Business Studies Learning Resources
Impactful resources for teaching and learning of the NSW Syllabus.
In addition to Prelim and HSC Business Studies textbooks, I also write and design a number of other assessment analytic and teaching resources. There are 5 ebooks, one website and two textbooks (that come with website digital resources and a workbook).
Assessment skill eBooks | Finance teaching resources | Syllabus visualisation | Textbooks
Assessment skill eBooks
These three ebooks are forensic analysis and deconstruction of the types of questions and language patterns used in multiple choice, short answer and business report elements of HSC exams 2019-2023. Invaluable for both teachers and students, and enables teachers and students to recognise and master the patterns. For teachers it is also quality PD in terms of how to write assessment task components in line with HSC language patterns and approaches. New editions for 2024, with the short answer analysis just released in May 2024.
These are sold as annual usage blackline masters, $220 per class per ebook. The usage approach is for teachers to make printed copies available to students, as well as being able to project in class in teaching the material. They can also be purchased as a bundle of $500 per class. Video overview of each are available below.
- Strategic Business Multiple Choice - 32 page ebook of analysis and guidance 2024 Edition
- Strategic Business Shorts - 50 page ebook of analysis and guidance 2024 Edition
- Strategic Business Reports - 46 page ebook of analysis and explicit guidance 2024 edition.
Finance teaching resources
Finance is perhaps the hardest of the topics for both teachers and students, and historically a problem area in assessment contexts. The resources here are FinRatios, a bespoe video enabled website to teach students the financial ratio, and an eBook, Strategic Financial Statements which combines the financial statement material from the preliminary and HSC courses.
- FinRatios - video based website and workbook released May 2024 addressing financial ratios
- Strategic Financial Statements - 62 page ebook of analysis and guidance 2024 Edition
FinRatios was released in May 2024, and is available as an annual class subscription at $220 per class. This provides a login for the teacher, and all students in the class for the year.
Strategic Financial Statements is sold as an annual usage blackline master, $220 per class. The usage approach is for teachers to make printed copies available to students, as well as being able to project in class in teaching the material.
Syllabus visualisation
The Business Studies syllabus published by NESA is primarily for use by teachers, who ALREADY know the content for the course. Students need to know the content outlined in the syllabus, but the structure, and presentation of the syllabus does not assist students build a mental model of how it fits together. This mental model of how it fits together is crucial for performance in Business Studies.
The visual syllabus designed for students and teachers to bridge that gap. It provides a reimagination of the NESA syllabus, which covers the same content, but presents that content in a holistic, cohesive, and visual way which demonstrates connections between the content, and provides ways to remember the content.
The visual syllabus is sold as an annual usage blackline master, $220 per class. The usage approach is for teachers to make printed copies available to students, as well as being able to project in class in teaching the material.
Textbooks: HSC and Preliminary available
There is still an important place for textbooks, and as a result of frustration with the then existing offerings I wrote textbooks addressing the preliminary and HSC courses, and then QR code and website enabled them in their second editions which are available.
You can take a look below at how the digital enabled of the books and resources works, and then there are short videos below that take you through the website and teaching approaches for the HSC and preliminary courses.
The texts are $89 for the Prelimnary text (book, website for the year including digital workbook), and $95 for the HSC text (book, website for the year including digital workbook).
Sample pages
Sample pages
Full syllabus coverage is provided for the NESA syllabuses of Commerce, Business Studies and Economics.The textbooks are designed to meet the need of prescribed texts for student cohorts in NSW.
Integrating and leveraging technology easily
Each of the textbooks have a companion website which is available to students both on computers and mobile devices. These provide a range of additional resources, including pdfs files of the chapters, quizlet flashcard decks, workbooks and chapter review answers and access to all of the QR code resources in the books. For Business Studies, this also includes syllabus memory trainers.
QR codes are used extensively in the books, which can be easily accessed in three ways:
- using a phone to scan the QR code
- clicking the QR code in the pdf of the chapters
- visiting the book website and selecting QR in the navigation and entering the short text code which is presented in the book beneath the QR code
What is the history of these textbooks?
I wrote these textbooks because as a teacher in a leading independent boys school I was not satisfied with the offerings in the market, and first started with publishing an online revision and teacher resource for economics as a subscription website, hsceco almost a decade ago. Then seven years ago I commenced with a Year 11 Economics text, then Year 12, then the Business Studies texts, and then the Commerce text completed for first use in 2022. The 2022 editions of the texts all have QR code and bespoke website support, and the resources of hsceco have been incorporated into the textbooks and the separate subscription website is no longer available.
The texts are being used in a range of leading schools in the private and public sectors, in country and in city contexts.