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Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

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Discovery Education Offers New Resources for Financial Literacy Month

Silver Spring, MD (Monday, April 3, 2022) — Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place—is offering educators, students, and families a host of dynamic digital resources focused on financial literacy for Financial Literacy Month and beyond.  

Taking place annually in April, Financial Literacy Month was founded by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and is produced by the Jump$tart Coalition. To support financial literacy wherever learning takes place, Discovery Education presents a curated collection of resources focused on financial literacy created in collaboration with leading social impact partners: 

Classroom Activity
Help students connect economics concepts to current events and everyday life with timely activities, videos, interactive modules and more. From price discovery to supply chain dynamics, resources from Econ Essentials, an educational initiative with Futures Fundamentals, examine real-world applications of complex market topics. Students will explore how changes in supply and demand curves impact prices, while a new hot topic activity looks at the ways businesses react to and mitigate the risks of such price fluctuations caused by supply chain disruptions. …Read More

Financial Literacy Challenge from Jackson Charitable Foundation and Discovery Education Empowering Communities to Win $10,000 for Their Schools Now Open

Silver Spring, Md. (Monday, March 14, 2022) – Jackson Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission to advance financial knowledge on a national scale, and Discovery Education today opened the 6th annual Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids Contest. The contest enables communities to vote for their school to win $10,000 that can be used for critical educator resources that teach kids how to earn, save, spend, and donate.   

This national contest encourages elementary school teachers, families, and community members to show their commitment to financial education by voting online daily for their school to receive a prize package featuring: 

  • A grant of $10,000 to build a brighter financial future at the winning school.  
  • $1,000 to be donated to the charity of the school’s choice. 
  • An interactive, hands-on, educational financial literacy event hosted by Discovery Education that brings to life Cha-Ching’s four pillars of financial education – earn, save, spend, and donate. 

Participants may enter up to once a day on behalf of their school from now through June 17, 2022. Learn more and vote for your school.  …Read More

3 financial literacy tips students can use now

While moving into adulthood, teens are faced with a number of paths. Empowering students to select which path works best for them and determine how to best financially plan for the future are key to ensuring that some of their first adult decisions set them on a trajectory toward success.

While research shows a positive connection between higher education and economic status, it’s important to recognize that the traditional route to higher education does not work for every student. However, it is critical that every student have access to information that will help them plan for whatever path they choose.

Opting for traditional higher education can prove challenging for many due to the rising costs. Since the 1970s, college costs in the U.S. have tripled. Today, private school costs an average of $30,000+ per year while public college costs $22,000+ per year, according to U.S. News & World Report.…Read More

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Discovery Education and Venture Valley Partner to Launch New Educational Initiative Teaching Financial Literacy Through Games and Resources

Silver Spring, MD. (Monday, March 7, 2022) – Venture Valley video game team and Discovery Education announced today a new educational initiative – Discover Venture Valley – helping students build financial literacy and business skills. Discover Venture Valley empowers students in grades 6-12 to build financial and business basics through a suite of standards-aligned resources and by taking on the role of a budding entrepreneur in the new Venture Valley video game. Discover Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. The Venture Valley game is a project of the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. 

Discover Venture Valley helps students discover and develop their entrepreneurial spirit by exploring the financial and business basics explored in the Venture Valley game. Accompanying digital resources – including classroom activities, a video topic series, and educator guides – align to learning standards across multiple disciplines including English language arts, math, business, and financial literacy. 

“We believe that financial competence empowers individuals to do great things for themselves, their communities and the world. We are excited to launch this partnership with Discovery Education, as they share our commitment to enriching and empowering students with an interactive and exciting digital game,” said Roger Hector, Executive Producer for the Venture Valley game. “Discover Venture Valley builds and sustains student interest in financial literacy through entrepreneurship and play, and is the perfect complement to Venture Valley, which lets those interested in becoming entrepreneurs learn basic business concepts and skills by applying them in a game.” …Read More

3 financial literacy tips for students

While moving into adulthood, teens are faced with a number of paths. Empowering students to select which path works best for them and determine how to best financially plan for the future are key to ensuring that some of their first adult decisions set them on a trajectory toward success.

While research shows a positive connection between higher education and economic status, it’s important to recognize that the traditional route to higher education does not work for every student. However, it is critical that every student have access to information that will help them plan for whatever path they choose.

