Trade Turmoil - Year 11 Econs Up Close

Life at school here is different than elsewhere, that's for certain. One of the key things underlying how we try to package learning for our students is that it has to be experiential. There is little point in getting kids to just hit the books and study without anchoring their learning through actvities that allow for real comprehension, and being able to apply their knowlegde outside of an exam.

In Year 11 Econs, that kind of experiential learning looks like this:

The kids find themselves in the fictional economic zone of Tradinor (T.E.Z.). TEZ is made up of 6 different countries, and their respective citizens (the kids), with various funds, resources, expertise etc. at their disposal.

Tradinor is run - with an iron fist - by the right honourable Governour Bala (that'd be Tr. Crystal in this case) who elects a president for each of the countries to act as representatives and delegates of their people. And with that in place, it's on the kids to make sure they turn their country - with whatever riches or limitations they may have - into a flourishing centre of trade. Not just any kind, though. The purpose is also to aim for all countries to benefit and flourish so that Tradinor may become a win-win kind of ecosystem.

We don't want to give too much away, so as to not spoil the fun for the upcoming Year 11's, but suffice it to say that the game's firmly rooted in the economic principles they're learning about. They have to take concepts such as foreign exchange rates, balance sheets, current and capital accounts into consideration and not only because they have to report to the Governour after every round of play.

Tons of fun and heaps more tons of learning, just how it should be. Some snapshots for all the image hungry folks below.