The Street Challenge started as a field trip to a downtown business district, or “main street”, to show students how businesses co-exist in the ecosystem of a commercial neighbourhood. That project then expanded into a field research project, where students co-created neighbourhood business inventories, interviewed consumers and business owners, analyzed community needs, identified and evaluated opportunities, and prepared recommendations designed to add value to those communities.
We learned that students who participated in the field research project found the experiential lessons extremely valuable, and that we could build some pre- and post- experience exercises into the project. Those activities allowed us to observe how student identity developed through the experience, and also allowed us to purposefully scaffold students’ learning experiences. Over time, the concept expanded into the Street Challenge.
When redesigning an entrepreneurship course (ENTI 405) at the University of Calgary, Street Challenge pedagogy was consciously used as a central component of the course structure. That development was mirrored at Salem State University, and we have shared materials, tips, and challenges as we refined the approach. We have also presented our work in several workshops at successive [proper name here for Taylor Institute conference] annual conferences. Those workshops were attended by people from faculties across disciplines, which led us to conclude that the Street Challenge could be adapted for use in different contexts.
The projects’ evolution has continued at UofC and Salem State, as we learned how to improve both student learning and community contributions through the project. Over the past few years, ENTI 405 students have worked within Calgary’s Inglewood, Victoria Park, Bridgeland, Kensington, and 17th Ave S neighbourhoods. In Massachusetts, students have worked in the historic communities of Salem, Beverly, and Gloucester. We have continued to collaborate on the project, by developing exercises and lesson plans, implementing the pedagogy, observing and assessing our results, presenting our findings, and drafting research articles. We were also awarded two successive grants from the University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, The first grant was awarded to produce this Open Educational Resource, and we added three dedicated student research assistants to our team to develop and produce content for the OER based on our teaching materials. The second grant was awarded for us to recruit and support faculty partners to implement the Street Challenge across different disciplines, and to assess and publish those results with them.
We invite you to join us.
We learned that students who participated in the field research project found the experiential lessons extremely valuable, and that we could build some pre- and post- experience exercises into the project. Those activities allowed us to observe how student identity developed through the experience, and also allowed us to purposefully scaffold students’ learning experiences. Over time, the concept expanded into the Street Challenge.
When redesigning an entrepreneurship course (ENTI 405) at the University of Calgary, Street Challenge pedagogy was consciously used as a central component of the course structure. That development was mirrored at Salem State University, and we have shared materials, tips, and challenges as we refined the approach. We have also presented our work in several workshops at successive [proper name here for Taylor Institute conference] annual conferences. Those workshops were attended by people from faculties across disciplines, which led us to conclude that the Street Challenge could be adapted for use in different contexts.
The projects’ evolution has continued at UofC and Salem State, as we learned how to improve both student learning and community contributions through the project. Over the past few years, ENTI 405 students have worked within Calgary’s Inglewood, Victoria Park, Bridgeland, Kensington, and 17th Ave S neighbourhoods. In Massachusetts, students have worked in the historic communities of Salem, Beverly, and Gloucester. We have continued to collaborate on the project, by developing exercises and lesson plans, implementing the pedagogy, observing and assessing our results, presenting our findings, and drafting research articles. We were also awarded two successive grants from the University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, The first grant was awarded to produce this Open Educational Resource, and we added three dedicated student research assistants to our team to develop and produce content for the OER based on our teaching materials. The second grant was awarded for us to recruit and support faculty partners to implement the Street Challenge across different disciplines, and to assess and publish those results with them.
We invite you to join us.