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The use of special projects to make clear the usefulness of the concepts of economic and financial literacy is best approached as a collaborative effort between teachers and students. Whether your project is large or small, for elementary or high school, the following steps provide a guide to getting started.
- The teacher should act as facilitator, rather than as director.
- Keep the object of the project relevant.
- Relate it to existing curriculum.
- Choose a project that utilizes the talents, skills or interests of your students.
- Use it to supplement a neglected area of instruction.
- Encourage students to make as many of the project decisions as possible. This will give them a sense of ownership of the process.
- Define the goal, length of time, and funding necessary for your project.
- Define the resources available for use in the project.
- Dialogue with people in the community. They may be a source of material or in-kind resources.
- Tap into school themes or community celebrations and events that you can leverage.
- Talk with professionals in the field of the business you are simulating. Seek their insights and invite them to share their experiences with the students.
- Determine clear, measurable responsibilities for each student or position.
- Establish defined time periods to work on the project.
- Establish a series of measurable benchmarks to help students learn the skill of achieving a larger goal by breaking it into small, manageable pieces.
- Schedule a de-briefing session at the end of the project. This is a vitally important part of the process and must not be omitted.
- Compare the project outcomes to the original goal.
- Have students verbalize any problems or concerns they had during the course of the project.
- Working backwards from the outcomes (both good and bad), determine the choices which led to those outcomes.
- Have students brainstorm for solutions to any problems found.
- Have students offer suggestions for any improvements which could be made in subsequent projects, from both an overall and an individual perspective.