Although the participating students were high school age, Sarah Johnson and Amy Krzyzanowski, instructional designers in the University of Delaware’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, decided to use playdough as the conduit for the day’s lesson plan.
In a seminar entitled “Shaping Human Capital”, held during CEEE’s weeklong residential Siegfried Youth Leadership Program (SYLP) Economics Camp on UD’s campus in late June, the students began the exercise by attempting to make playdough donuts with their non-dominant hands. Not surprisingly, only three donuts were deemed acceptable by the instructors.
In the second round, the students from Delaware, Philadelphia and New York City-area high schools were then allowed to use their dominant hand and were tasked with making four donuts of a uniform size. This time, five total donuts were counted as acceptable.
However, after Krzyzanowski held a training session giving the participants tips, the final round saw the students create 20 acceptable donuts.
Krzyzanowski’s training contributed and improved the students’ human capital – the education, knowledge, experience and skills that an individual brings to the workplace. She went on to give examples of acquiring human capital, such as gaining experience on the job, earning a certificate or degree at a local college, participating in soft skills workshops, or attending conferences within an industry.
She concluded the seminar with the message that workers with higher levels of human capital are generally more productive, and therefore tend to earn higher wages and salaries. The main point for students: to invest in themselves and have a growth mindset, and to always be looking to learn new skills or improve current ones.
“In general, the camp really tries to encourage students to look within themselves, and to find their own potential,” Johnson said. “Leadership potential, career potential. We capitalized on that theme in this workshop by explaining the effect that education can have on the rest of their lives.”
“Education doesn’t just have to be a formal, four-year bachelor’s degree,” Krzyzanowski added. “There are a lot of ways to invest in yourself beyond just that, although we’re not discouraging college by any means. But it’s not the only path, and there’s a lot of value in investing in themselves. Even them being at this camp this week is investing in themselves, and that’s huge.”
The seminar was one of many during the five-day camp, led by professors of economics Carlos Asarta and Roger Butters, and focused on economics education and youth leadership. The participating students attended 50-minute sessions throughout the morning and afternoon, before social activities during the evening that included trips to the UDairy Creamery, an Aberdeen IronBirds baseball game and an escape room.
Funding for the camp was provided by Rob and Kathy Siegfried, their generous gift providing for instructors, guest speakers, campus housing, resident assistants, meals, transportation and extracurricular activities.
“It is critically important for our youth to understand the basics of economics and, particularly, the functioning of different market structures. During this week, we support their development so that they begin transforming themselves into better individual leaders to enrich their lives and inspire positive change in their communities,” said Carlos Asarta, the James B. O’Neill director of the CEEE and professor of economics. “The generous and visionary support we receive from Rob and Kathy Siegfried allows us to offer a first-class summer camp, bringing national leaders in economics education and leadership to campus to work with the students.”
In addition to Johnson and Krzyzanowski, other instructors and presenters included veteran and UD staff member Dennis Derr and Donald J. Puglisi Professor of Finance Laura Field, as well as two UD Lerner graduates Josh Dalton and David Mahon, who earned their doctoral degrees in economics education. SYLP partners Megan Davis, Nick Enos and Dylan Gerstley also participated in the week’s activities, along with UD resident assistant and rising senior Jenna Demaio, a public policy and administration major.
Other seminars during the week included Supply and Demand; Competitive Markets; Profits and Entrepreneurs; Personal Finance; and Leadership, Confidence and Resiliency.
“It’s been really good meeting new people and staying in the dorms, getting a little of the college life,” said Cole Graham, who will be entering his senior year at Salesianum School. “A lot of students here want to do something with economics or business, and it’s been really helpful for all of us. It’s been fun.
“I wanted to learn more about economics, and just business in general. So I thought it would be a good idea, and give some good prep for college.”
Kayla Shoop, who will be entering her senior year at Smyrna High School, agreed.
“I personally chose to come to this camp because I was really interested in economics, and I’ve (previously) met people who work in the economics department at UD, so I was really interested in coming to see for myself. So far I’ve really been enjoying the camp, I think there’s been a lot of benefits to it. I’ve definitely gotten to learn more in-depth about economics, and I really appreciate the experience to work with professors (Asarta, Butters, Dalton, and Mahon) not just at UD but from different colleges and universities in the country,” she said.
Johnson and Krzyzanowski, both Lerner Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators graduates, were also high school teachers in Delaware before joining CEEE, giving them an advantage of coming up with unique activities they’ve read about or seen at conferences.
“Being teachers has given us an advantage in understanding that when students are engaged, they’re more likely to hear and process the message you’re trying to give them,” Johnson said. “So we’ve come up with activities that we really think are fun but yet have a point that’s worth making.
“There’s no better feeling as educators than seeing students engaged in what you’re trying to do, and understanding that it has value for them and is really important.”