5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: DESIGNING AN ENTREPRENEURChristine Milanese

12 EARLY SPRING 2017 // STEMJOBS.COM

Entrepreneur is defined as a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so—but that definition only begins to define Carol Roth, judge on the TBS show “America’s Greatest Makers.”

She does not have just one job title. Carol began her career as an investment banker and went on to become a small business advocate, television host, public speaker, investor, billion-dollar dealmaker, New York Times best-selling author, and reality show judge. Carol has achieved success over the past 20 years by managing more than one career at the same time.

“Every day is different,” she reports. “This past year I traveled 200,000 miles for TV appearances and filmings, client consultations, speaking engagements and more.” Her role as judge on “America’s Greatest Makers” began last year when she joined Kevin Pereira and Intel CEO

Brian Krzanich, as well as other guest judges, to select the winner of a $1 million grand prize. Contestants are inventors who have created consumer products or wearable technology utilizing the Intel Curie module, which Intel describes as a button-sized chip that contains applications and a pattern classification engine that enables it to identify different motions and activities quickly and accurately. From the 24 teams that competed in the fields of sports, technology, entertainment, and entrepreneurship, the judges voted “Team Grush” the winner for its invention of an interactive digital toothbrush that inspires kids to brush their teeth with virtual games and allows their parents to digitally track their brushing.

While Carol spends some days sitting with a production crew in front of a camera for her role as reality show judge, other days she is reviewing work produced for clients, discussing business

on conference calls, or “stepping back to work on high-level strategy for myself or my clients or partners.”

Entrepreneurship is important to Carol. “I like to be able to set and execute my own vision,” she explains. “However, because I am not as big of a financial risk taker, I made sure I gained financial flexibility and skills by working for someone else first, before venturing out on my own.” But the real reason for her career choice is her love of problem solving and innovation. “We move the world forward through the spirit of innovators and problem solvers—entrepreneurs. People who are willing to take on risks to help make life easier and better are critical for us to keep advancing individually and as a society.” Carol expanded her career path to become a TV host and judge, as well as an author, to have the ability to help a lot of people all at one time.

Once she finished writing her book, “The Entrepreneur Equation,” almost

ENTREPRENEURSHIP // CAROL ROTH

AMERICA’S GREATEST MAKERS

From Investment Banker to MEDIA MAVEN

BY SUE HAMILTON

STEMJOBS.COM // EARLY SPRING 2017 13

every agent and publisher that Carol applied to rejected her work. Learning not to take “no” for an answer, Carol was determined not to stop until the book was published. It is still one of her proudest professional accomplishments.

Getting to be an entrepreneur with so many ventures was achieved, Carol reports, by learning the importance of thinking big, learning to be flexible, asking for help, and knowing that it’s never too late to take on something new. She admits she had no idea how to get from her initial career as an investment banker to realizing success as a national television personality, but she did it by working backwards. “I got a video camera and started producing my own videos for the internet, and then worked on being on local television, and then national television. I worked on each next milestone and goal from there.” Carol earned a bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with highest honors. Following her own advice, she supplemented her formal education with media and improv training with The Second City, an improvisational comedy school, to achieve a media career.

Successful entrepreneurs have many STEM skills, according to Carol, and must develop critical thinking, flexibility, thinking outside the box, and looking at failure as part of the journey. “A solution that’s not the right answer can be eliminated in pursuit of a better one,” she explains. One of her current projects is overseeing the building of a software product that requires technology and science skills, which she also uses in advising companies and making investments. Carol also uses math skills every day in doing her own company’s accounting, evaluating investments, advising clients, and creating new products.

Those same skills helped her to judge the technology competition on “America’s Greatest Makers.” She describes a successful new product as one that solves a real problem in an easy way. “People who are innovative, creative, and successful learn how to make the solutions simple and easy to use,” admitting that she can always hope that “someone makes a robot that can fold my laundry!” Carol would probably vote for that as a million-dollar winner.

So instead of trying to figure out what you want to do for a living, start thinking about what problems you want to solve. That’s the true mark of an entrepreneur.

BELOW: ROTH ON THE SET OF AMERICA’S GREATEST MAKERS

CAROL ROTHBILLION-DOLLAR DEALMAKER, SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATE, TV HOST AND JUDGE, ENTREPRENEUR, SPEAKER, INVESTOR, AND NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHORDEGREE: BACHELOR’S IN ECONOMICSSTEM TYPE: INVESTIGATOR

“PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO TAKE ON RISKS TO HELP MAKE LIFE EASIER AND BETTER ARE CRITICAL FOR US TO KEEP ADVANCING INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A SOCIETY.”

PHOTO CREDIT: AMERICA’S GREATEST MAKERS

5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: DESIGNING AN ENTREPRENEURHere are some ideas for how high school teachers could use this story as a launching point for integrated STEM learning. Our activities follow the 5-E Learning Cycle Model.

