Shark Tank: Real World Issues and Resolutions for Brazilians as it Connects to Canadians

I recently participated in a Teaching Across Borders program through the University of Calgary. I was placed in Brazil for 2 months. During which time I attended two schools and taught English Language in different aspects. For example, at Jose Honoreto, I was assisting in breakout groups, doing worksheets for grades 6-8. At CEPI, I planned and delivered lessons to grade 9-12 students. It was here that I had the opportunity to see how the humanities can truly transcend borders.

During my placement at CEPI, we focused on the Brazilian economy, specifically in the areas of non-profit organizations and entrepreneurs in Canada and Brazil. The last lesson my placement teaching partner and I taught was on a Canadian Organization that allows students to explore entrepreneurship and take their ideas, get funding to design them and expand them into real-life products that can help Canadians. This then became a way for our Brazilian students to do the same and explore economic decision-making, ethical considerations, citizenship and quality of life for Brazilian people and look at real-world issues facing Brazilians. We tasked our students to think of an everyday issue that Brazilian people face that can be transcended to other countries. They got into groups of 4 and brainstormed ideas and chose one to focus on. The next task we had them look at was designing a product that could help Brazilians perform day-to-day tasks that resolved the idea they chose, making daily life easier. We played a clip from Shark Tank focusing on the Scrub Daddy to give them a good example of a simple product that is sold worldwide and enriches consumers' lives. The idea was for them to present their ideas in a PowerPoint to a panel (the panel consisted of me, my placement teaching partner, their actual teacher and a student teacher from Brazil). We all had rubrics (summative assessment), asked questions (Formative assessment) and decided which product we would invest in to get it to market. The PowerPoint had to include costs of getting their product to market (marketing costs and creation costs), profit that they could make based on the price point from the cost/profit margin, consumer research (other products like it, supply and demand for their product etc.) and a design prototype (which was a drawing or computer-generated pictures of their product). Each group came up with amazing ideas, great research and compelling arguments for their products. Group 1 designed a pen that had multiple colours specifically for students taking their federal exams. The pen was not a click pen but more of a colour-changing pen that didn't require manual manipulation to change. Group 2 designed eyeglasses that changed with your eyesight. They didn't require any new prescription, just simply adjusted to your vision. Group 3 created portable solar panels that were flexible and light, which didn't require direct sunlight to charge. All great ideas that helped Brazilian people daily, but also allowed for marketing worldwide. Essentially, the panel chose the solar panels to invest in.

Looking back I didn't realize just how much this project aligned with our own Alberta Social Studies curriculum here in Canada. When my placement teaching partner and I designed it, we were trying to focus on the role of entrepreneurs in Brazilian and Canadian society as directed by the teacher we were working with. However, after deeper reflection, I now see how this exact assessment could be used here in Canada in a grade 9 social studies classroom. This particular assessment aligns with the grade 9 social studies program of studies general learning outcome 9.2, with a specific learning outcome being 9.2.2.

Overall, my experience teaching in a foreign country has taught me that while so many things are different, including culture, food, climate and language. One thing remains the same: the importance of the humanities in our daily lives.