April 2, 2019

Indiana students set to showcase classroom businesses at Purdue

Candy gram Students at Mayflower Mill Elementary School assemble candy grams as part of their classroom business. Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Local elementary students will showcase businesses they developed through a Purdue University program that promotes entrepreneurship in the classroom.

The Classroom Business Enterprise showcase will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon April 10 in the Krannert Building's Krannert Drawing Room. The event will feature businesses started by students and teachers from schools in Lafayette and Frankfort, Indiana.

The event, which is free and open to the public, serves as a “market” where students display their products and business start-ups. Classrooms received funding, training and support from the Purdue Center for Economic Education, which coordinates the program and the annual showcase. The Indiana Council for Economic Education also provides support, helping to extend the program across Indiana.

“The Classroom Business Enterprise program teaches students skills relevant to many aspects of life, like teamwork, managing budgets, meeting deadlines and solving problems,” said Tim Moore, associate professor of economics and director of the Purdue Center for Economic Education, located in the Krannert School of Management. “It is exciting to see students getting hands-on experience with running their own businesses. Their ingenuity and hard work suggests we are going to have some great entrepreneurs in the future.”

After receiving training and ongoing support, teachers help students create a real-money, profitable business while incorporating economic principles and entrepreneurial skills into their curriculum. The ventures range from recycled products to handmade fashion accessories, and profits are rolled over into next year’s classroom or donated to charity. During the showcase, business experts from Purdue and local corporations offer constructive feedback.

“Research suggests that providing professional development to teachers and integrating authentic learning experiences are effective ways to help student better understand and apply economic thinking and financial decision making in their lives,” said Jeff Samson, executive director of the Indiana Council for Economic Education in the Department of Agricultural Economics. “The decision making that students experience in the CBE program could be applied not only to future entrepreneurially endeavors, but also later in life as they weigh the job and career prospects of a given education path, or assess the cost of education and their ability to repay based on potential earnings.”

For more information or to get involved with the program, visit the Classroom Business Enterprise website

Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu

Source: Tim Moore, timmoore@purdue.edu

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