memory become important and they can recognize patterns in events that happen such as the relationship involving costs, price, expenses and revenue, utilizing practical reasoning seeing what in practice can be accomplished. Synthesizing skills are employed as the gamers collaboratively hypothesize as they design changes speculating effects. The students will incorporate design skills assessing and revising their marketing plan while formulating their goals for the next day. All problem solving and decision-making skills are associated with assessing consequences and evaluating choices. This hypermedia program will allow the learner to jump from one concept to another: i.e., location, type of stand, customer base, change recipe, etc. While all the concepts will be related in some fashion, collaboratively the team will be planning, interpreting, and analyzing information; combining prior knowledge with remembered information, ultimately sharing data, thereby transforming their own knowledge and understanding of the principles of business, marketing, finance, economics and accounting.
Information Rearranging – Collaboratively, the team needs to prioritize by determining what game they are going to choose: time challenge where the goal is to earn as much money as possible within a set time limit as they strive to maximize their earnings every day; money challenge where their goal is to reach target earnings as quickly as possible; or career where the team is in it for the long-term. Each game requires a different approach and strategy so they will need to recognize the strengths and the fallacies of each. There are many assumptions that go into planning for a successful venture; therefore, the collaborators will have to incorporate various comparisons and contrasting strategies in order to infer their conclusions from evidence or reasoning. Also, utilizing deductive reasoning, the team will use evaluation skills assessing information such as the effect of local or national headlines or the next day's weather forecast. Budgets and inventory will need to be adjusted in regards to weather, circumstances, or local events. The gamers will create their own spreadsheets from daily reports generated by the program. They will seek reasonable solutions to problems by looking for patterns in sales emphasizing reasoning, problem solving, making connections and communicating mathematical ideas.
Metacognition - the entrepreneurs learn about doing by doing and explaining. Throughout the project, collaborating individuals have to reach a consensus on various components of their business venture. The computer-based learning environment gives them an assortment of options they have to manipulate and strategize to solve problems. The teams are presented with opportunities to talk about the processes used to think and to test their ideas by externalizing them. Many times when one is expressing the strategies they developed to solve problems, the thinker becomes aware of his/her own cognitive abilities. The mind is very flexible and it is during this time that the possibility exists not only for the thinker, but also for all individuals to be effectively engaged in a wider scale of discourse that prompts all involved parties to think more critically.
Putting the Problem at the Center
Situated Cognition - Social learning occurs when the collaborators interact, sharing common goals. The learners are immersed in an environment that most closely reflects the context in which their new ideas would be applied in the real world, processing concepts and information utilizing multiple opinions and perspectives as they strategize.
Anchored Instruction - The learner’s interest is maintained via this hypermedia program. The objects and data in the virtual world are real and the students are being asked to problem-solve utilizing critical thinking skills as they perform actual tasks they would realistically perform in the practitioners world. This exploratory environment enables the novice a long-term acquisition of knowledge.
Problem-centered Learning - Lemonade Tycoon 2 affords the students the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in: the private enterprise system, economics, the impact of global business, marketing of goods and services, advertising, and product pricing. They have to analyze the sales process and financial management principles as well. In the end, the decisions made by the learner individually and/or collaboratively will reinforce, apply, and transfer in the form of volumes of knowledge as they pursue entrepreneurship - risk takers.
Authentic Anchored Problem:
N-Geners will operate a business as sole proprietors in the Big Apple (New York) via an interactive computerized simulation. Collaboratively, they must build the business from the ground up. They will support each other as real participants do in the real world through conversations, reflections and shared exploration. They will strategize and problem solve throughout continual construction of both knowledge and the business. This realistic role provides learners with opportunities that enhance transferability of knowledge.
Knowledge:
Disciplinary structures:
(real-world background knowledge aligned with TEKS)
- The learner must understand the Terminology and Concepts of: Investing Cash; Preparing Personal Financial Statements for Loan Purposes; Acquiring Assets; Economics and the Private Enterprise System; Marketing of Goods and Services; Advertising; Product Pricing; Financial Management Systems; Human Resources; Operating Expenses-Salary, Supplies, Equipment; Payroll-Social Security, Medicare, Federal Income Tax Withheld, Voluntary Deductions; Customer Service; Business Location; and Permit Requirements.
