student response - 1/27/2007

This week I was able to get some feedback about student content knowledge by having them create a budget. I gave them a paper-based prototype of the content I would like to present digitally. I did this to identify areas in which I would have to make a concerted effort to instruct and which areas students were comfortable with. They were given an income and expenses to manage; it went pretty well, students did well when I told them exactly how much to deduct from their income with rent and utilities. They got hung-up when it came time to make decisions with their remaining money, i.e. how much they would use for food, gas, etc. The students had no reference to make an estimation. In the on-line version, I will need to scaffold the financial decisions better.