Exploring Your Community Through Entrepreneurship GooseChase

Purpose & objective

An entrepreneurial mindset in youth leads to higher student achievement, development of 21st Century Skills, and economic vitality. Through the integration of entrepreneurial thinking and skills into common core and Career & Technical Education curriculum in grades K-8, students will be
better prepared for high school and future career opportunities in a modern workforce.
Historically, entrepreneurship has been a staple in rural communities and serves as a "driving force of economic development, structural change and job creation" (World Economic Forum, 2009, p. 18). There is a direct relationship between entrepreneurship and "economic prosperity and success" (Ornstein et al., 2015, p. 195).
Schools, especially those in rural communities, play a crucial role in preparing the next generation of community and business leaders for their community. Traditionally, schools have focused their efforts on workforce development skills and preparing students for future jobs, not on building entrepreneurial skills (Ornstein et al., 2015, p.18). This focus has led to a "failure… to educate
young people to create, and not simply respond to, economic opportunities" (p. 25).
Although many people associate entrepreneurship with business creation, it encompasses much more including non-cognitive skills such as risk-taking, proactivity, creativity, need for achievement, self-efficacy, social orientation, persistence, analyzing, and motivating (Huber et al., 2014).

In response to a rising need for virtual, interactive activities for youth and families during the pandemic, the Youth Entrepreneurship & Business Opportunities team (YEBO) pivoted their programming efforts. They developed virtual scavenger hunts using the GooseChase platform to build awareness of entrepreneurship, foster an entrepreneurial mindset, and ignite an entrepreneurial spark in youth.
Based on “Find your Spark to Start,” an entrepreneurship activity book created by the YEBO team (https:go.unl.edu/sparktostartbook), three versions of GooseChase hunts were developed, as well as a tool-kit to assist teachers in facilitating this engaging program.
Preview the tool-kit here: https://go.unl.edu/goosechasetoolkit
Each of the scavenger hunts were developed for specific audiences/sites to enhance their entrepreneurial skills, including:
• Classroom Hunt, designed for classrooms or after-school programs.
• At-Home Hunt, designed for in-home learning utilizing common household items to build an entrepreneurial mindset in youth.
• Family Community Hunt, developed for families to explore and learn more about local entrepreneurs and their community. Great for family nights!

As one of the missions for each scavenger hunt, participants (individuals or teams) completed a program evaluation that showed:
• 98% learned more about businesses in their local community.
• 92% learned something new that they can use in a future job.
• 92% have ideas for a business they could start.
• 88% would like to start a business in their community in the future.
• 300+ youth reached at 20+ sites across Nebraska
• Participants stated, “Good use of technology.” “Fun teamwork while social distancing.” “We learned a lot about our community and had fun competing!”

Attendees will learn how GooseChase, a virtual scavenger hunt platform, was used by the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in youth, and increase family engagement and exploration of local communities. During the session, a live GooseChase will be hosted as a way to familiarize attendees with the platform. Attendees will need to download the free GooseChase app on a mobile device where they will complete "missions" to earn points and compete against others in the game. Utilizing the GooseChase platform, the possibilities are endless for conference attendees, so a guided brainstorming activity will inspire attendees to develop their own GooseChase based upon their own learning outcomes.

Outline

Welcome/Introduction - 5 minutes

Introduction to GooseChase & Set-up - 5 minutes

Live GooseChase Experience - 20 minutes (this will be a device-based game where participants will compete against each other while learning about the platform and entrepreneurial mindset).

Inside GooseChase Platform - 10 minutes

Guided Brainstorming - 10 minutes (peer-to-peer interaction)

Share, Process, Generalize & Apply - 10 minutes

Supporting research

Huber, L. R., Sloof, R., & Praag, M. V. (n.d.). The Effect of Early Entrepreneurship Education: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment. European Economic Review, 76–97. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2042058

Ornstein, A. C., Pajak, E., & Ornstein, S. B. (2015). Contemporary issues in curriculum. Pearson.

World Economic Forum. (2010). The global competitiveness report 2009–2010. The Global Competitiveness Report. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2009-10.pdf.