CTE gets a glow up, courtesy of M2

“Accounting isn’t fun.”

Travis Paulsen teaches business and accounting classes to 9th through 12th graders at Owatanna Senior High School, and he’ll be the first to tell you that making accounting seem interesting is no small feat. Like many Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, he faces a unique challenge: “Accounting isn’t fun,” jokes Travis.

He knows accounting concepts—debits, credits, financial statements—don’t naturally generate excitement for teenagers. And business classes aren’t the only options competing for student enrollment. “We’re constantly competing with band, choir, arts, and other electives,” he notes. Those programs offer built-in opportunities for students to showcase their hard work and skills: concerts, performances, and other forms of creative expression. Completing an accounting course, by comparison, doesn’t get you bouquets or award ceremonies at the end of the year.

The double-entry dilemma

Accounting is also challenging. “The hardest thing for students to grasp is that in every transaction, two different parts of an equation are affected,” Travis explains.

Travis is describing double-entry accounting: the principle that every financial transaction affects at least two accounts. It’s fundamental to the discipline. It’s also abstract and difficult to visualize for students encountering it for the first time.

“We’re constantly trying to think of different examples to explain this concept,” Travis says. But coming up with fresh, relevant scenarios on the fly, multiple times per day, across multiple class sections? That’s a tall order even for a seasoned veteran like Travis. 

M2 balances the books

M2 made quick work of the double-entry dilemma. Travis recalled:

“After explaining the differences between assets and liabilities for the umpteenth time, I asked M2 and BOOM. It gave us relevant and interesting examples I had never thought of before.”

Another breakthrough came when Travis reimagined how his end-of-chapter questions  (something he calls “busy work”) could become meaningful learning opportunities when delivered by M2. 

The incentive is simple but powerful: if a student successfully argues their logic out loud with M2 then they don’t have to complete the end-of-chapter written assignment. It’s a win-win for everyone.

M2 also freshened up the feedback cycle in his classes.

He admits: his feedback to students was starting to feel perfunctory every time he graded those end-of-chapter worksheets.

“I was running out of ways to say ‘Yep, you did great! Awesome job!”

He knew students deserved something more genuine, but the reality of teaching multiple classes with virtually no prep time was making that level of individualized attention impossible.

Now, students receive in-depth, personalized feedback through their conversations with M2 and it’s not all sunshine and daisies. M2 keeps rigor high, asking follow-up questions with every piece of encouragement, e.g., “Have you thought about it this way instead?” “What might change your mind about this topic?” M2 challenges students to work through their misconceptions and provides scaffolding that deepens their understanding.

This tech just hits different

It was clear that M2 was making accounting the most popular CTE class offered in his program and Travis has a theory as to why. He jokes:

“Yes, there is a shiny, new tech factor, but let’s face it. It’s not an endless conversation with some ‘boring old teacher guy’”

It may sound self-deprecating at first, but there’s awareness and honesty here. When we chatted with Travis he shared some light-hearted examples of back-and-forth banter he has with his students every day. Their rapport is strong. But this technology just offers a different kind of engagement.

M2 provides novelty, patience, and a judgment-free space for students to work through complex concepts. Students can ask questions they might hesitate to raise in front of peers. They can take their time without worrying about holding up the class.

And Travis is strategic about deployment. “We don’t use M2 for everything,” he emphasizes. During regular instruction, “we’re still analyzing transactions and still having real discussions in class.” But M2 is there to make the grind of drilling tough concepts more relatable and easier to digest for learners.

The approach maximizes M2’s impact while maintaining Travis’s essential role as teacher and mentor.

Making CTE relatable for all

Ever since Travis brought M2 into his class, he’s witnessed a remarkable shift in his own teaching practice and his students’ attitudes toward learning, so his advice for fellow CTE teachers on where to start? Use M2 to provide real-world, relatable examples for challenging concepts. Whether it’s assets and liabilities in accounting, legal precedents in business law, or case studies in management, M2 can generate contextual examples instantly.

The result? “An instant launch pad for deeper discussions in your classes,” proclaims Travis. “This will put you on the map,” Travis says, speaking to the competitive reality of elective programs, “and students will want to sign up for your classes.” 

But beyond marketing advantages, M2 addresses a fundamental challenge in CTE education: how to make technical content accessible, genuine, and relevant for students who are still discovering their future selves.