59 Key Economic and Personal Finance Concepts and TopicsÂ
The Economic Education Center at Lindenwood University and the Stavros Center for Economic Education of Florida State University offer a cutting-edge, online professional development course in economics and personal finance. Developed by a team of master economic educators, this course is designed for educators teaching economics, social studies, history and personal finance. It introduces them to innovative ways to introduce students to economic reasoning, how to use it effectively to understand U.S. and world history, government policy, environmental policy, and more. Practical applications reinforce what students learn.
This 17 module course is understandable, easy to navigate, and focuses on what both teachers and their students really need to know about economics and personal finance. The professional development course will be led by seasoned online instructors. Moreover, if you want to learn more about online teaching and the effective use of multimedia technology to excite students about learning economics, this course is for you. It can be adopted by you!
The course pairs the economics primer Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know about Wealth and Prosperity (St. Martin’s Press, 2016) with short video clips, classic readings, podcasts, and innovative homework assignments. The “read, watch, listen, and do” approach is used to make learning both easy and fun. The reading assignments are compact and the videos, podcasts, and assignments re-enforce each other in a manner that assures mastery of the learning objectives. Even if you have never taken an online course before, you will find this one exciting and informative.
This course is open to all teachers and there are no prerequisites. Equivalent to a 3-hour college credit course, we estimate that it will take students approximately 8 to 12 hours per week to complete the assignments and examinations. The course is aligned with the national standards for economics and personal finance. Put simply, this course is for teachers who want to learn a lot about economics and practical personal finance quickly.
The course is offered on demand. Participants will be able to complete everything online. On successful completion, participants will receive a letter of completion from the Economic Education Center at Lindenwood University, documenting performance and detailing concepts and topics covered.Â
The required textbook is Common Sense Economics (2016) by Gwartney, Stroup, Lee, Ferrarini, and Calhoun.  It can be purchased online using the ISBN: 978-1-250-10694-0 and delivered by June 14 at Barnes & Noble for less than $20 per book plus shipping and handling.  The second edition, Common Sense Economics (2016), can be purchased online using the ISBN: 978-0-312-64489-5. It is available in hardback at Barnes & Noble for less than $17 or in electronic form for about $10.99. Changes are significant. Use with caution. You may register below or, if you would like to receive more information, contact the Stavros Center Director, James Gwartney at jdgwartney@fsu.edu, Tawni Ferrarini at tferrarini@lindenwood.edu or Joseph Calhoun at jcalhoun@fsu.edu.
How to find out how to offer this professional development course for economics instructors:
Contact Dr. Tawni Hunt Ferrarini.Â
On completion of an “Common Sense Economics for Educators’ Course” at Florida State University, you will have: