Behavioral Economics, American Industry, and Alpine Adventures (Session 1, Week 6)

Greetings, parents, grandparents, and families!

Welcome to Week 6 of the Journey Studio newsletter. This week, learners continued exploring behavioral economics through Genre and Quest while studying influential entrepreneurs and the rise of Standard Oil in Civ. They also enjoyed a full day of outdoor activities at Alpine!

Genre: Improving Our Behavioral Economics Experiments

This week in Genre, learners continued researching behavioral economics and explored ways to improve their chosen experiments.

They exchanged their written work with a partner, received feedback, and revised their writeups based on the suggestions they received. This process helped them strengthen their work and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Quest: Exploring the Power of Nudges

In Quest, learners researched and reflected on the power of nudges—how small changes in the way choices are presented can influence people's decisions.

They then began creating the trifolds they will use to present their experiments at this session’s interactive Exhibition. These displays will help them explain their research and demonstrate their findings to visitors.

Civ: Entrepreneurs, Standard Oil, and the Growth of America

This week in Civ, learners researched Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and the rise of Standard Oil. They explored the role influential entrepreneurs played in shaping the American economy during the 1800s.

The question that sparked the most interest was:

Which did more to build America's economy in the 1800s: bold entrepreneurs or fair rules set by the government? Why? Bring one example of each.

This discussion encouraged learners to consider the relationship between business innovation, government regulation, and economic growth.

Alpine: Outdoor Cooking, Games, and Hiking

On Thursday, the Journey learners spent the day at Alpine enjoying outdoor activities and time together.

They built a fire and cooked a variety of treats and foods, including s’mores, potatoes, marshmallows, and peppers with chili. After cooking, they played volleyball and manhunt before finishing the day with a group hike.

It was a fun opportunity to build connections, enjoy the outdoors, and learn beyond the studio.

Thank you to all our parents, grandparents, and families for reading this week’s Journey Studio newsletter. We look forward to sharing more of our learning, discoveries, and adventures with you next week!

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