COMPONENTS OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK
In accordance with Act 104 of 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education developed the Instructional Framework for Personal Finance based on the Pennsylvania academic standards in economics; family and consumer science; business, computer, and information technology; and career education and work. The framework was developed based upon Understanding by Design, the “backward-design” process developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). It includes:
Long-Term Transfer Goals: Transfer goals highlight the effective uses of understanding, knowledge, and skill that we seek in the long run; i.e., what we want students to be able to do when they confront new challenges – both in and outside of school.
Big Ideas: These principles are central to the study of personal finance. They anchor or connect a wide array of concepts.
Essential Questions: Essential questions are the core questions that allow students to probe for deeper meaning. They are the questions students should be asking as they explore the main ideas in the topic.
Concepts and Competencies: The instructional framework includes concepts and competencies for grades PK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each is aligned to Pennsylvania Academic Standards.
Grade Band Summaries: The grade band summaries provide an overview of the concepts and competencies addressed within each of the four grade bands: PK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
Grade Level Summaries: The grade level summaries offer an example of how content could be divided between grade levels within a band to ensure adequate coverage. These are offered for grades PK to 8. At the high school level, it is expected that the content included in the 9-12 grade band summary would be the core content for a standalone course in personal finance or addressed in a series of courses.