Disciplinary processes:
(critical thinking skills needed to solve the problem)
- Entrepreneur - calculated risk taker; Collaborator - connecting with employees, customers, suppliers, lending institutions, legal entities, etc.; Analysis of Data, Procedures, and Rules; Evaluation ability to assess credible, logical claims; Inductive/Inference - the ability to identify and consider relevant information about a situation or problem and draw reasonable conclusions. Deductive thinking - the basis of rational thought and information rearranging which is the process most dependent on formal learning.
Disciplinary discourses:
(stories or data that help students understand the underlying problem more effectively)
- Disciplinary Narrative Discourse: Collaboratively the students will engage in inductive or convergent thinking/decision making, implementing the "7 Habits of Highly Successful Lemonade Tycoons". The team/company will present their data analysis in an oral and visual report using various frequency distributions: i.e., histograms, pies charts, and/or graph trend charts, and/or PowerPoint.
- Disciplinary Expository Discourse: The different teams will draw conclusions and make sound recommendations based on the outcome. Individual team members will also be asked to share and reflect on their contribution to the venture and its outcome.
Using Information:
Searching for Information
1. Initially, the students will browse through the tutorials to familiarize themselves with the different options and features of the game by paying particular attention to the reports section.
2. The students will access the following websites for business terminology/technical terms:
Business Glossary - Browse by Dictionary of Terms
http://www.allbusiness.com/3470944-1.html
Business Terms
http://www.babylon.com/define/22/Business-Dictionary.html
Sorting and Judging Information
As the game progresses, information will be presented via the marquee in the form of headline news. The learners will sort the information for its relevance and/or validity. Independently and collaboratively, problem-solving strategies employing inductive reasoning will cause the students to pose questions to help sort through the information in order to distinguish between credible and noncredible information.
Creating and Communicating
This motivational, self-directed n-gener's game provides opportunities for teaching, learning, and knowledge shaping by hypothesizing, inferring, as well as inductive and deductive reasoning that empowers the students to build their lemonade empire. Peer feedback (both within the team members and with other teams) is integral to creating and communicating. Utilizing spreadsheets, the collaborators can bring order to the information presented in the daily reports as they draw conclusions based on cause and effect, or perhaps a trend or pattern. Throughout the game, as insights emerge, there will be much reflection and critique followed by elaboration. The students will turn thoughts and experiences into an appropriate symbolic form gleaned from the knowledge gained by choosing an effective form for presenting their findings. When preparing the presentation, the team, as the first audience, is able to step back and reflect on the cohesiveness of their ideas, revising as needed. Peers (competitive teams) can provide insights to the presenters regarding their findings and/or format either confirming or challenging them causing possible reconsideration.
Community:
Students in this community will “learn to learn” in a sustained ongoing process of understanding. The classroom climate will provide the students opportunities to interactively discover each other’s aspects of knowledge by: sharing their expertise, earning each others respect, constructively negotiating, and sharing rituals of understanding the roles expected of them. “Knowledge is possessed by no one individual” is clearly evident in the attributes of a team. Personal, local, and cultural factors are interdependent characteristics that contribute to create cognition, not only individually, but also holistically as a team. These characteristics serve the students well when using carefully prepared persuasion in their communities.
Technology available to the students will be shared equally among the diverse population. All students, regardless of race, color, creed, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status, physical ability or lack of, will have access to the same resources.
The teacher will help students understand positive cooperative social skills utilizing role playing. The following website will be used for this purpose: http://specialed.about.com/cs/behaviordisorders/a/social.htm
Cooperatively, the students will want each other to succeed by working to motivate and teach each other in order to accomplish their shared goal which is a successful business venture. Each will be actively involved and committed to the group’s success - positive interdependence. Rewards for this heterogeneous group include: positive academic achievement, improved self-esteem, improved social skills, and improved race relations.
Embedded within the presentation will be a debriefing. Students will reflect on two measures: their interactions – successful ones and those that need improvement; and examining the goals they initially set with possible avenues for improvement.
