The School Fundraiser Challenge

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player...

Mrs. Johnson’s class and Mr. Smith’s class are both participating in a school fundraiser. They need to sell chocolate bars to raise money for new playground equipment. Both classes have 20 students each.

At the end of the first week:

– Mrs. Johnson tells her class: “Great job everyone! We’ve sold 60 chocolate bars. We only have 40 more to go to reach our goal of 100!”

– Mr. Smith tells his class: “Good start, team! We’ve sold 60 chocolate bars. We still need to sell 40 more to reach our goal of 100.”

The next week, Mrs. Johnson’s class sells 25 more chocolate bars, while Mr. Smith’s class sells 20 more.

 

Mrs. J's "Great job! Only 40 more to go!" Mr. S's "Good start. Still need 40 more." 60 bars 60 bars First Week Results Goal: 100 chocolate bars

Questions

1. How many chocolate bars did each class sell in total?

2. Which class got closer to the goal of 100 chocolate bars?

3. Why do you think Mrs. Johnson’s class sold more chocolate bars in the second week?

4. How did Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Smith “frame” their messages differently?

Solution

1. Total chocolate bars sold by each class:
– Mrs. Johnson’s class: 60 (first week) + 25 (second week) = 85 bars
– Mr. Smith’s class: 60 (first week) + 20 (second week) = 80 bars

2. Mrs. Johnson’s class got closer to the goal, selling 85 bars compared to Mr. Smith’s class selling 80 bars.

3. Mrs. Johnson’s class likely sold more chocolate bars because of how she framed the message. By saying “We only have 40 more to go,” she made the remaining task seem more achievable and motivated her students to work harder.

4. Framing differences:
– Mrs. Johnson framed the message positively, emphasizing progress (“Great job!”) and presenting the remaining task as a small, achievable goal (“only have 40 more to go”).
– Mr. Smith framed the message more neutrally, acknowledging the start but emphasizing the work still needed (“still need to sell 40 more”).

The framing effect shows how the same information (60 bars sold, 40 to go) can be presented differently to influence motivation and behavior.

Mrs. J's Class 60 bars 25 bars Total: 85 bars Mr. S's Class 60 bars 20 bars Total: 80 bars Goal: 100 chocolate bars