For Facilitators

Empowerment Economics (Publication) (Institute on Assets and Social Policy) An exclusively individualistic approach to asset-building characterized by a focus on savings, behavior, and asset accumulation is not culturally compatible with the values and goals of many communities of color. Today, AAPI leaders are developing their own strategies to protect and build assets that address historical and contemporary forms of inequality and align with their aspirations to protect and cultivate wealth in their families and communities.

Why Financial Education Should Get Political (Article) (Shelterforce.org) Financial curricula for low-income households often focus on personal choices about budgeting and saving, but if they don’t also address systemic problems, exploitation, and discrimination, they aren’t speaking to their audience’s reality.

Financial Coaches, Let’s Be Upfront About Economic Structural Racism (Article) (Shelterforce.org) We should acknowledge that people of color trying to stay afloat in our regressive economy are doing so with a leaky boat.

Does Personal Finance Still Work in Our Changing Economy? (Article) (The New York Times) With a financial system so drastically shifting, what can we do about money? Saving is a habit, not an objective; Debt relief options are more important than ever; The 10 percent rule is too much — and not enough; Beware of predatory financial services

The Limits Of Nudging: Why Can’t California Get People To Take Free Money? (Article) (NPR) The Earned Income Tax Credit supplements incomes through the tax code, awarding thousands of dollars each year primarily to low-wage workers with kids. But there’s a problem: a huge population of eligible workers fails to file their taxes and get the money each year.

Take the Quiz: Could you Manage as a Poor American? (Quiz/Article) (The New York Times) See whether you make the kinds of mistakes that can cost poor families food or health insurance.

For people of color, banks are shutting the door to homeownership (article) (revealnews.org) Fifty years after the federal Fair Housing Act banned racial discrimination in lending, African Americans and Latinos continue to be routinely denied conventional mortgage loans at rates far higher than their white counterparts.

Behavioral Economics Field Guide for Financial Services (PDF): This Field Guide was developed to help financial service providers understand
how people think about money. Includes relevant research, Principles, Key Questions, Making the Connection, and Using this finding in financial education.

Tips on Facilitating Effective Group Discussions  (Website) (The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning). Effective facilitation of a discussion involves the recognition and employment of different perspectives and different skills to create an inclusive environment. In order to do so, it is important to consider the features of effective discussions, and conditions that promote small group interaction and engagement. Discussion is a powerful mechanism for active learning; a well-facilitated discussion allows the participant to explore new ideas while recognizing and valuing the contributions of others.

Interactive Lecturing & Active Learning (web site) (Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University) Pedagogies & Strategies of teaching.

What is Differentiated Instruction?  (Website) (University of Virginia) Differentiation is responsive teaching rather than one size fits all teaching. This means that teachers proactively plan varied approaches to what students need to learn, how they will learn it, and/or how they will show what they have learned in order to increase the likelihood that each student will learn as much as he or she can, as efficiently as possible.

Bloom’s Taxonomy (web site) (Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University) The framework elaborated by Bloom and his collaborators consisted of six major categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The categories after Knowledge were presented as “skills and abilities,” with the understanding that knowledge was the necessary precondition for putting these skills and abilities into practice.

Self-Advocacy Characteristics (Graphic) (ILRU) Chart to demonstrate the characteristics of self advocacy, including self-awareness, Knowledge of Rights, Communication, and Leadership.

COACHING TRAINING & TOOLS TO SUPPORT FINANCIAL WELLNESS  (toolkit) (The Prosperity Agenda) Our Innovation Marketplace provides organizations with the tools they need to integrate financial wellness and financial coaching into their programs. We offer both coaching tools and coaching training programs to equip frontline staff with the skills to fully engage participants in achieving their life goals.