NGPF Podcast

Thank you to Nancy Labricciosa and Amanda Volz for joining me in conversation on this NGPF podcast. We honored both Nancy and Amanda recently as Teacher-Innovators (see NGPF press release) based on the projects they submitted for our annual contest. Amanda shares details about her Retirement Investing Project and the hooks she uses to get high school students interested in investing for future goals. Amanda discusses how she uses a "Shark Tank" format in her Company Competition project. This project provides students with a template to evaluate investing in publicly held companies and hones their communication skills as they make a persuasive argument as to why their company is better than their competition (think Coke vs. Pepsi). I know that you will enjoy hearing from these innovative teachers!

Thanks to Kerri Herrild, Business Teacher at De Pere High School (WI) for joining me on the NGPF podcast recently. We recently honored Kerri as anNGPF Teacher-Innovator for her “Personal Finance Goal-Setting and Expense Tracking project.” In this project which stretches over the course of a month, Kerri has her students set financial goals, track their daily spending and write several reflections about what they learned in the process (hint: it might have something to do with food spending!). The students then share their written report with their parents. Listen to this podcast to hear Kerri share a surprising revelation about a student of hers that she learned in the course of this project.

I recently had the pleasure of having Brian Yanizeski, a Business Teacher from Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the show. We recently honored Brian as an NGPF Teacher-Innovator for his “Home Buying Project." Brian has five years experience teaching an online Investing and Finance course. Listen to this podcast to hear Brian share how he developed his online course (including his favorite resources), as well as how he manages it to keep students motivated to learn. Here are some of the questions that Brian tackled in the course of our conversation: . Why did he create an online course? . What role does he play in an online environment? . How do he get students to engage in conversations online? . How does he assess student work? Enjoy!

I enjoyed my recent conversation with Bill Dwight, Founder of FamZoo. Bill is practically a neighbor of mine and has been a source of wise counsel for me since starting NGPF. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss everything from Bill's company FamZoo to raising five financially responsible kids to whether he prefers index funds or individual stocks. Bill's domain expertise in the area of personal finance is amazing (not to mention his social media presence!). Enjoy the podcast! You will hear Bill answer such questions as: . How does FamZoo work? . What skills does his product develop in young people? . How should teachers think about using Twitter to increase their content knowledge? . What would he teach young people if he only had 45 minutes to work with?

I always have my ear to the ground about creative ways that teachers are engaging students in the study of personal finance. Thanks to Joel Chrisler of Sauk Prairie High School in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin for coming on the podcast to discuss the engaging program he built in his community. His program sends high school students into the neighboring elementary schools to teach them core financial concepts including needs and wants, making choices and saving. Joel makes an impassioned case for the value derived by all involved; the high school students, the elementary school students and the overall community. You will hear Joel answer such questions as: . What motivated him to start his peer-to-peer program? . What are the key lessons he wants to impart to young people through this program? . How does it measure the success of the program? . Why should other teachers consider starting a program like this? Enjoy!

In this podcast episode, we speak to three NGPF Teacher-Innovator Award Winners. Each year during Financial Literacy Month, NGPF recognizes educators with an inventive and innovative streak. Chosen from dozens of submissions, these award winners projects stood out for their creativity and how they took challenging topics and brought them to life for students. You will enjoy hearing each of these educators describe their projects, including what inspired them to create it, the details on how their projects actually work in the classroom and the feedback they receive from their students. Enjoy my conversations with these Teacher-Innovators: . Danielle Trouve of Chelmsford High School (Chelmsford, MA) . Lisa Bender of Southern Garrett High School (Oakland, MD) . David Soldner of Fox Lake Correctional Institution (Fox Lake, WI) For more details about the award winners and their projects, be sure to check out our press release: http://nextgenpersonalfinance.org/4945-2/

We received a nice email from Brandon Jacobson in mid-April discussing how much he enjoyed using our case studies in his classroom at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah. The quote in his email that that really resonated with me was "Great discussions lead to a more detailed and comprehensive learning." In my own practice, I have seen case studies generate great classroom discussion and now there was another teacher corroborating my experience. Shortly thereafter, we were exchanging emails and Brandon kindly agreed to be on the show to share his expertise on how to use case studies in a personal finance setting. Listen to this podcast to hear Brandon answer such questions as: . How do case studies help to break down socioeconomic barriers that may exist in his class? . How does he prepare his students for case studies? . What does he to to prepare himself for case studies? . How important are habits to financial success? . What are the secrets to facilitating a case study discussion?

Continuing on our theme of financial aid, we were lucky enough to have Justin Draeger on the NGPF podcast show recently. As CEO and President, Justin leads NASFAA, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, whose membership includes over 20,000 financial assistance professionals at over 3,000 schools. So, when your students have a conversation with a financial aid professional at their school, it is likely they will be talking to a NASFAA member. Given his role, Justin provides an "inside baseball" look at the world of financial aid from his intimate knowledge of the operations of a financial aid office to the broader trends that have gotten us to this $1.3 trillion mountain of student debt. Given the location of his offices (you know, that town on the Potomac), Justin has a good sense of where the regulatory winds are blowing, too. Listen to this podcast to get Justin's take on: . Are financial aid awards negotiable? . What are some of the misconceptions about financial aid? . How did we get to the place of students increasingly taking on more student debt? . What to look for when comparing aid award letters . What changes are making the financial aid process easier for families? Enjoy!

Author, expert and educator are apt descriptions of John Ulzheimer, who is the most widely cited and quoted credit expert in the universe. Having worked at both Equifax and Fair Isaac, John provides an insider's perspective on the complicated world of credit reporting and scoring. His candor and humor bring to life what is often considered a pretty dry topic. I mean, let's face it, credit reports are never going to make a teen bestseller list. Listen to John answer such questions as: . What's the best credit score hack? . What are ways that students can start building credit? . What is the best method to teach high school students about credit scores and credit reports? . Where should educators look for high-quality information? . What are common myths about credit scores?

It's college decision time for high school seniors and the NGPF podcast show was lucky to have Lauren Asher join us recently to discuss the financial issues surrounding this decision. At the helm of The Institute for College Access and Success (aka TICAS), Lauren advocates for a simpler, fairer, more transparent financial aid process to ensure broader access to educational opportunity. TICAS's research on the issues of college affordability, student debt and financial aid shows their deep knowledge on these issues which has proven effective at creating change through the regulatory and legislative process. Their recent efforts have led to FAFSA simplification, broadened eligibility for income-based student loan repayment plans and changed the timing of FAFSA information to improve visibility for families in the financial aid they can expect. Listen to this podcast to hear Lauren weigh in on: . What are the largest misconceptions when it comes to student debt? . How should students and their families compare financial aid award letters? . What concepts are most important to teach students about how to pay for college? . What are the characteristics of those struggling with debt?