Monthly Archives: January 2012

Don’t make financial education just a resolution. Make real goals.

Posted on January 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

It’s the beginning of the New Year, and now is a perfect time to start thinking about your bank’s financial literacy strategy.  Whether you are just getting your feet wet or very experienced in financial education, it is always helpful to follow a well laid out plan and add some new creative ideas.  Below are helpful tips to plan out your year and add some fun along the way.

Adding in the fun
Here are some great and fun ideas to get people excited about financial education.

  • Check out the United Way’s Great Piggy Bank Saver’s pageant, where kids decorate their own cardboard pig. The United ­­­Way provides free materials for banks to order or download. Materials include: cardboard pig, lesson plan, tips for visiting bankers, banker follow-up report and much more. Have your bank decorate a giant pig out of a large cardboard box and display the students’ pigs around it. This is a sure way to get your customers talking!
  • During MSW, there is a poster contest for kids grades 2-6. Kids are asked to draw a poster answering the following question: “There’s a lot to know about money. What should you know now?” The winner of the contest receives a $200 savings bond from the Community Bankers of Iowa. This is a great way for kids to learn about money and be creative. Display the posters at your bank, and your customers will be thrilled to see what the kids came up with. Click here for more information or go to the MSW website.
  • Do you need to update your lesson plans? Here are some  creative and creditable resources: Federal Reserve Education, Jump$tart Coalition Clearinghouse, the FDIC’s Money Smart curriculum and Secret Millionaires Club. The IBA also has Teach Children to Save and Get Smart About Credit Day kits available for purchase at ABA member price.  To order, email clovan@iowabankers.com.
  • If you want to hold a session but don’t have the budget to rent a space, try your local library. Libraries usually have several rooms available to teach small classes that are free to the public. Just make it clear that you aren’t endorsing any sales and just want to teach the public about financial education.

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Posted in Financial Ed Resources

Help name the ABA’s Teach Children to Save logo pig

Posted on January 18, 2012 | 2 Comments

Yesterday, the American Bankers Association Education Foundation started a contest on its Facebook page to name “that pig” in their logo.  The winner of the contest will receive the new Teach Children to Save (TCTS) resource kit (valued at $300) or a $50 gift card. To enter the contest, simply “like” the ABA’s Education Foundation’s Facebook page and comment on the post regarding the contest.  Good luck naming!

The TCTS Resource Kit: the financial educators dream
The new and improved kit has everything your bank needs to enter any classroom, K-12, and successfully teach financial education without any prior experience.  Materials are divided into grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12, each having four lesson plans to choose from. Lessons are easy to follow and neatly bundled in a spiral bound book and can also be found in the provided CDs.

Resources include:

  • Overviews and objectives for lessons
  • Step-by-step lesson plans, activities and leave-behind materials
  • Tips for making successful presentations
  • Class information sheet
  • Presentation planning checklist
  • Teacher evaluation cards
  • Communication tools
    • Curriculum standards correlation chart for all grades
    • Sample approach letter to educator/school administrator
    • Tips on communicating with the media
    • Sample media advisory letter
    • Sample news release
    • Letter to parents
    • Tips for taking pictures for the media

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the ABA Education Foundation is offering Under the Hood; Making Use of the New Kit webinar to teach you how to fully utilize the kit’s resources. Click here to register.

The TCTS kit is also available to your bank at the ABA member price of $155 through the Iowa Bankers Association. To order a kit, contact Cashtyn Lovan at clovan@iowabankers.com or (800) 532-1423.

To learn more about the TCTS kit, go to www.abaef.com.

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Posted in Teach Children to Save

Best practices in selecting financial education materials

Posted on January 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

To help financial educators optimize the quality of their lessons, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy® developed Best Practices when creating or selecting financial education materials.

Follow these practices when developing or searching for your financial education resources.

