Andrew Aja is an economics teacher at Petaluma High School (PHS) in California. He has been a particularly active participant in NGPF PD recently. Read on to learn about the activities and resources he uses with his students.

 
Tell us about your school community and the subjects you teach.
Our school was established in 1873; as a result, many of our 1,200 students come from multigenerational PHS families. I enjoy having the opportunity to teach AP Macroeconomics and college prep economics. Although I don't teach a dedicated personal finance class, I am always looking to incorporate personal finance elements into my economics classes to enrich the students' learning. I'm grateful for the wonderful students and colleagues that I get to work with. 

Why are you so passionate about financial education?
In the summer of 2017, I enrolled at the University of Delaware for a M.A. in Economics Education and Entrepreneurship for Educators. This program was an invaluable way to connect with an excellent network of economics educators, improve my content knowledge, and foster my passion for financial education. While enrolled at UD my eyes were opened to a wealth of professional development resources. Seeing options from the Council for Economic Education, Federal Reserve Banks, Foundation for Teaching Economics, and NGPF reinforced the importance of financial education. Access to engaging and meaningful financial education is beneficial to the lifelong well-being of all students, not just the years when they are our students. I hope the upcoming months and years will see California rise from their current rank of 49th in the nation for access to financial education.

What are your students' favorite classroom activities?
One of their favorite activities is the Pearl Exchange to demonstrate demand and supply shifts in a market. Students also enjoy behavioral economics simulations that highlight topics like tragedy of the commons and rationality through an ultimatum game [NGPF has an Ultimatum Activity]. The Stax and Payback games on the NGPF Arcade are also big crowd pleasers. I'd like to say my AP students' favorite activity is graphing on Free Response Questions (FRQs) but I think I know better than answering that.

What's an example of how you were able to use something learned in a PD session and bring it to your students?
I've attended roughly 40 hours of NGPF PD this semester and feel like I leave each session with something new to use. One of the most prominent elements I have incorporated is the NGPF blog. I am always on the lookout for Questions of the Day and FinCap Fridays to use as conversation starters in class. The weekend reading list on the blog has become my go to when sourcing current event materials for students. The certification courses are a great way to do a deep dive and provide a wide array of articles, infographics, and videos that I have incorporated in my classes. The 5 in 50 series is a personal favorite of mine because you get five tools ready to implement in the classroom in less than an hour. Ones that particularly stand out from my experience are 5 in 50: Investing, 5 in 50: Soft Skills, and 5 in 50: Cars Mini Unit.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.