1

2

3

4

Ask students, “What is an entrepreneur? What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?”Have students read “From Investment Banker to Media Maven: The Life of an Entrepreneur” about Carol Roth in STEM Jobs magazine. Show the video about how to be an entrepreneur that can be found at edu.STEMjobs.com/teacher-resources. As a class, brainstorm ideas for becoming an entrepreneur. What are some problems with products you use in everyday life? Are there any problems within the community that could be fixed? What world problems could use attention? Is there something that doesn’t exist yet that could be helpful to a daily routine? What are some of your frustrations in life and how could creating a new product/business help to make it better?

Part 1: Engage

1 STEMjobs.com Designing an Entrepreneur

Use the class brainstorming activity as a starting place. Students will work off of the ideas compiled during the class discussion to more deeply explore what it means to be an entrepreneur. They will then split into pairs and work together with their partner in one specific area. Each pair should have their own issue to research so that nothing is repeated within one class.

Pairs will do research and brainstorm within their own team. If working with an already existing product: • Why does it work? • Who/what does it help? • What are some of its problems? • What are some ways these problems could be solved?If it is an issue within the community or world in general: • What is the issue? • Who/what does it affect? • Which type of product/business could help with the problem? How would it operate?If creating a product that does not already exist: • What does this product do? • Who/what does this product help? • Is there a similar product already in existence? Why is this idea better? Being an entrepreneur is a difficult task and is not without its problems. All teams, regardless of what they are trying to research/create, should consider what issues could arise in creating a new product or business. They will also need to show how the product could be marketed and to whom it would be marketed. A financial plan will also need to be in place. How much will the product cost to make? How much will it sell for? How is this competitive with similar items out there?

Part 2: Explore

Part 3: ExplainEach pair will present their research and new ideas to the class. Information should be displayed on posters, tri-fold posters, or on the computer using PowerPoint or Google Slides. Presentations should include why they chose this particular area to work on, what the current issues are, and in what ways they hope to make it better. They should also share their marketing strategies, including promotional posters and/or brochures. Each member of the pair will be expected to contribute to the oral presentation.

2 STEMjobs.com

Students will be evaluated for their presentation using the provided rubric. The teacher will evaluate the overall project. Students will be provided a sample of the rubric at the start of the assignment to aid in the completion of the project. Each pair will be graded, therefore both students will receive the same score.

Individual students will also submit a brief essay reflecting on their own contributions to the project and their thoughts on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Why are entrepreneurs important? Are the risks worth it? The reflection essay can be graded for completion or as a formal writing assignment for individual points added onto the overall score.

Part 5: Evaluate

Students can elaborate on their research and business plan by creating a tangible model. Are you planning to open a pizza shop with pizza that is better than any pizza out there? Bring in a sample. Have you figured out a way improve on travel or transportation or communication? Draw up a design and make a scale replica out of household materials or using computer programs.

Part 4: Elaborate

Scoring Rubric

_____ /10 Participation Did all members of the team contribute? Is there significant research and data to show that each member did their part?

_____ /15 Research Was significant research completed? Is there adequate data? Were all “explore” questions answered? Is a reasonable financial plan provided and explained? Is the provided financial information relevant to the overall project? Is the design included? Is the product/design explained so that it is apparent why that design was chosen?

_____ /15 Visual Aid Is the information displayed in a visually appealing way? Is it neat and organized? Are pictures of the project included and relevant to the overall theme of the project? Is a marketing plan in place with appealing marketing strategies?

_____ /10 Presentation Did the presentation cover all areas of the process? Was the presentation clear and easy to understand?

_____ /50 Total

Designing an Entrepreneur

Common Core State Standards – Math

Next Generation Science Standards

Cross-Curricular Connections

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – Math

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – Science

Standards Addressed:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA-CED.A.1 Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA-CED.A.3 Represent constraints by equations or inequalities, and by systems of equations and/or inequalities, and interpret solutions as viable or nonviable options in a modeling context.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSG-MG.A.3 Apply geometric methods to solve design problems (e.g., designing an object or structure to satisfy physical constraints or minimize cost; working with typographic grid systems based on ratios).

HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10/11-12.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10/11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

MMA.1.A apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplaceMMA.1.C select tools, including real objects, manipulatives, paper and pencil, and technology as appropriate, and techniques, including mental math, estimation, and number sense as appropriate, to solve problemsMMA.1.D communicate mathematical ideas, reasoning, and their implications using multiple representations, including symbols, diagrams, graphs, and language as appropriate

P.2.E design and implement investigative procedures, including making observations, asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, identifying variables, selecting appropriate equipment and technology, and evaluating numerical answers for reasonableness.

3 STEMjobs.com Designing an Entrepreneur