Picture This, Picture You: Infographics for the Entrepreneur

Source: FastCompany

This year, we incorporated a new, interdisciplinary project-based learning unit into the fifth-grade curriculum called “Entrepreneurship: Where Ideas Meet Money and Marketing.” The essential question for the students was, “What is an entrepreneur, and how does an entrepreneur build a business out of an idea to change the way people think?” The challenge for them was to come up with a business plan to market a good or service as an entrepreneur to the school community.

Source: Grasshopper Group

We used infographics to help them visualize the traits of an entrepreneur, who they are, and the types of challenges they face in creating their own businesses. Graphics helped the students clearly see information that is usually not geared for the average ten-year-old. The level of complexity was also a way to differentiate the information depending on the learner. They could self-select areas to focus on in the image at various levels of comprehension that would match their abilities.

Source: TechLifeMashup

The benefits of the project were multifold for student learning and supported by many articles in education dealing with entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. According to the government’s Small Business Administration, entrepreneurs under age 30 start approximately one third of new businesses annually, and small companies account for 99.7 percent of employer-owned firms that create over 64 percent of new jobs. The added plus of using infographics to learn about entrepreneurship helped make the project a huge success.

For a closer look at these infographics click the links below:

Founders: A Look at Today's Entrepreneur

Inside the Mind of an Entrepreneur

Small Business and the Hard Facts