Collaboratively, the students recognize that they each possess differing levels of expertise. The classroom learning environment provides opportunities for the experienced students to demonstrate to those less experienced and skilled how they think and learn. This interaction between the novice and the expert becomes a peer tutoring experience. Offering and/or providing explanations or responses, allows the mentor opportunities to move from a superficial level of knowledge to understanding.
The cooperative and collaborative environment is the background for the democratic learning community who with their varied opinions, are actively engaged and sharing viewpoints. This community allows for the open flow of ideas; thereby, creating the opportunities to resolve problems while respecting the values, dignity, and the rights of others which allows compromises to be met.
Authentic Activities:
Collaboratively, the entrepreneur/free enterprise/sole proprietor business teams will:
A 1: Select the district/location of their business
A2: Order stock
A3: Set the recipe
A4: Set the price
A5: Set Marketing Campaigns
A6: Decide whether or not to change location based on customers and headlines
A7: Buy, move, sell and/or upgrade stands (or not)
A8: Decide on upgrades (or not) on personnel
A9: Monitor customer feedback and respond- recipe adjustments, service time and price
A10: Strategize based on previous day's sales
A11: Manage their time
A12: Read daily reports -sales, expenses, revenue, cash flow, bank account, bills, etc.
A13: Interpret Profit and Loss statements, Balance Sheets and Performance Graphs
A14: Compare stands (if acquire more than one through continual construction)
A15: Purchase Permits
Building Knowledge Activities:
Diverse team equals diverse ideas which creates a rich environment for new forms of knowledge.
Individually and collaboratively, the team will:
B1, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a, 11a, 13a, 14a: Experience the free/private enterprise system
B2, 3, 4, 7b, 9b: Consider ethical, moral and legal choices relating to the decision making process in business situations
B5, 6b, 7c, 8b, 14b: Implement marketing strategies
B6c: Adapt to market changes
B6d: Explore the affect of the environment on business
B6e, 8c, 9c, 11b: Investigate potential causes of economic decisions such as supply and demand or consumer dollar vote
B6f, 9d,: Identify factors affecting profits, revenue and expenses
B8d, 9e: Dialog the role of laborers: their level of skill, productivity and its impact on customer service
B10, 12, 13b: Inspect and interpret financial statements
B15: Ascertain the role of the legal system in business
Constructing Activities:
The teams will construct a market analysis for an associate interested in investing in and becoming a tycoon in the Lemonade Stand business. Following is a list of possible topics to be examined:
C1a, 5, 10, 12a, 13a: Market Growth utilizing historical data accumulated through their financial report
C2, 3, 4, 15: Market Profitability based on buyer power, supplier power, barriers to entry (permits), competitors
C6a, 14a: Market Saturation
C6b, 7a, 8a, 9a, 11: Market Trends with emphasis on service and support
C6c,7b, 8b, 14: Demographic Information based on Districts/location
C6d,7c, 8c, 9b, 12b, 13b, 14b: Price Pressure caused by competition
C7, 8d, 14c: Purchase of Equipment
C1-15aa: Overall Key Success Factors
Sharing Activities
S1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11: Students will present to a member of the business community practicing as a sole proprietor to make comparisons and to validate and/or improve their work.
S8: Students will present to a member of the Texas Workforce commission who can provide feedback on minimum wage standards.
S10a, 12a, 13a, 14: Utilizing a spreadsheet program, the team will present their data analysis in an oral and visual format using various frequency distributions: i.e., histograms, pies charts, and/or graph trend charts.
S10b, 12b, 13b,14: Students will present to a Banker to share in the financial analysis and successes or shortcomings of the venture.
S10d, 12c, 13c,14: Students will present to an Accountant who can provide feedback on accurate record keeping.
S15a: Students will present to a member of the city Health and Permit department who can provide feedback on the local, state and federal requirements for a sole proprietorship in the food service industry.
S1-15aa: Students will present the results of their venture to their peers via the campus newspaper, the Voyager.
S1-15bb: Students will share their new knowledge and general understand of the business world at the weekly Business Professionals of America meeting.
§130.112. Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance (One-Half to One Credit).