Opting for traditional higher education can prove challenging for many due to the rising costs. Since the 1970s, college costs in the U.S. have tripled. Today, private school costs an average of $30,000+ per year while public college costs $22,000+ per year, according to U.S. News & World Report.…Read More

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Teachers Offer Tips To Make Summer Learning More Inspiring, Creative and Challenging, Using Osmo for Schools’ STEAM Technology

Exploring Nature, Creating Stories, Learning Financial Literacy, Are Among Ideas Suggested

Palo Alto- From exploring nature to story creation to financial literacy, teachers from around the U.S. offer tips to colleagues on how to make summer learning more inspiring, creative and challenging for students, using Osmo for Schools’ STEAM technology.

Brittany Thomas, 5th grade teacher at Glen Burnie Park Elementary in Glen Burnie, Maryland, says: …Read More

Every single middle school student can benefit from financial literacy education according to new study

University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute study holds promise that financial literacy education can help students nationwide build important financial foundations

Newly released findings from a two-year study of the efficacy of financial literacy on middle school students affirm significant knowledge gain in the subject matter, and advocates more such learning be provided to students in this age group. Conducted by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI), the largest study of financial education efficacy on middle school students focused on FutureSmart, a digital financial literacy course for grades 6-8, developed by the social impact education innovator, EVERFI, and available nationwide at no cost through a grant from the MassMutual Foundation.

The complete study and its findings were published today in the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. Through a comparison of pre- and post-course assessment data, researchers found significant and consistent gains in financial knowledge for all students regardless of personal or school characteristics and regardless of how the program is implemented with students. In particular, the study focused on the impact of the curriculum on four key student outcomes: financial knowledge, feelings of confidence with the subject, communication with parents on fiscal topics, and current and future engagement with financial systems. …Read More

3 steps to implementing a 21st-century financial education curriculum

Effective and accessible financial education has historically been absent in U.S. schools. Outdated instructional practices and a lack of standards have made it difficult for teachers to easily incorporate this crucial topic in the classroom.

According to a 2016 study by LendEDU, more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds wish they’d taken a personal finance course in high school. Unfortunately, not every state has a requirement that students take some form of a financial education course prior to graduating.

As the business education teacher at Niles North High School (NNHS) in Illinois, I’m passionate about ensuring that every child has access to an equitable and effective financial education curriculum. NNHS is one of the most diverse high schools in Illinois, with students who come from almost every corner of the globe and speak more than 70 different languages. I feel lucky that my state requires every student to complete a consumer education course, and I know the importance of providing a course that is up-to-date and applicable to the real world.…Read More

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Teaching financial literacy: The bottom line

April is Financial Literacy Month, and while it’s always a great time to talk about financial literacy, April shines a big spotlight on my favorite topic! Not everyone will geek out about it like I do—and I’m okay with that—but we need to face some hard truths. Nearly one-fourth of millennials are spending more than they earn, college students are racking up record debt, and more and more people say they have less than three months’ worth of emergency funds. We have to teach the skills that will let students enjoy their earnings and look forward to financial security.

As a business and technology teacher dedicated to bright and secure futures for all my students, I’m really excited to see financial literacy being taken more seriously. Recently, I was part of a push to get a bill passed in Massachusetts that outlines financial literacy standards and stipulates that the classes be taught by qualified teachers. We are making progress!

Now, as more support is building at the state level, we have to make sure that teachers get the curricular resources they need to bring financial literacy into their classrooms. Programs like Discover and Discovery Education’s Pathway to Financial Success are great because they supply a variety of resources that teachers need to go beyond balancing a checkbook. (Does anyone write checks anymore?) From banking online to keeping an eye on your Venmo, building credit and understanding loans, the program offers a comprehensive set of financial literacy lessons that today’s students need to have.…Read More

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What is your school doing to teach financial literacy?

I believe personal finance should be part of every American’s lifelong learning plan, from elementary school through and into adulthood. It’s that important.

In December, our center issued its third state-by-state report card on high school personal finance education. Report cards also were issued in 2013 and 2015.

Our report cards are among several advocacy efforts. We believe strongly that financial literacy among Americans is linked to positive outcomes like wealth accumulation, stock market participation, retirement planning, and avoiding high-cost alternative financial services like payday lending and auto title loans.…Read More

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