ENMosal PhD

DISSERTATION PLANNING

Nature of the Problem: A Need for Financial Education

In 2005 the housing market made a drastic correction. Highly inflated home costs and their subsequent amortized mortgages were suddenly sending many people spiraling into debt. During this time, due to energized interest rates, sketchy lending practices, and an influx of ready income, many people were spending above or at their means (Nielson, 2011) and not nurturing a nest egg. This correction caused a drastic domino effect with people losing homes, savings, and, in many cases, jobs (McKibbin & Stoeckell, 2006).

During this same time, the continued debate over retirement and social security payments to retirees caused many to scramble to make catch up payments to existing retirement funds or encourage the creation of new accounts in hopes to wean employees off the idea that social security is an option for retirement. The original idea was social security was one leg of a three legged stool for retirement employer based pension planes and personal retirement options being the other two legs (Smith, 2011).
Simultaneously, the credit industry applied their lending practices to anyone. Obtaining a credit card was a simple process and paying a minimum balance led many people into serious credit card debt. At its height, the average credit card debt of a college graduate without a full time job in 2009 was roughly $4100 (Woolsey & Schulz, 2011).

As the debt crisis, housing bubble, and financial worries of retirement were foremost in the news, politicians and educators were dealing with the situation on their sides of the fence. Government became involved with credit card investigations, helping the consumer to rectify and understand their credit scores and what it meant to the consumer purchasing power, while educational institutions became aware of the lack of education regarding personal finance. Sites like Consumer Jungle helped students to understand purchasing issues related to their lives like, cell phones, cars, and eventually credit card uses (The Consumer Jungle). Another partner in financial education was

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). NEFE is a private, non-profit organization who set their goals to offer educational supplies and teacher professional development for the financial advancement of young people at no cost (The National Endowment for Financial Education). Another prominent site is the Jump$tart Coalition which began in 1995 as a clearing house of web sites which helped with financial education. Now the organization, and its partnering state affiliates, are a driving force in the research and the creation of educational standards for financial education (The Jump$tart Coalition, 2011) . Organizations like these became a force in the education of students concerning the importance of financial planning and raising the awareness of preparing for retirement early in life (National Endowment for Financial Education, 2011).

As part of the education process, financial institutions have become major players in the financial education market. For example, Wells Fargo’s Hands on Banking (Wells Fargo, 2010) is an entirely web based financial literacy tool available at no cost to the user. This site which began in 2003 has expanded to include adults, students, and a new section on entrepreneurship to help those interested in learning how to start and manage a business.

These strategies, and readily available tools for instruction, have encouraged many states to include financial education as a formal high school graduation requirement. As of 2010, 21 states now require some form of financial education course, either personal finance or economics, to be successfully completed before graduation (Gerber, 2010).

Because of the perfect financial storm, school’s scrambled for curriculum in the personal finance courses, and many text book companies began offering traditional sources of learning. However, to pique the interest and motivation of students beyond cell phone and car purchases, educators are turning to more invigorating and engaging methods of instruction. With the concepts of 21st Century Skills (Dede, 2007) and the movement away from legacy curriculum and legacy teaching practices, many gaming aspects are now incorporated into financial education situations. With educators using alternative strategies, such as game play, virtual environments or simulations to facilitate understanding of financial concepts, 21st century skills are incorporated. Situational or simulated experiences like Budget Challenge, The Stock Market Game, Awesome Island, and virtual environments like Stagecoach Island and Mo’Doh Island on Second Life are being used as more engaging and representative of authentic financial experiences (Paige, 2011).

Possible Research Methods

It is in the area of teaching personal finance using a virtual environment that the following are possible research questions:

Does the use of virtual environment have an impact on learning personal finance?
What levels of engagement are seen when students interact with the virtual environment?
What are the most significant indicators of knowledge retention by students learning personal finance while using a virtual environment?

Guide to Methods Approach

It is accepted that using a virtual environment to teach elementary and middle school students works well in the field of science inquiry (Clarke & Dede, 2005) (The River City Project). Looking at further studies of college aged students (pre-service teachers) using problem based learning theories in conjunction with a MUVE (Campell, 2009), the study shows the students found great insight through their virtual reflections. These situations deal with a learning aspect then applying that new learned skill within the 3-D environment. The goal of both of the studies was to examine if these newly acquired skills transferred to real-world situations. It is with these studies in mind, I want to evaluate the use of a virtual environment to teach personal finance and the subsequent transition of that learning to real world situations.

My plan is to conduct a study with high school aged students on the use of a virtual environment and learning personal finance. This study is leaning towards a mixed methods procedure as I am interested in the student’s views on their engagement and use of the program as well as evaluating the effect of the program in conjunction with teaching financial concepts. This study will use high school participants registered in a personal finance course. These students will add using a virtual environment as part of their instruction. Another section will act as control, being taught identical material without the use of the virtual environment. Data will be collected via survey, interview and in-world chats. The treatment should last roughly three weeks.

