2014 Teaching Award Winners

2014 Teaching Award Winners MCEE proudly presents Emily Anderson with the 2014 3M Economic Educator Excellence Award. Emily, a
teacher at Blaine High School (BHS), receives this award for her leadership and sustained commitment to economic
education and the impact this has on her students. One educator, who has demonstrated a sustained history of
commitment and contribution to economic education, is presented with this award each year. In winning this award,
Emily receives $1,500.
MCEE also proudly announces the 2014 Recipients of the 3M Innovative Economic Educator Awards and
Thrivent Financial Personal Finance Educator Awards. These awards recognize teachers who create and
implement innovative learning activities at the elementary and secondary grade levels. First place winners receive
$1,500 and second place winners receive $500 at both grade levels.
Award recipients will be recognized at MCEE’s 2014 EconFest on October 23, 2014.
3M Economic Educator Excellence Award Emily, who received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Bethel University, has taught at BHS
for 11 years. This year she will teach 11 courses in economics over the course of the year – 3
sections of College in the Schools (CIS) Microeconomics and 8 sections of regular economics.
Emily began her teaching career at Blaine when a job opportunity opened up there immediately
after her college graduation. Emily says, “The job happened to be teaching full-time economics and
advanced placement microeconomics. I only took one economics class in college, and it was a
summer course. I did not enjoy it. I did not understand how economics applied to my life. When I
Emily Anderson accepted the economics teaching position at BHS, I embraced it as an opportunity to take
something I did not fully understand or find interesting/relevant and translate it into a course that students would find
engaging and applicable. Thank goodness MCEE was offering the High School Economics course that summer!
After attending, my interest level in economics and excitement to teach the course skyrocketed. I immediately began
signing up for every MCEE course that was offered, and went on to apply for a Houck Scholarship [administered by
MCEE for teachers seeking graduate-level course work in economics] to take upper-level Applied Econ courses
(micro and macro) at the U of M so I could become a certified CIS Economics instructor. I credit MCEE for igniting
my passion in economics.” This past summer, she participated in MCEE’s Master Teacher Retreat.
Emily enjoys teaching economics and witnessing the “ah-ha” moments in students, when they connect the dots and
link class content to their reality. She makes it her mission to help her students see economics as relevant, exciting,
and meaningful. Her teaching style is “guide on the side” compared to “sage on the stage.” She uses active learning
strategies such as simulations, case studies, and Socratic discussions to allow students to take ownership of their
learning.
Recent accomplishments include completing a “flipped classroom” for her CIS Micro class and using elements of the
“flipped” model in her other economic classes. She uses clickers at the beginning of each class period for formative
assessments to gauge the progress of students. She has created dynamic, public, class websites that include all her
presentations, class notes, worksheets, and activities; she often gets emails from teachers around the world thanking
her for sharing these resources.
In addition to economics, Emily teaches U.S. Government and Politics. She is the advisor for the National Honor
Society, through which she oversees many service projects each year, and for Bengal Junction, BHS’ after school
tutoring program. Last year she worked with another teacher to develop the "Bengal Bystander" program, which
promotes awareness of domestic violence and bullying and gives kids intervention strategies. She is currently
working to develop curriculum and a website for BHS’ new PAWS (Purposeful Advisory with Students) model,
focusing on character development, mentorship, and building life skills. Emily serves on the BLT team (building
leadership), the SIP team (school improvement plan), and the staff development committee.
Emily is also very active in the community; she is a Moms on the Run coach and is participating in the Marine Corps
Marathon (October 26) on the Homes for Our Troops charity team, which builds accessible homes (and modifies
existing homes) for service members who are disabled in the line of duty. The mission of this organization is near
and dear to her heart as she recently witnessed the difficulties of wheelchair navigation when her dad (who also
served in the USAF) lost his leg due to cancer.
MCEE congratulates Emily Anderson on her achievements in economic education and celebrates the talented
teaching she brings to her students.
3M Innovative Economic Educator Awards
For 37 years, 3M has provided funds to offer annual awards for innovation and excellence in economic education.
The 3M Innovative Economic Educator Awards recognize innovation in teaching economics at both the secondary
and elementary grade levels.
1st Place, Elementary Level: Ann Shaw
Wilshire Park Elementary, St. Anthony New Brighton School District
Getting the Goods on Good Pizza
Ann Shaw This award-winning learning activity introduces kindergarten students to the economic concepts of
goods and services using a popular children’s fable retold in a modern way, The Little Red Hen
(Makes a Pizza). The kindergarten students identify goods and services in the story and then play
two games involving play pizzas to reinforce the concepts. The learning activity addresses the
Minnesota academic benchmark in economics for kindergarten: “Distinguish between goods
(objects that can be seen or touched) and services (actions or activities).”
