Growing - Money, you and community
In the Growing or intermediate stage, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students learn more about the different forms that money can take such as money in the hand (cash) or money in the clouds (electronic). Students further develop an awareness of their rights and responsibilities as consumers. They develop skills in making smart choices with money and aware of the impact of poor choices. This includes strengthening their skills in planning, budgeting, comparing and problem solving.
To support teachers in engaging students with this stage the following are provided:
•An overview of the stage.
•Community and cultural considerations.
•Scene setting scenario to inform and support discussion.
Four units comprising focus questions and suggested activities.
This material is intended to be used as a starting point to generate teaching and learning opportunities that are relevant, authentic and reflect students' cultural and community contexts and learning needs.
The suggested activities could be used exactly as described, or might provide ideas that inspire teachers to develop alternative activities that meet the specific learning needs of their students.
Overview
There are four units in the Growing stage. Although presented as separate units, it is envisioned that some of the activities within the units will be ongoing and occur simultaneously. This is especially the case for activities relating to understanding invisible money concepts, consumer issues, decision making, and creating money stories. Each activity builds towards the Money Yarning event, at which students have the opportunity to share their learning from the units.
•Money and Me - This unit broadens the concepts covered in the Knowing stage helping students to gain a deeper understanding of different forms of money and payment systems with the view to having the confidence to explain and discuss their learning with others. Students explore how transactions can be conducted without physical money; learn about financial cards, debt, credit and Eftpos forms of payment. Students will consider a community perspective on transactions.
•Consumer Skills -Students are encouraged to be aware and savvy consumers with their purchases and expectations and get to know and understand their consumer rights and responsibilities.
•Making Choices -In the context of planning for the future students, identify short and long term goals and consider how having an understanding of needs and wants can assist in attaining /reaching goals. They study the risks associated with making poor money choices and the impact this has on individuals, families and community.
•Money Yarning - This culminating event provides students with the opportunity to share what they have learnt with their community in a creative way. Students become the teachers of others.
Vocabulary
In undertaking activities in the Growing stage, students may need to develop an understanding of the following terminology and concepts.
•Responsibilities, risk, rights, consumer terms and conditions, protection, warranty
•Consequences, complaint
•Investment, interest
•Service provider
•Electronic transfer, credit, debit, transaction, expenses, account, PIN
•Spreadsheet, gimmicks
Learning outcomes
Share the learning outcomes of this stage with students and encourage a discussion. Students need to know about the importance of these learnings and how the following activities will help them meet the learning intentions of the stage.
Students will:
•gain knowledge about the various forms money can take and how money can be made to grow and work for individuals and communities.
•develop skills in identifying scams and making judgements on the value of financial transactions
•understand how sound consumer decisions will have long term positive effects.
•gain an understanding of how financial resources can be used to benefit individuals and communities.
Enduring understandings
•Understanding the various forms of money assist in making effective and appropriate financial transactions.
•Consumer choices can have a long-term impact on the wellbeing of individuals, groups and communities.
•Goal setting is important in planning for the future.
•As a consumer you have both rights and responsibilities.
Prior knowledge required
To undertake activities in the Growing stage students:
•should become increasingly familiar with the above vocabulary
•will require experience with digital technologies
•should understand fractions and percentages and be able to calculate basic percentages
•should be familiar with and create basic spreadsheets
Students will use their literacy and numeracy skills to navigate the activities in this unit and their knowledge of money, handling money gained in the Knowing Stage.
Community and cultural considerations
In the Growing stage of learning, teachers will need to consider a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and community factors. The overarching challenge and opportunity for teachers is to make learning meaningful by connecting with, and building upon, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family circumstances, community values, world views, and lived experiences.
The following seven guiding ideas provide support to teach consumer and financial literacy through the Growing stage in a way that is meaningful and empowering for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. These ideas support the incorporation of community and cultural considerations in a learning context. They provide an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from within the school and in the broader community to share stories and experiences with students especially where values are highlighted ensuring student understanding is reflective of their community.
Guiding ideas
CONNECT with community & cultural identity
Elders have highly esteemed and important roles in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Teachers can help facilitate stronger bonds between the school and the community by including Elders in the class activities. Working with community organisations, such as health services, local councils, community stores, and/or cultural centres assists teachers to organise visiting speakers and excursions thereby exposing students to real money in real life.
BUILD on your students' real-life experiences
Capitalise on the experiences of students as they arise. For example, if a member of a student's family works in a local enterprise that uses financial planning and budgeting processes, then an excursion to a business, health centre or service provider could be arranged or invited into the class as a guest speaker.
GATHER information about prior experiences with money
Through questioning and observation teachers can find out more about what the students are interested in spending their money on. For instance, mobile phones are very popular among young people. Teachers could create learning experiences where students are researching mobile phone plans, including criteria such as signal coverage, costs (including hidden), plans, and budgets. Through online research, as an example, students could compare deals and work out what plan would work best in their community.
RECOGNISE the power of story
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies are founded on narrative-based cultures. The power of story has shaped lore, identity, law and connection to country. In contemporary teaching, story-telling can be used as a powerful learning tool to share experiences, explore students' insights and differing perspectives, find meaning, and shape ethics and morals. Teachers can build upon the strengths and interests of students by creating and sharing stories that reflect their cultural experiences of distinguishing between needs (of the community) and wants (of the individual).
REINFORCE cultural values of sharing
In some communities, the connection between money and culture may not be immediately apparent and may be seen as incongruent and inconsistent with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values. However, by working from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values-system point of view, teachers and students consider other perspectives about how money is used. In class, teachers could reinforce an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural message that 'money can be used for sharing and caring.' This goes to the heart of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ethos of reciprocity, sharing, and looking after each other. By working from this perception, students begin to appreciate that money can be a resource for community wellbeing and not just individual wealth. Students should reflect on traditional practices of sharing, caring, resource management, exchange of goods (food, weapons, clothing, artefacts, etc.) and the reciprocal nature of rights and responsibilities in any transaction.
EMBRACE diversity
Social and cultural diversity will exist among students and stereotyping must be avoided. As with all students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will enter school with differing interests and varying degrees of prior knowledge and skill. Due to historical factors (such as the Stolen Generations), they may also enter the school with varying degrees of cultural understanding and sense of identity. More often than not, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have shared cultural values and social experiences, including a common world view. They are shaped by their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, a deep sense of obligation to family, and similar upbringings in places of poverty and financial hardship. Use these realisations and understandings to facilitate learning experiences that resonate with your students. By including a diverse range of guest speakers, students will see and appreciate diversity in the community.
CELEBRATE achievement
Quality teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts means adopting a strengths-based approach to teaching and learning. This means that you will be continually building upon what students know, as opposed to highlighting what they do not know. Adopt a 'two way learning' approach to your teaching, whereby you share your knowledge and experiences of consumer and financial literacy while students share their experiences and knowledge with you and their peers. Teachers and students will seek to engage with the broader school community in order to promote what they have learnt and seek advice about how they could further develop and refine their learning focus.
Scene setting scenario
Context
This scenario has been developed to provide real life context that could frame the unit and the learning opportunities as well as generate discussion on developing an understanding of money and specific cultural aspects of money relevant to this stage.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt the scenario to suit their student's context and experience.
Deadlyphones is a new company that has come to the community. They are promising customers no up-front fees with their mobile phone plan. Community members receive a brand new handset in their choice of colour - pink, blue, black, red, or one with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on it. If community members sign up to Deadlyphones they will need to pay a minimum $100 per month (excluding national calls and calls to other mobiles). With the plan, they get $20 of phone credit each month for local calls.
Carly is interested because she loves the phone with the flags on it. But, she is worried about the costs and she saw a TV show recently that was warning people about mobile phone scams.
What should Carly do?
Note for teachers
This scenario focuses on consumer awareness. Students can reflect on what they would do in this situation. For example, they could do some online research about Deadlyphones and its reputation. They could also research plans from other providers and make comparisons. Furthermore, students could consider what action they would take to raise community awareness in situations where community members are being ripped off.
There isn't a right or wrong answer here, but students need to be able to justify why they have reached their decision. They also need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of their decision.
Unit 1 - Money and me
Learning focus
This unit encourages students to explore all aspects of being a consumer and emphasises the importance of being informed and confident in making financial transactions using various forms of money. Students also learn about the pitfalls of being a consumer including detecting scams and knowing their rights and responsibilities. Financial transactions are also considered from a community perspective.
Focus questions
Focus questions are provided as a guide to assist teachers to engage students in the key concepts addressed in the unit with a view to addressing the learning intentions of this stage. Teachers can use guided questioning to gain an understanding of their students' current knowledge and awareness of money.
Building understanding
•How do people get cash in their pockets and bank accounts?
•Do people always pay with cash? If not - what are some other ways that people pay for things?
•If cash is not used, how does payment work (consider the transaction lifecycle - where does the money come from and where does it go)?
•How do people have enough money to pay for things?
•How did money get into the bank account?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience with money
•How are financial transactions undertaken in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?
•How might this be impacted by location? - (Remote, Regional, Urban)
Personal experience with money
•How are financial transactions made in your family/community?
- How do people pay for food?
- How do people pay bills?
- How do people pay for doctor visits?
- Who pays for schools and roads?
•What are the pros and cons of using something other than cash to pay for things?
•What are some ways that you can track financial transactions/spending?
What are the implications of spending more than you have?
Unit 1 - Money and me – Suggested Activities
After consultation and discussion with students (using the focus questions provided as prompts) teachers could select activities from the following topics:
•Invisible money
•Money at work (excursion)
•Let's bank
•Follow the money
In the Knowing stage, students developed the skills to use and manage cash. It is vital for them to understand the increasingly complex financial landscape of 'invisible money'. In many instances students will not see actual cash change hands during shopping transactions.
Building on their knowledge and experience of using cash transactions, students explore how money transactions take place and develop an understanding of the various types of financial transactions and the pros and cons of cashless money transactions.
Activity 1 - Discussion
Invisible money
Discuss students' experiences with money and how they have observed people paying for goods. Some will mention cash, while others will describe a plastic card being waved at the checkout. Some people will even get cash back when they use their plastic card.
Students describe all that they have observed and discuss the differences, e.g. shopping within a larger town, buying goods in their community, shopping in a city.
Here the differences between remote, rural and urban communities may surface and could present the opportunity to discuss the concept of book up – that still exists in many communities.
Explore why these shopping experiences are different and pose a series of questions:
•What is a bank or credit union? Why do we use a bank or credit union?
•Why don’t we keep money with us all of the time?
•When we 'save' what happens to the money? How do we use the money we have saved in our bank or credit union?
•How does money get onto the card? Where does the money come from?
•What are the pros and cons of using cards instead of cash?
•What different types of cards exist? - Credit, debit.
•Does the plastic card system make things easier in any way?
Activity 2– Excursion
Money at work
Take students on a field trip to the local shop or bank to see real money and consumer practice in action. The trip should highlight digital money in operation and students should be able to observe experiences of purchasing, using ATMs, writing cheques, pay wave, PINs etc.
While observing these financial transactions in the community raise students' awareness of the need for consumer protection by discussing the risks of digital security, ATM skimmers and ATM fees.