UIC Center for Economic Education

1.UIC Campus Certificate in the Teaching of Economics(Campus courses annually; offsite extramural courses available; online or blended courses available)

The CTE helps prepare individuals (grads and undergrads) for careers in teaching economics and consumer economics. The CTE provides training in teaching methods to those receiving a degree in economics, and training in economics and teaching methods to those in other disciplines. The CTE indicates that the student has completed courses in economics and in teaching methods, thereby enhancing the recipient's employability at the secondary and tertiary levels. The CTE is not a state-issued certificate and does not imply state certification.

2.The Stock Market GameTM Teacher Training Workshops (September and January)

The Stock Market GameTM program is an online education program used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach math, social studies, business, economics and language skills while focusing on the importance of long-term savings and investment. In Illinois, the SMG program has engaged over 425,000 students since 1988. Students in grades 4-12 participate in teams and manage a simulated investment portfolio during ten to fifteen weeks of the school year. Teachers access grade- and subject-specific curriculum, lesson plans, newsletters and tutorials for classroom instruction. Teachers new to the SMG program should visit the SMG's public website, for complete information on the program and to see a demonstration of how it works. Returning teachers should go directly to the Illinois information pages for complete information on the upcoming sessions, costs (or sponsorships) and teacher training opportunities. Teacher training workshops are scheduled in September/October and in January/February and are 6 hours, providing 6 CPDUs. The UIC-CEE also offers Taste of the Stock Market GameTM workshops for 1-3 hours, with CPDUs earned according to workshop length.

3.Illinois Economics Association (October)

This annual 2-day conference for economists meets at UIC on a Friday-Saturday in mid-October and, besides a full program of economists and business economists presenting the latest research, includes 4-5 sessions on teaching economics at high-schools, community colleges, and universities. CPDUs available for K-12 teachers.

4.Economics Poster Contest (December)

Students in grades 1-8 draw colorful posters illustrating one of 6 economics concepts. UIC-CEE contest top 24 winners are automatically submitted in the statewide poster contest. Posters are judged on the basis of correct economics content, originality, color, and suitability for potential inclusion in a calendar (statewide winners).

5.Mentoring Program (Fall)

College students are paired with teens to discuss life in high school versus college, how to prepare for college, how to manage the college application process, majors, courses, and other subjects via regular email exchanges. Teen groups may visit UIC campus for special programs and tours. What we hope to accomplish for teen groups (classes, clubs, etc):

   Enable H.S. students to ask questions about college experience they don't feel comfortable asking recruiters.
   Offer H.S. students a head start in the planning process to attend college.
    Expose H.S. students to a mentoring relationship outside of their immediate environment (exposing them to different people/ideas).
Inform students of the many positive advantages to attending college versus other options (i.e. Dropping out of school, going straight to work right after graduating H.S., etc.)
   Help H.S. students learn from real life examples and learn from our own past mistakes about the importance of consistently doing well in school (starting now!)
   By sharing fun activities and exposing a youth to new experiences, a Mentor encourages positive choices, promotes self-esteem, supports academic achievement and introduces them to new ideas.
   Help H.S students learn more about high-tech communications and improve their writing skills through weekly emails (think of it as E-Mentoring).

6.Econ is for Life! (July)

This program of free workshops with credit option is for teachers K-12 who have never taken Economics and for teachers who want to teacher Economics better. It consists of 4 modules, each of which meets 2.5 days (15 hours). Repeated every year are the introductory ones: Economics Is Elementary-Basic Microeconomic Concepts and Drawing the Big Picture-Basic Macroeconomic Concepts. Two modules each year are new topics, one Microeconomics and one Macroeconomics. Past topics have been: Economics of Health, Financial Crises, Economics of Sports, and the Future of Banking.

7.Money Smart Week (Spring)

Money Smart Week (MSW) is a series of free classes and activities designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. There are events designed to help the whole family become Money Smart. UIC-CEE is one of the partners. The calendar is posted on the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

UIC Center for Economic Education

UIC ~ Department of Economics

Regularly-Scheduled Programs

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