1st Place, Secondary Level: Tatiana Stoll
Stadium View School, Minneapolis
Jordan’s Dilemma: Applying a Decision-Making Model to Critical
and/or Life-Changing Decisions
This award-winning learning activity on decision-making is recognized for its adaption to address
some real-life scenarios that many students in Ms. Stoll’s class may face, therefore leading to
greater student engagement. In the learning activity, a student (Jordan) must make a decision
about what to do on a Wednesday night. He has competing pressure from friends, his mom, and
Ta ana Stoll his girlfriend. The activities is friends offer are illegal (costs), but the potential benefits are
compelling. Students walk through the case story and map out Jordan’s alternatives and the criteria that
are important to him. They then use the PACED decision-making Grid to decide what Jordan should do. Students
also discuss the PACED model and how it is an effective method for making an informed decision. The learning
activity addresses the Minnesota academic benchmark in economics for high school students: “Understand that
because of scarcity, individuals, organizations, and governments must evaluate trade-offs, make choices, and incur
costs.”
2nd Place, Elementary Level: Ryan Higbea
Kaposia Education Center, South Saint Paul
An Inquiry into the Connection between Decisions and their Impacts
In this award-winning learning activity, students learn about Apartheid in South Africa and the life
of Nelson Mandela, the decisions he made, and the connection between those decisions and the
impact they had on his life, South Africa, and the world at large. Using a flow map as a decisionRyan Higbea making grid, students identify an alternative choice that Mandela could have made and identify
probable impacts. The learning activity addresses the fifth grade Minnesota academic
benchmark in economics: “Apply a decision-making process to identify an alternative choice that could have been
make for a historical event and explain the probable impact of that choice.”
2nd Place, Secondary Level: Kyle Bergem
Pine River-Backus High School, Pine River-Backus
Calculating the Unemployment Rate
This award-winning learning activity modifies a lesson on unemployment, Unemployment Survey,
published by the national Council for Economic Education. The new learning activity adds more
student engagement by having students form three groups: students who are employed, students
who are not employed, and students who are not counted in the total workforce (i.e., those who
Kyle Bergem choose not to work). The groupings add a visual element to the lesson to aid in teaching how to
calculate the unemployment rate. Students practice the calculations and determine if a given
“situation card” describes structural, cyclical, or fictional unemployment. The learning activity addresses the
Minnesota academic benchmark in economics for high school: “Measure full employment in terms of the
unemployment rate and various types of unemployment; analyze past and recent data to describe factors that impact
the long-run growth of jobs in an economy.”
Thrivent Financial Personal Finance Educator Awards The Thrivent Financial Personal Educator Award was introduced to recognize teachers who
develop and implement creative learning activities that increase personal finance
understanding.
1st Place, Elementary Level: Rose Simones
Chatfield Elementary, Belle Plaine
History in Your Hand: Let’s Explore Old & New Money!
In Ms. Simones’ award-winning learning activity, second graders learn about the history of money
using the book One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent. Students begin the learning activity
by identifying what is used as money today and brainstorming on what might have been used as
Rose Simones money in the past. With the book as a guide, students learn the important characteristics of
money. The learning activity addresses the Minnesota academic benchmark in economics for second grade: “Identify
money as any generally accepted item used in making exchanges.”
1st Place, Secondary Level: Cari Ann Squier
Hutchinson High School, Hutchinson
Purchasing a Used Car
This award-winning learning activity was selected for its “real world” applied approach to personal
finance. The learning activity begins by sharing stories of purchasing a used car and the lessons
learned. Students start by identifying a list of the information one would want to know about used
cars (mileage, number of owners, maintenance history, accidents, book value, price, etc.). Students
then compare at least two used cars that they might purchase, documenting a comprehensive
Cari Ann Squier comparison list for each vehicle. It is assumed that financing will be required for the car and
students calculate the monthly and total cost of the loan. Based on the comparison guide, students must explain
which car they would buy and why. The learning activity addresses the Minnesota academic benchmark in
economics for high school students: “Understand that people make informed economic choices by identifying their
goals, interpreting and applying their data, considering the short- and long-run costs and benefits of alternative
choices and revising their goals based on their analysis.”
2nd Place, Elementary Level: Anna Cunningham
Andersen United Community School, Minneapolis
Go West! (And Make Some Good Decisions)
Anna Cunningham This award-winning learning activity builds on a lesson Ms. Cunningham previously taught, “What
Would Go in Your Wagon?” about choices that European settlers made as they migrated West in
covered wagons. Ms. Cunningham revised the lesson to include the second grade Minnesota
academic benchmark in economics: “Given a goal and several alternative choices to reach that
goal, select the best choice and explain why.” Using the PACED decision-making model, students
define three criteria that each object had to meet in order to be added to the wagon: just the right
size and weight, helps people survive, and hard to find in nature. Students need to justify and verbally articulate how
an identified object meets each of the criteria.
2nd Place, Secondary Level: Jennifer Reinhardt
Prior Lake High School, Prior Lake and Savage
Minimum Wage and Budgeting
In this award-winning learning activity, students look at budgeting through the lens of living on a
minimum-wage income. Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickle and Dimed is used to provide a lens
to life as a minimum-wage employee. Guided discussion topics are provided for chapter one of
the book as students work through decisions that various minimum-wage workers must make
Jennifer Reinhardt throughout the chapter (where to live, what transportation they can afford, etc.). The learning
activity addresses the Minnesota academic benchmarks in economics for high school students:
“People make informed economic choices by identifying their goals…” and “Personal and financial goals can be
achieved by applying economic concepts and principals to personal financial planning, budgeting, spending, savings,
investing, borrowing, and insuring decisions.”