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Infusing the Real World Into Marketing Education

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

 
As with all career and technical student organizations (CTSOs), DECA is co-curricular. But what does that look like in business and marketing classes around Wisconsin? In each case below, educators teach business and marketing concepts in the classroom while bringing in DECA to offer real-world opportunities and reinforce lessons learned. Take a look.

Lincoln High School integrates a project-based learning approach

Dodgeball
The Dodgeball Classic

At Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, Marketing and Business Educator Ashley Tessmer integrates DECA's written projects into her marketing classes to support a project-based learning approach. For example, Sports and Entertainment Marketing students carry out event-planning community service projects, including:

  • The Dodgeball Classic: a dodgeball tournament
  • Sportainment Night: a carnival, raffle, and entertainment provided in conjunction with a basketball game
  • Race the Rapids: a scavenger hunt contest with local businesses
Sportainment takes the floor
Sportainment Night takes the floor

And students enjoy it! "As a class, we developed contracts that we used to secure sponsorships with local business partners and created promotions for the event while helping generate traffic to local businesses," says student Isabelle Rasmussen. "There is a sense of accomplishment knowing that we are part of a program that has raised over $100,000 for local charities."

During the event-planning process, students use DECA's project management approach to write up their event proposals and results for class, and later compete with these projects at the state and international levels.

Holmen students learn by doing with DECA events

Marketing class
Holmen's marketing research class

Holmen High School Marketing Teachers Heather Breske and Haley Hesselberg see the relevance of infusing DECA into business and marketing classes. Their Market Research course offers a good example. It aligns with the Wisconsin Common Career Technical Standards; the Wisconsin Standards for Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship; and DECA's Competitive Events Program.

Students are asked to apply knowledge from previous marketing courses to DECA's competitive events program, including written projects and series/team events. The Market Research class focuses specifically on the DECA Business Operations Research Events and Project Management Events. These guide students in creating a 20-page marketing plan in which industry speakers and lessons are developed around the national DECA research topic for the year. Students have various lessons, and they apply what they are learning as they complete sections of the research project.

In addition to the projects, each Friday students in the course prepare for DECA role-plays and take cluster exams to further enhance and apply their marketing and business knowledge and skills to real-world examples. The timing of the class enables students to prepare for fall competitions as well.

After the holiday break, students spend the last month designing a presentation for their projects. The final assessment calls for students to present their project and visuals to a panel of local business people who use the DECA presentation rubric to score them.

Students can then compete with their projects if they choose. "They can see their hard work pay off," says Breske, "but regardless, we have found that infusing DECA into our classrooms benefits students now and in the future as they continue their paths within marketing and business careers."

Slinger High School is sold on its school-based enterprise

The Rookery school store
The Rookery student
store

Slinger High School's Business and Marketing Educator Kim Smessaert has developed a valuable connection between DECA’s school-based enterprise (SBE) Certification project and Slinger’s in-school store, The Rookery. This full-service SBE sells Slinger spirit items to the entire Slinger community. It features hardline and softline items and operates both online and a brick-and-mortar location within Slinger High School.

The success of the store begins in the Marketing 1 course generally taken by 9th and 10th graders. Though beginning students may not know much about DECA, the store, or business/marketing, they are required to work four times in The Rookery to earn their professionalism grade in the course.

The RookeryKids quickly realize how fun and easy it is to work in the store and often volunteer to work above and beyond what is required. They meet the other student managers, get to be social with other students and staff, and feel a sense of empowerment given it's an SBE. After completing Marketing 1, students often join DECA so they can continue working at The Rookery.

"The overall takeaway is, because it is part of their professionalism grade, working in the store overcomes the hurdle of getting students into the SBE and ultimately allows them to see firsthand the content connection between the store and what is taught in the classroom," says Smessaert.

DECA winners
And the winner is ...
Slinger!

Their deeper understanding of the content and experience qualify them to apply for a student management position their junior or senior year. If they get the position, they are professionally prepared to write the DECA SBE Certification project.

If the school-based enterprise earns the DECA Gold Certification, student leaders have the opportunity to compete at the state and international levels. The Rookery has been fortunate to be an annual gold-certified store and has earned first place twice at the DECA International Career Development Conference.

—Submitted by Tim Fandek, Marketing, Management, and Entrepreneurship Education Consultant, Wisconsin DECA Chartered Association Advisor, Career and Technical Education, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction