Experiential Activity: Product Innovation Game

Experiential Activity: Product Innovation Game

• Students will learn the difference between personal characteristics and learned skills.
• Students will use entrepreneurial skills to create a new innovative product.
• Students will learn to create business ideas with limited resources.
• Students will receive practice in delivering “30-Second Pitches/Hooks”

• Household items, arts & crafts supplies; (examples: cotton swabs, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, glue, tape, string, plastic cups, paper plates)

1. Determine what the prize will be for the winning group (can be something like a gift card, or it can be a class reward such as a “Free Homework Pass”).
2. Decide if you are going to have the class vote on the winners, or if you are going to bring in an outside judge (such as a principal). Invite the guest judge to the classroom if applicable.
3. Obtain enough household items & supplies so that each group in the class starts with the same set of materials. Divide the materials into sets before the class starts.

1. Pose the following question for class discussion: “What kinds of abilities are needed to run a business?”
2. As students are listing abilities, try to sort out which ones they name are “Personal Characteristics” and which ones are “Skills.”
3. Try to see if students can tell the difference overall between the two groups. Ask students if they can leverage “Personal Characteristics” that are natural for them until they develop more “Skills.”
4. Record student answers on the board in columns of “Personal Characteristics” and “Skills.”
5. If it is not discussed, ask students if having a lot of money/resources is absolutely necessary to start a business. Ask students if having certain traits/skills (such as creativity, determination, etc…) can help entrepreneurs start businesses without a great deal of other resources.

1. Tell students that they will be using their entrepreneurial characteristics and skills to create a brand new product. The product can be real or fantasy, but it is important that they are creative. Also let students know that all groups will be receiving the same limited resources. (Use this time to announce any information about the judge/voting process/prizes).
2. Divide into small groups and pass out the identical sets of supplies. Tell students they have 20-30 minutes (depending on time) to create a totally new product from the materials given.
3. Also tell students that after creating their product, groups will have 1 minute each to present their creation. In their presentation, the students must include:
4. The name of the product
5. The features and benefits of the product
6. A profile of its customers (age, gender, needs, interests, etc…)

1. Have groups spend a minute each presenting their new products.
2. If a judge agreed to come into the classroom, let the judge make her or his decision and announce the winner to the class. If the class is voting on the winner, make sure that students are told to not vote for their own group, and to encourage the students to vote on creativity and innovation.

1. Hold a debriefing discussion where students are asked to analyze which “Personal Characteristics” and “Skills” they noticed they themselves used during the game (some examples: Creativity, Communication Skills, People Skills, etc…).
2. Be sure that the class unanimously agrees that it does not take a great deal of money and/or resources to create a new innovative product.

• Students can be evaluated during their presentations on the completeness of the assignment, and the rationale behind the product they created.
• Students can also be evaluated during the post-game discussion on identifying which abilities are “Personal Characteristics” and which ones are “Skills.” Can be done as a formal, written assignment as well.
• Assign values to each component and test the students ability to calculate the EOU.

• The after-game discussion can be done as a class discussion or as a written reflection where students write about what “Personal Characteristics” and “Skills” they used during the game. Students can also reflect on Characteristics and Skills that they were not even aware they possessed!
• If materials for the classroom are limited, this activity can be adjusted to any level of limited resources. Have students think of a new use for a simple item in the room (i.e. a pencil) and create a new business idea from that. Again, the focus is on creativity.
• Have students complete the product creation as a take-home assignment to allow more time to create and try different things.

Handout copyrighted for use by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, 2010.1