Getting Down to Business: Exploring Entrepreneurship with the Autonomous Learner Model

Getting Down to Business is a multidisciplinary instructional unit designed for advanced middle and high school learners that provides an introduction to basic business concepts and the process of starting and operating a business through the Autonomous Learner Model. The Autonomous Learner Model for the Gifted and Talented was created in 1978 when Dr. George T. Betts and Jolene Knapp (now Jolene Kercher) recognized the need to serve both unique social, emotional, and academic needs of gifted and talented learners. Betts and Knapp identified five areas around which curriculum can be developed for the gifted and talented, with the end goal being to create autonomous, life-long learners.