Skills Needed to Teach Personal Finance
Because each person has his or her own preexisting financial habits, relationship with money, and current financial situation, personal finance is a unique subject that requires specialized expertise to teach effectively. Qualified financial educators form the cornerstone of any personal finance program; such educators can help learners achieve far better outcomes than poorly-qualified instructors can.
Few things are as powerful as a shared mission. The purpose of this topic is to introduce you to the NFEC’s mission statement and describe how the organization goes about accomplishing that mission. Then you will be guided to define your own personal reasons and motivations for teaching financial education. Setting clear goals and uncovering your personal motivations will help you stay inspired and focused as you learn, and keep you on track to meet your unique objectives for becoming a financial educator.
5 Core Skills Necessary for Financial Education Instructors
Instructional Techniques. Understanding of research-based educational methodologies to increase learner application.
Subject Matter Knowledge. Sufficient understanding of the topics being taught to lead programming with confidence.
Lesson Planning & Preparation. Knowledge of how to design an educational path that matches learners’ abilities.
Manage Classroom Environment. Ability to create a learning environment that gives learners a feeling of security.
Behavioral Finance & Psychology. Knowledge of the psychological principles that affect financial literacy education.
Champion Spotlight
Sheena Robinson
Sheena is the founder of Diva 4 Wealth, an organization dedicated to helping women reach financial success through private coaching and group sessions. She conducts various workshops throughout the year centered on the organization’s core values: Education, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Success. She also runs her own insurance agency.
Robert Kinzer
The majority of Robert’s over 30 years at the FDIC were served as a Senior Financial Management Analyst where he produced the monthly and quarterly financials of the corporation that was distributed to the FDIC Chairman and Board, Executives and Managers, Congress and the public. Robert is currently the President of the Literacy Institute for Financial Enrichment, Inc. (LIFE), a non-profit 501c3 organization focused on teaching financial literacy and economic empowerment to youths, adults, and senior citizens.
Diane Keating
Diane Keating is an accomplished nonprofit executive with 10-years of experience in developing, administrating and teaching personal financial education programs for low-income youth and adults in New York City. She formed High Water Women’s Financial Literacy program in 2009 in partnership with the Muriel Siebert Foundation. The program covers services to NYC communities in all five boroughs, and currently provides financial literacy instruction for 3000 teens and adults annually.
Richard White
Richard is the president of Richard Allan White and Associates, LLC, a financial consulting firm. He currently serves as an adjunct professor for Southern New Hampshire University and the College for Financial Planning in their online programs, as well as Seminole State College of Florida.
Effective educators that have gained the skills to teach personal finace help learners achieve better outcomes than do poorly-qualified instructors. Programs taught by instructors with strong credentials are more credible and have far greater impact. These educators can confidently engage audiences, manage the classroom environment, adapt presentations to meet various learners’ needs, and increase the overall impact of the instruction.