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) The student describes the characteristics of business. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the role of business in a global society;
(B) differentiate between goods and services;
(C) identify the types of business;
(D) compare the different forms of ownership;
(E) examine the organizational structure and functions of business;
(F) interpret the nature of balance sheets and income statements;
(G) describe factors that affect the environment; and
(H) explain how organizations adapt to current markets.
(2) The student defines ethics in business. The student is expected to:
(A) distinguish between ethical and unethical business practices; and
(B) contrast ethical, moral, and legal choices that relate to the decision-making process in business situations.
(3) The student differentiates between the types of economic systems with emphasis on the private enterprise system and the United States economy. The student is expected to:
(B) identify business cycles;
(C) summarize the characteristics of the private enterprise system;
(D) identify factors affecting a business' profits, revenues, and expenses; and
(E) investigate potential causes of economic decisions such as supply and demand or consumer dollar votes.
(5) The student identifies the role and impact of government, the legal system, and organized labor in business. The student is expected to:
(A) differentiate among the roles of government in business;
(B) describe types of activities performed by governments in business;
(C) ascertain the role of the legal system in business; and
(D) explain the role of organized labor in society.
(6) The student classifies types of businesses that market goods and services. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the importance of different marketing strategies for goods versus services;
(D) identify types of retailers;
(E) explain the role of retailers in a private enterprise system;
(F) identify examples of wholesalers; and
(G) describe the role of wholesalers in a private enterprise system.
(7) The student analyzes cost and profit relationships in finance. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the concept of productivity;
(B) analyze the impact of specialization and division of labor on productivity;
(C) explain the concept of organized labor and business;
(D) examine the impact of the law of diminishing returns; and
(E) describe the concept of economies of scale.
(8) The student analyzes the sale process, techniques used to enhance customer relationships, and the likelihood of making sales. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the selling process; and
(B) discuss motivational theories that impact buying behavior such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
(9) The student demonstrates how to advertise to communicate promotional messages to targeted audiences. The student is expected to:
(A) proofread ads for effectiveness; and
(B) analyze ad performance.
(10) The student understands how to increase sales by employing visual merchandising techniques and using special events to increase sales. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the use of visual merchandising in retailing;
(B) distinguish between visual merchandising and display;
(C) place merchandise for impact;
(D) plan special events; and
(11) The student understands the fundamental principles of money. The student is expected to:
(A) evaluate forms of financial exchange, including cash, credit, debit, and electronic funds transfer;
(C) list functions of money such as medium of exchange, unit of measure, and store of value;
(D) describe sources of income such as wages and salaries, interest, rent, dividends, capital gains, and transfer payments;
(E) explain the time value of money;
(F) summarize the purposes and importance of credit; and
(G) explain legal responsibilities associated with financial exchanges.
(12) The student demonstrates an understanding of personal financial management. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the importance of providing accurate information;
(B) calculate gross and net pay;
(C) simulate opening and maintaining various types of bank accounts;
(D) reconcile bank statements;
(E) compare the advantages and disadvantages of different types of banking services;
(F) examine investment growth by developing a personal investment plan; and
(G) prepare an individual income tax return.
(13) The student knows that advertising is the paid form of nonpersonal communication about an identified sponsor's products. The student is expected to:
(A) list types of advertising media;
(B) differentiate between product and institutional advertising; and
(C) identify and evaluate elements of an advertisement.
(14) The student discusses economic concepts impacting prices. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the principles of supply and demand; and
(B) describe the functions of prices in markets such as supply and demand.
(15) The student analyzes career opportunities and formulates a career plan. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze individual goals and interests;
(B) determine individual talents, abilities, and skills; and
(C) develop an individual career plan.
Glencoe Accounting 5th Edition
Microsoft Office Programs - Excel, Word, PowerPoint
Calculator
Internet Resources:
http://www.wildgames.com/games/lemonade-tycoon-2.
Business Glossary - Browse by Dictionary of Terms
http://www.allbusiness.com/3470944-1.html
Business Terms
http://www.babylon.com/define/22/Business-Dictionary.html
The teacher will help students understand positive cooperative social skills utilizing role playing. The following website will be used for this purpose: http://specialed.about.com/cs/behaviordisorders/a/social.htm
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