Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for EdSurge, Tyler Gaspich, director of academic technologies at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, explains how the use of a business simulation provided his students with a hands-on learning experience to prepare them for future work. 

· What hands-on learning experiences can schools provide students to help them prepare for their futures? What other ways are schools preparing students for the workforce? 

· Read more about preparing students for the future workforce. 

High-schooler Caitlyn sits in front of a computer on the campus of Rider University, frantically scanning various pop-ups on her screen. Business reports, market trends and price fluctuations race through her mind, as she seeks the one piece of information she needs. Her team is spending the day figuring out how to effectively sell bottled water in three German provinces—all while competing against six other groups doing the same.

Caitlyn calls out to her group’s mentor, Chloe, a college student from Rider: “Chloe! Carbonated water isn’t selling for us in the Western region, but our price is lower than everyone else’s!” Chloe calmly responds to the excited student, “Have you and your marketing manager had a conversation recently?” A quick conversation reveals the group was not advertising in that region. A change in group strategy puts them back on track. Crisis averted.

I teach at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, an all-girls Catholic high school in Villanova, Pa. Last year, Caitlyn and the rest of her class participated in a daylong simulation-slash-competition in partnership with the German business juggernaut SAP. The day’s goal? To wind up as the tam that made the most revenue during a modeled 60-day business cycle, which occurred in three, 20-minute rounds of sheer madness that resembled a trading room floor.

Read the full article about preparing students for the workforce by Tyler Gaspich at EdSurge.