It’s hard to believe we are already in Week 8 of the second year of The B!G Idea. Over 2000 students from 42 schools throughout the country have been so busy and working so hard. Feeling slightly jealous of their learnings and their experiences in the classroom, we thought we’d give you all a little insight into what they are doing.
In the first 4 weeks of the programme students learn how to research to understand more about the five B!G Idea briefs and how to work collaboratively. They are encouraged to carry out different types of research among family members and friends. From weeks 5-8 students use this new-found research to come up with ideas for their project of choice. Once the idea is agreed on they work towards developing a pitch to communicate the idea and how it responds to the brief. This pitch is then reviewed by the industry mentors.
At this stage of the programme students have developed a curiosity. They are beginning to think creatively and are not afraid to ask questions or to think differently. They are working collaboratively with the other students and are keen to learn from others rather than to judge. And best of all they are learning what it is to work hard and the feeling of achievement when it all starts to come together.
The pitch phase is a completely new concept to students and to many teachers. Essentially it is a prototype using words which identifies the hero of the project, it explains what the hero’s life is like now and how it can be improved with the help of the team’s B!G Idea.
The mentors are currently reviewing the pitches and will offer suggestions and helpful guides to develop the idea further.
We are about half way through the programme now with lots more to look forward to. Once the students receive the feedback from the mentors they will have time to work on the feedback and to use it to develop their idea further. Once happy with the final concept they will work collaboratively to complete the project ready for presentation.
So it’s all to play for now. Lots of lessons learnt and lots more to come.