Theories and Concepts which Support this Study

Connecting simulation to reality has been my driving force and what connects my thinking to research and practice. Through research it is my goal to demonstrate a connection from virtual experience and with minimal practice to real, job related activities. My thinking is influenced by that learning is situated in context, learning is experiential, and students learn best by doing and the importance of the role of transfer. These frameworks are founded in the works of situated learning, as proposed by Brown et al (1989) , Zone of Proximity as stated by Vygotsky (1978), the combination of Learning by Doing, as discussed by Carl Aldrich (2005) and Experiential Learning Theory as laid down by Rogers (1983) and further defined by Kold (1984), and transfer as discussed by Perkins and Salomon (1994). These ideas tied together with the FACTs model of lesson design by Norton and Wiburg (2002), to bind my conceptual framework.

The following bodies of literature will inform my research:

Conceptual Framework
Situated Cognition - Brown et al
Learning by Doing and Experiential Learning Theory – C Alrich and Carl Rogers and David Kolb
Vygotosky – Zone Proximity
Transfer of Learning - Perkins and Salomon
FACTS Lesson Design – Norton and Wiburg

These theories and concepts form the basis of my conceptual framework. The combination of these ideas and theories are threaded in my understanding of how students learn. I believe students lean best by doing and benefit from a well designed lesson which allows for situated learning with authentic experiences which transfer to real world activities.

Conceptual Framework References:

Aldrich, C. (2005). Learning By Doing:A Comprehensive Guide to Simulations, Computer Games, and Pedagogy in e-Learning and Other Educational Experiences. San Fransisco: Pfeiffer.

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher , 32-42.

Norton, P., & Wiburg, K. W. (2002). Teaching with Technology: Designing Opportunities to Learn. Thompson/Wadsworth.

Perkins, D., & Salomon, G. (1994). Transfer of Learning. In International Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd Edition. Pergamon.

Rogers, C. (1983). The Freedom to Learn for the 80's. Merrill.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction Between Learning and Development. Mind in Society , 79-91.

The next section, lists a small selection of the prominent researchers who are using virtual environments in educational settings. These researchers are the using 21st Century skills as identified by Chris Dede in 2007 Transforming Education paper. In following these researchers, I look to model their methods and compare their research to the study I propose with respect to a change in participant age and content of personal finance.

21st Century Skills - Chris Dede
Virtual Environments used in educational settings
Cambell
Clark, and Dede, The River City Project

Virtual Environment References:

Campell, C. (2009). Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research , 1-17.

Clarke, J., & Dede, C. (2005). Making Learning Meaningful: An Exploratory Study of Using Multi0User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) in Middle School Science. AERA. Montreal.

Dede, C. (2007). Transforming Education for the 21st Century: New Pedagogies that Help All Students Attain Sophisticated Learning Outcomes. Raleigh: NCSU Friday Institute.

The River City Project. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2001, from The River City Project: http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/rivercityproject/

The final content section of this research project will focus on personal finance. The following is a list of sources regarding personal finance and the best practice of teaching the material using alternatives which support 21st century skills.

Personal Finance and Education:

Gerber
Mckibbon et al
Nielson
Paige
Smith
The Consumer Jungle
The Jump$tart Coalition
The National Endowment for Financial Education
Wells Fargo Bank – Hands on Banking
Woolsey and Shulz

Personal Finance and Education Resources:

Gerber, S. (2010, October). The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis - Publications and Papers. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/issue.cfm?id=327

McKibbin, W., & Stoeckell, A. (2006). Economic Scenarios . Retrieved November 30, 2011, from Economic Scenarios - More Scenarios Issue #14: http://www.economicscenarios.com/public/pdfredir_sample.asp?issueNo=14

National Endowment for Financial Education. (2011). NEFE- Education Warehouse. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from National Endowment for Financial Education: http://www.nefe.org/EducatorsandFacilitators/EducationClearinghouse/tabid/89/Default.aspx

Nielson, B. (2011, July 11). Investopedia - Articles. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/07/housing_bubble.asp#axzz1fZkREIok

Smith, L. (2011, January 3). A Social Security Reality Check. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/09/retirement-reality-check.asp#axzz1faBlmsbP

The Consumer Jungle. (n.d.). The Consumer Jungle. Retrieved September 11, 2011, from The Consumer Jungle: http://www.consumerjungle.org/

The Jump$tart Coalition. (2011). Retrieved December 5, 2011, from The Jump$tart Coalition: http://www.jumpstart.org/about-us.html

The National Endowment for Financial Education. (n.d.). The National Endowment for Financial Education. Retrieved September 11, 2011, from The National Endowment for Financial Education: http://www.nefe.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Wells Fargo. (2010). Hands On Banking. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from Hands on Banking: http://www.handsonbanking.org/en/index.html

Woolsey, B., & Schulz, M. (2011). Credid Card Statistics, Industry Facts, Debt Statistics. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from Credit Cards.Com: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php#Young-adults

Compilation References:

Aldrich, C. (2005). Learning By Doing:A Comprehensive Guide to Simulations, Computer Games, and Pedagogy in e-Learning and Other Educational Experiences. San Fransisco: Pfeiffer.

Campell, C. (2009). Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research , 1-17.

Clarke, J., & Dede, C. (2005). Making Learning Meaningful: An Exploratory Study of Using Multi0User Virtual Environemtns (MUVEs) in Middle School Science. AERA. Montreal.

Dede, C. (2007). Transforming Education for the 21st Century: New Pedagogies that Help All Students Attain Sophisticated Learning Outcomest. Raleigh: NCSU Friday Institute.

Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentise Hall.