ETEC 524 A2 Unit of Learning Part II

Unit 1: Understand Income, Expense, Budgeting and Savings

–Yinwen Jiang ETEC 524 A2

Learning Objectives:

This course targets middle school students (ages 11–14) who are beginning to manage allowances, part-time earnings, or gifts but lack structured financial education. These digital-native learners thrive on interactive, visually engaging, and gamified content that connects abstract financial concepts to real-world decision-making.

By end of this unit, students shall be able to:

1. Explain and understand income, expenses, and budgeting
2. Understand savings
3. Calculate basic concept via maths and digital tools

Learning Activities & Communication:

Activities will be tailored to the learners by way of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) put forward by researchers at the Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) in the late 1980s. It was the result of the alignment of three conceptual shifts: advancements in architectural design, developments in education technology, and discoveries from brain research (Ralabate, P. K., 2011). Attention will be paid to the diversity of learners in current BC classrooms, with adaptations and modifications that will allow all students to access the material. The educational media that will be used in our application will be an internet connected device (Chromebook, laptop, PC, or tablet [iPad or equivalent] ), supportive applications like Google Read and Write, and applications within the Google Applications for Education (GAFE) suite for digital artifact creation. 

The unit uses a blended, flipped model with self-paced digital learning and instructor-guided application. Key tech tools are integrated to boost engagement and practical skill-building including money basis (Nearpod/Pear Deck), google sheets/excel; smart spending (online simulation, flip); save and interest (compound interest calculators, My Bank’s money twist); introduction to investment (Edpuzzle). Course starts with a warming up game “Monopoly”, a custom-made game to invite interest of students – gamification.

Students and teachers will gain procedural or performative knowledge through interactions on website. This includes but is not limited to: making simple financial plans to meet a certain financial goal; developing a budget that takes into account income and expenses; simple calculations by integrating basic math knowledge, e.g. percentage, interest rate, compound calculation etc.; informed decision making on saving and purchasing like: How many weeks of allowance will it take to buy a bicycle?; what is tax?; why the fiscal budget of a country is important and how it is worked out; what are tips, discounts, and sale prices?; what is budget planning – community and family examples; what is insurance and why it is important?; what is a student loan?; and how do student loans function and what role do they play in education? This knowledge focus is supported by Amagir et al, (2017) when they state: The evidence shows that school-based financial-education programs can improve children’s and adolescents’ financial knowledge and attitudes. Studies that assess the intention to practice good behavior and studies based on self-reported behavior also report positive effects. Also, Hastings et al. (2013) associate low financial literacy with negative credit behaviors such as debt accumulation, high-cost borrowing, poor mortgage choice, mortgage delinquency, and home foreclosure. 

The financial knowledge to be delivered will not be overly technical compared to some other higher level concepts for students at this level. The learning will be more about common sense and “real world” knowledge that will require sequential steps and scaffolded learning. Basic numeracy skills will be used and developed through the lessons and activities within the learning environment. Activities are designed with aim to take students through the different stages of life. Examples: 

Childhood: Can be implemented as a tutorial stage where the goal is to establish the basic game play mechanics for the rest of the game. The goal is to cover basics of savings, budget, interest rates, deposits, withdrawals, chores, and allowance.

College: Planned for phase 2 of the game, users will be able to choose from multiple college majors, which will have their own durations, fail rates and activities. In addition to this, the activities can expand to have student loan choices, borrow from mom and dad, budget to pay bills (electric, gas, etc), credit card offers, tough choices (concert, road trip, etc).

Career: Planned for phase 2 of the game, users will be able to choose from multiple career choices with salaries, taxation, promotions, and leisure time activities.

Home Ownership: understanding of a mortgage, housing choices (buy and fix, buy and live, etc), and housing upgrades can add value (home equity), market conditions that can improve or devalue your home. Future things to consider could be crime rate, living within means, budgeting for unexpected home repairs and buying an affordable house. 

Entrepreneurship: Can be considered for adding this to both after and before college career options. If they choose entrepreneurship, things that can be focused on include marketing, sales, products, company name and logo, hiring, firing, bank loans, and venture capitalists.

