Date of Visit: March 23rd, 2007

“I’d like to organise for you to do a one day YR 10 GCSE Business Studies conference (95 students) in Jan next year. Interested?” (May 2006)
In the end it was decided that rather than have 90+ year 10 pupils in one hall all day (on a Friday!), to split them into four groups. Each class would be taught something slightly different to encourage group discussions later.
Here’s how it worked:
Class 1 (09.45 – 10.45) : Les Miserables, Marketing, Advertising, Business Ownership, Finance.
Class 2: (11.10 – 12.10): Gothic music; Finance; Business Ownership; Product Life Cycle; Motivational Theorists
Class 3: (13.10 – 14.10): Football; Advertising; Cheating in exams; Bluffing the Examiner; Dystonia
Class 4: (14.10 – 15.10): Beef; Conception; Advertising; Theorists; Ownership; Finance
The procedure was:

1. Short answer questions to the whole class (sit down if you get the question wrong)
2. Last one standing makes a speech
3. The speech is then mind mapped
4. Split the class into sections and they mind map areas of the syllabus
5. Explain the mind map to others
6. Download/visit a mind map site
7. Summaries

See image gallery for conference pictures