Objectivity

  • Materials are objective in content and tone, and often include differing viewpoints. The materials do not deceive or mislead.
  • Materials are informative and do not promote a specific brand or provider.
  • Materials identify their content creator and list contact information.
  • Materials identify organizations that provide substantial funds for development and dissemination.
  • Recommended sources of additional information also meet objectivity guidelines.

Aligned to Standards

Teaching and Learning

  • Teaching and Learning Materials use plain-language. Technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms are clearly defined.
  • Materials require little additional teacher preparation.
  • Materials include student learning objectives and assessment tools, background information, lesson plans, and activities that stimulate student participation.
  • Materials appeal to contemporary student interests and identify resources for additional information.
  • Lesson plans and activities address a variety of learning styles, such as visual, auditory, touch and group interaction.
  • Copyright restrictions and terms of use are clearly stated.

Target Group

  • Materials identify target educational settings, such as traditional classrooms, home schooling, after-school or youth clubs, rural and urban settings.
  • Materials identify the intended user, such as teacher, parent, or student.
  • The reading level is appropriate for the target group.
  • Materials reflect diversity in areas such as age, race, gender, and household income.
  • Text, illustrations, and learning activities are culturally sensitive and appropriate for the target groups. Text is translated if necessary.

Accurate and Up-to-Date

  • Materials are regularly revised to be accurate, relevant, and current.
  • The date of original publication is clearly stated, along with dates of subsequent revisions.

Available and Accessible

  • Resources are readily available to teachers and learners.
  • Web-based resources are accessible using the technology and software typically found in schools and public libraries.
  • The price for materials, if any, is clearly stated.
  • Materials that are also available in special needs formats such as other languages, audio, and Braille are clearly identified.
  • New or updated materials are submitted to the Jump$tart Personal Finance Clearinghouse at http://www.jumpstartclearinghouse.org/.

Assessment

  • Materials are tested before publication under conditions that realistically replicate the target settings and audiences.
  • Feedback from teachers and learners shapes development and revision of materials.
  • Materials include assessment tools, such as pre- and post-tests and/or examples of acceptable work, where appropriate.
  • Assessment tools measure both student knowledge and behavioral change as a result of teaching and learning.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy grants permission to freely use these Best Practices statements for educational purposes.

Click here to download a free PDF copy of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy® 2010 Best Practices.

To learn more about the Jump$tart Coalition go to www.jumpstart.org.

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Posted in Financial Ed Resources, Jump$tart

Iowa ranks 11th in financial literacy capabilities

Posted on January 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to new research conducted by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Iowa ranked 11th in financial literacy capabilities and 17th in financial behavior among the other states.  The EBRI is a private, nonprofit research institute based in Washington, DC, that focuses on health, savings, retirement, and economic security issues.

The study used data from a state-by-state online survey to measure the difference in financial literacy and financial behavior across the states. After controlling the effect of demographic characteristics based on U.S Census Bureau distributions, the study suggest that the state in which people live in has an effect on their financial literacy and financial behavior.

While it is currently unclear why these state-specific differences are found in financial literacy and financial behavior, Sudipto Banerjee, EBRI research associate and author of the study, says that the results indicate “there may be a reason for policy intervention at the state level to help Americans achieve a financially secure retirement.”

By July 1, 2012, Iowa state law mandates the implementation of financial literacy in grades 9-12 in all school districts and accredited nonpublic schools.  Iowa banks can help schools meet this mandate by partnering with EverFi, a leading education technology platform that teaches, assesses and certifies students in critical life skills, including financial literacy. As of the end of third quarter 2011, 52 banks throughout Iowa have sponsored EverFi in more than 127 Iowa high schools. [Click here to read more about how Iowa banks are helping to implement EverFi in Iowa Schools.]

Iowa banks can also help support financial literacy by participating in upcoming financial literacy events such as the National Financial Capability Challenge, Money Smart Week, and Teach Children to Save Day.

To learn more about the EBRI go to www.ebri.org.  For the complete listing of state rankings and summary of the research conducted click here.

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Posted in EverFi, Financial Education News