ACTIVITY

Dragons’ Den

Students present their idea or solution to a panel of external guests who provide feedback to the students.

The intention is that students gain experience in presenting what they have developed, briefly and precisely – and that they experience being taken seriously and receiving feedback from external people.

Inform the students that they will be presenting their idea to some outside guests – a bit like the TV program Dragons’ Den. Tell the students how it will happen and who the guests are. Also tell them how long they have for their presentation (e.g. 3 minutes), and what the requirements/framework are for their presentation (e.g. that the guests have 5 minutes to give feedback).

With the Elevator Pitch method, students prepare their presentation. They can write down speech notes, create posters, slides, or other things to support their presentation.

Using the Brainstorming method, the students come up with different ideas for which tools and communication techniques they can use to make their presentation interesting for the ‘dragons’.

Students practice their elevator pitch one or more times using the Dress Rehearsal method. They take time to improve their presentation.

The classroom is prepared so that guests can sit in a panel – and both watch the presentations and face the rest of the class.

The guests arrive and introduce themselves to the class.

The groups present to the guests. There is applause after each presentation. The lions take turns giving their feedback. Once they have given their feedback, feedback from the other students can be opened up if there is time. Set a time frame for both presentation and feedback and give a signal when there is little time left.

When all groups have presented, thank the guests. They will have the opportunity to give a collective response to the class. If necessary, give the lions a symbolic gift for taking the time.

After the lions have left, ask the students about how they experienced it and what they learned from it. Remind the students that not all feedback should be taken away.

Didactic tips:

You could watch a few examples of presentations from the TV program Dragons’ Den and have a conversation about what works well/less well in the entrepreneurs’ presentations.
The orientation of the students can be advantageously done early in the process – before they develop their idea or solution – and then repeated when they are about to prepare their presentation.
The dress rehearsal can also take place by having two groups present to each other and using a feedback method give each other feedback and ideas for improvements.
Alternatively, the students can film their dress rehearsal and review the video in their group to spot things they can improve.
Guests can be people who know something, have experience with or may be customers/recipients of the solutions that the students have developed. Contact the guests well in advance or involve the students in finding out who to invite – and in inviting them.
If it is not possible to invite guests from outside, the school principal, other teachers or other students can play the role of ‘dragons’. This can be done, for example, as a role play where the students are given a role that they must empathize with.
Remember to tell the guests what the students have worked on and with what focus, so that they understand their prerequisites. Also remind the guests that their feedback should be loving, concrete and constructive.
If possible, use the 4-Feedback method or the Two Stars and a Wish method to frame the feedback.
If the Dragons’ Den is part of a longer process and does not mark the end, the students can continue to work with the feedback they have received and further develop their idea / solution.

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THEME:

AGE: 10-12 years, 13-15 years

SUBJECTS:

TOOLS / MATERIALS:

Possibly computer and screen
Possibly other visual aids