Midterms can be the most stressful part of the year for students, but for some it is more than just a big test. In collaboration with Mrs. McWhorter’s classes, Ms. Kayyod’s Marketing I students prepared special midterm presentations, but with a twist. The presentations were presented in the same style of the popular entrepreneur show, Shark Tank! The presentations were focused on products that the student groups created and now hoped to market.
While most started to prepare their study guides after break, Ms. Kayyod and Mrs. McWhorter’s students worked to finalize product ideas and start their scripts and powerpoints well before leaving for Christmas Break. Product ideas ranged from Titan edition phone cases and T Shirts while others took a more charitable approach as they came up with dog tags that support different charity organizations. With help from Tower’s Occupational Therapy department, the ideas of students were brought into the material world as they actually made their products. Mrs. Morgan and her colleagues helped students bring their ideas to life with help of the collect of machines in her room, everything from engraving machines, stamp makers, and vinyl sticker press!
The actual presentations were not held in the classroom, but rather in the auditorium and on stage. Added on to the pressure of being on stage on front of the class, students also had to face real life Sharks, brought in by Mrs. McWhorter, with their products. The Sharks were people from outside of the school and outside of the comfort zone for some students as they found it a bit more challenging to speak in front of complete strangers. All three Sharks were persistent on making the experience as real as possible as they asked professional questions to put students in a professional mindset.
The reason behind the presentation was not to stress students out, but awaken their inner entrepreneur! This project put student’s mind and creative skills to the test as they had to build up their own product, presentation, and background for their pitches in the same style as the contestants on the actual show. While a lot of the presentations were scripted out carefully, the Sharks threw some unanticipated questions at students in order to test their ability to deal with the unexpected and stay cool under pressure while giving answers as this may happen in real life. All students were able to make up answers to appease the judges on the spot, a great skill to have later in life.
While other students in the building were taking their tests, marketing students were getting their Shark on and presenting their handmade products. For all their efforts, all students earned an A+!
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