Below we describe an instance where someone realized her desire for teaching financial responsibility to adults using these resources and criteria:

As a counselor at a post-incarceration rehabilitation facility, one of the tasks with which Rhonda Trask was charged was teaching financial responsibility to adults who were preparing to re-enter the workforce. The program was intended to provide people with the skills they needed to obtain employment and manage the money they earned in a way that would help them transition into becoming contributing members of society. After conducting informal interviews with the residents, Rhonda found that they would benefit from receiving a comprehensive overview of financial education topics.

Rhonda now turned her attention to focus on how to teach  financial literacy to adults.  She knew that her audience needed a broad introduction to financial education, so her next job on the list for teaching financial responsibility to adults in the rehab facility was to define the learning outcome goals. She decided to spend plenty of time on the project, so the residents could gain exposure to the full gamut of personal finance topics. Rhonda planned a 60-hour course to be presented at the facility, with a long-term goal of getting participants to Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Level 4 – Extended Thinking – where they could apply complex reasoning and analysis to answer financial questions.

Rhonda had defined her vision for both long-term and short-term objectives for teaching financial responsibility to adults in the facility, and now was tasked with choosing how to deliver the materials. She decided a flipped instruction model would serve the residents’ needs well. In that model, the participants would do self-paced research on their own time via an personal finance online course and then bring their questions to the classroom, where they also would conduct activities to practice their skills. Rhonda wanted to lead the classroom sessions in person.

Now Rhonda needed to select a few topics upon which to focus the instruction for teaching financial responsibility to adults. She wanted a comprehensive program, and had set aside 60 hours of teaching time. The topics she settled upon were financial psychology, credit and debt, loan qualifications, budgeting and savings, career planning and entrepreneurship, risk management, governmental influences, and retirement planning.

Rhonda had determined to be the classroom leader. She had some experience in finance from her college days, but needed to strengthen her knowledge base. Rhonda discovered that she could obtain the credentials and confidence to teach the coursework by taking a financial education certification program available through the NFEC. By undertaking the CFEI coursework, she would become confident in her skills and demonstrate that she met national standards for teaching financial responsibility to adults.

A solid curriculum for teaching financial responsibility to adults was the next phase on Rhonda’s pathway. What qualities was she seeking? Something comprehensive and flexible, with plenty of action-based activities that were practical in nature. She found exactly what she was looking for: a full-service financial literacy lesson plan package for adult learners with engaging, interactive activities and designed according to learning principles based on the latest research evidence for financial education.

Rhonda was ready to launch her program for teaching financial responsibility to adults. She presented the program to the 24 residents at the halfway house, and all 24 – 100% – participated to the utmost of their ability. After the 60 hours of instruction had been completed, they showed an average score increase of 55% on a comprehensive financial literacy test. Rhonda compiled these data into a report that she shared with the local media, with the hope of generating community awareness and broad-based support for continuing and sustaining the program.