Rising Innovator, a website dedicated to teaching innovation and design thinking to children ages 8 to 18, has released 3 versions of their entrepreneurial curriculum, the Business Innovation Journey™ . Founded by leading Montessorians, Rising Innovator was started in 2018 to facilitate the development of the next generation of change makers by promoting an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset.
Designed primarily for middle schoolers and high schoolers, the course is first and foremost structured to foster those cognitive skills most desperately needed in the 21st century using business creation as the instructional vehicle. The specific methodology taught is the Lean Startup Method.
Business Innovation Journey™ was developed by experienced educators in partnership with multiple experienced entrepreneurs and has won rave reviews for being both fun and effective. Built atop the Montessori method of education, it is an experiential learning opportunity unlike any other.
Rising Innovator offers three versions of the course:
- Business Innovation Journey™ Lite: Free downloadable materials for the complete course including PowerPoints, instructor notes, and handouts.
- Business Innovation Journey™ Web: Everything in the “Lite” course plus hosted on an online learning management platform, an online accounting tool to help teens track their money, additional cases and resources.
- Business Innovation Journey™ Guided: Everything in the “Hosted” course but led by a master/mentor teacher. This is the perfect solution for schools that are looking for a partner to help them lead an entrepreneurial curriculum.
The course teaches the following key competencies of entrepreneurship:
- Creativity and Problem Solving, the creative skills and impulses to identify opportunities and solve them.
- Teamwork, a vital skill for success in any venture
- Entrepreneurial Mindset, such as building character and perseverance
- Leadership, including such skills as planning, organizing, self-analysis, management of self and others
- Empathy and Ethics, including how understanding people can help turn their problems into sales
- Market Analysis, including defining the market for a product or service and potential the competition
- Marketing Strategy, learning how to best reach your customers
- Finances, such as understanding profitability, cost/price, planning and management, and financial reports
- Launching a Startup, we will teach the Lean Startup Method to help the children prototype and test their ideas
- Presentation, success doesn’t just come from having a great idea, but also requires clear and effective communication
Less than half of each session is direct instruction, with the majority of class time devoted to collaborative activities such as business case analysis. As a capstone to the course, students pitch their new businesses to the class and any invited outsiders.
Interested parties can freely download the “Lite” course now at risinginnovator.com/young-entrepreneur-course. To learn more about the “Hosted” or “Guided” versions, contact Rising Innovator at info@risinginnovator.com.
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