As a new member of staff this
was my first encounter with this aspect of Enterprise at Winston. What an
experience this was!
The sessions took the students
through three stages of an enterprise process:
1.
Creating an
innovative and effective prototype.
Students learned the
importance of putting thought into designing a product that was both appealing
and effective.
This could involve
experimentation and some dead ends.
2.
Mass producing and
selling simple catapults on an large scale.
This phase gave students
experience of the repetitiveness of the production phase.
Nonetheless it emphasised
the need for quality control. Each catapult needed to be as good as the
previous one.
Those who amended and
streamlined their production did better than those who stayed with their
original approach.
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3.
Investing
profits in a simulated stock market context.
Students who took big
risks realised that there were big profits to be made.
Teams soon appreciated
that it was better to move the shares around rather than sit and wait.
Many students threw themselves
into the initial designs only to find that their catapults fell short
(literally?). Others thought through their designs, tested them thoroughly and
decorated them meticulously in order to gain appearance points from easily
influenced maths teachers. One group designed their catapult as a cat.
Is this not conclusive that year tens do have a sophisticated sense of humour?
Along with these points, teams earned money according to the range achieved in
ten trials of their catapults.
The mass production started at a
heady pace over in the gym. Some designs soon appeared on assembly lines, with
each member playing their part. Many groups indulged in commercial skulduggery
by walking round the gym and pinching ideas! Each team had to buy card, spoons,
peas and elastic bands with the money gained earlier. Catapults were then
tested and sold at a profit. Although a few teams wilted a bit at this stage,
everybody made some money to carry forward. Some already had the makings of a
nice sum with which to invest.
The most exciting and energising
stage of the day was the simulated stock market. Mr Parsons was the focal
point of proceedings and spent a good deal of time whipping the participants into
a frenzy! The maths staff operated the banks in their usual efficient manner.
‘Buy low – sell high’ was uttered innumerable times during the afternoon.
There were gasps and cheers as the latest news from around the world was announced and the share prices changed. Teams invested in an oil company, mobile phone company. football club and travel company. After a slow start the room was buzzing with activity as money was being made, and sometimes lost, at an incredible rate.
Many multi-millionaires were
made in one afternoon. The largest amount being over 400 million pounds. When
the final results were announced the winning teams celebrated. Having said
this, feedback has suggested that the experience was worthwhile and enjoyable
for the all those who entered into it.
However, such is the current
wretched state of the Mathsland Pound, even the lucky winners could not
afford a bag of chips on the way home!
David Rusted
Maths