Life Crisis: Things that can be considered for future work are medical costs, family emergencies, natural disasters.

Retirement: How to plan for, budget, pay off loans vs. investing and making minimum payments, pension plan, stocks, bonds with insurance for each of the options can be considered.

Students are expected to gain an understanding of how to calculate, budget, think critically and problem solve. Activities within our website will train students and teachers on how to navigate, interact and create in a digital environment. Opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them to deepen learning will also be a focus of the procedural knowledge available. Students and teachers will use supported integrated applications (e.g.GAFE) to create digital artifacts. Users will also gain an understanding of how a digital learning environment functions and have opportunities to submit, comment, and provide feedback to peers and instructors. Drop boxes, comment and feedback support will be an integral part of the collaborative nature of the website. 

As stated above, the context in which the design project is situated is an interactive website. Scott D. Johnson, & Steven R. Aragon (2003) state that, based on the lack of evidence that technology significantly influences the learning process, scholars in the field of instructional technology now conclude that the technology used in an online program is not as important as other instructional factors, such as pedagogy and course design. The unit will focus on the content and delivery more than the technology used. 

Create a learning profile for each individual student to track the progress, including the tutorials watched, quiz. For example:

Forms and Content References:

 Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Own Gamification Strategy (harbingergroup.com)

Assessment:

To properly measure the effectiveness of the project, assessment strategies will be employed as below:

• The active usage of the hub (no. of clicks, traffic volume, length of time of active use)
• A pre-test (quantitative) of financial literacy of users (before using the website)
• A post-test (quantitative) of financial literacy of users (after a prescribed period of time using the website) 
• Teacher Hub – user progress and attainment of rewards and knowledge
• Feedback Tab – users can give feedback at intervals after use of the website. Responses for level of interactivity, usability, engagement and “fun factor” can all be tracked
• Annual community competition or other interactive offline trophy 
• Introduce internship or live / real finance environment in the community to award kids who demonstrated meaningful involvement and contribution to promote subject awareness in the region
• Opportunity to attend lecturers, forums suitable for kids and meet people in the industry

Financial topics and related knowledge will be tested. Teachers will be able to track students’ acquisition of knowledge and achievements within the Teacher Hub. Users will complete a culminating project to display their knowledge gained from the interactive website. They will create a: “My Financial Future” profile as a final project to be assessed by their teacher. It will encompass the sequential learning and experiences that users will attain while using our website and the programs within it. 

References:

Ralabate, P. K. (2011). Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the needs of all students. The ASHA Leader, 16(10), 14–17. https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.ftr2.16102011.14 

Amagir, A., Groot, W., Maassen van den Brink, H., & Wilschut, A. (2017). A review of financial-literacy education programs for children and adolescents. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 17(1), 56–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/2047173417719555 

Hastings, J. S., Madrian, B. C., & Skimmyhorn, W. L. (2013). Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Economic Outcomes. Annual Review of Economics, 5, 347–373. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42940072

Johnson, S.D. and Aragon, S.R. (2003), An instructional strategy framework for online learning environments. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2003: 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.117

Self reflection

Before kick off the unit design, I spent quite some time reflect on teaching target , middle school students who start to do self budgeting and manage allowances. Middle school students are at a crucial stage where they begin managing allowances and part-time earnings but may lack structured financial knowledge. I considered their cognitive development, short attention spans, and preference for interactive, relatable content. However, I should ensure the content is neither too simplistic nor overly complex, balancing engagement with practical application.

Question for improvement:

How can I better assess students’ prior financial knowledge to tailor the unit effectively?

The unit encompass multimodal approach to cater to diverse learning styles, visual, auditory, kinesthetic (monopoly game) and digital. The variety shall keep students engaged but deeper thought is how to ensure all modes equally accessible given tech limitations to some students.

Question for improvement:

Are there any low-tech alternatives for students without reliable digital access?

I emphasized practical skills like budgeting allowances, distinguishing needs vs.wants and savings for goals with real life scenarios that helps bridge theory and practice. Students are expected to see immediate relevance yet some examples may not fully resonate with all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Question for improvement:
How can I make examples more inclusive of diverse financial situations?

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