A learning activity design plan

A LEARNING ACTIVITY DESIGN PLAN: EXAMINING TWO OPTIONS TO SAVE FOR A CHILD’S POST-SECONDARY

EDUCATION

INGRID BECKFORD-CLAYTON

YORKVILLE UNIVERSITY

SAVING FOR A CHILD’S POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

The Objectiv

es of the

Learning

Activity

To help learners understand that an RESP is not the only option to save for a child's post secondary

education.

To educate learners as to how an RESP works and what would happen if financial situation forces them to

withdraw from the savings plan.

To help learners understand that foregoing the 20% contribution that the government makes in an RESP and saving outside an RESP could

be more beneficial.

To help learners to create and manipulate a spread sheet that they could use in the future to compare, and determine investments returns.

Theory of knowledg

e/ learning/ pedagogy underpinning the design

Behaviourist Theory- Mostly finite nature of knowledge

- Goals prescribed- Learning by imitation, acquisition,

reproduction, and modellingActivist/Contructivist Theory- Goals determined by tasks- External Stimulus required

(task/problem)- Learning by collaborating, interacting,

co-creatingPedagogical Approach-Teacher and Students Centred

- Distributive/Collaborative Learning Approach

- Learner may depend on team and facilitator

Learning Approach- Presentation/ Task driven

- Individual and cooperative learning- Opportunities/affordance for learning

- deductive /emergent thinking



Background

information

learning setting

and learners

This Online Activity is designed for a group of

fellow Church members who are interesting in learning about different investment

strategies.

Although it’s an online learning

activity, learners will

complete sessions in

synchronous groups. Meeting rooms

and Wifi at Church allows members to bring their laptops and

work together.

Learners should have a basic understanding of Simple

Interest, Compound Interest, Annuities, Mortgages, and an

RESP.The age of the target

learners is 20 - 35 years, but members of age 18 and 19 who have completed grade

12 mathematics at the college/university level are

welcome.Learners should have a basic understanding of arithmetic, using a Computer, Microsoft

Word/Excel, using the internet, and search engines.

Purpose of the

learning activity,

valueof the

activity to the

students

To help learners understand why saving for a child's post secondary education could

lead to wealth building.

To demonstrate that alternatives saving option -- investing in real

estate for example -- to RESP could generate more income to cover increasing tuition costs, and provide more flexibility in

using saved money.To illustrate to learners that a 20% contribution by the

government in an RESP doesn't necessarily mean that an RESP is the best Education Savings Plan.



Time available

for design

and develop

ment

The design will take about

90 - 120 minutes. The time for the

design development will take about

2 - 4 hours. The execution time for

the design will take 4 - 7 hours depending on the

learner's skills.


How would it be used

in an educatio

nalsetting?

This learning design could be used as an in-class activity for Grade 12 Business students investigating different investments options.

The hands-on aspect of the activity could be given as a project to Grade 11 Functions students after they complete

the Finance unit.

This is an excellent final project for the grade 12 Math Technology students who are required to complete a final

project that has real-life applications.

This would tie in nicely with the unit on Budgeting, RRSP, RESP, and loans and investments in the Grade 12 College

and Apprenticeship Math. If students were given the learning activity as a project, it would be a

useful method for students to demonstrate application, of what they learned in class, to real-life situations.


Provide a clear, well-organized structure and good directions on how to

use it(Session

#1)

Begin with a discussion on why saving for a child's Post

Secondary Education is important. Ask learners to

identify investment plans that they may have been using, or

plan to use in the future.

Solicit feedback as to why they chose or will choose

such a plan. If there happens to be a learner (s) who uses real estate

as a method to save, then that learner could be a

resource person. Learners will be told that the main hands on learning

activity is to compare two investment strategies for saving for a child's Post Secondary Education:

1. Saving in an RESP2. Saving in a Tax Free Saving Account and using some of the proceeds to purchase a rental

property

Ask learners to brainstorm some of the

terms that are associated with a Rental Property

and research their meaning on the internet,

then compile and do a Pinterest board with

terms and meaning (good for later reference)

Ask learners to brainstorm the terms that are associated

with a mortgage and instruct them to do a word cloud with those term (these terms are

also useful for future reference). Learners then

watch:

Facilitator’s video about RESPs, the maximum

government contributions, what happens if financial

situations forces a family to withdraw from the RESP, the

different investment instruments that financial institution offer, and the amount of money that is needed to invest in each

instrument.


Provide a clear, well-organized structure and good directions on how to

use it(Session #2)

Questions will be asked about the pros and cons of

investing in an RESPLearners then watch the

facilitator’s video on investing in a TFSA and real

estate, after which questions will be asked about the pros and cons of investing using

the latter.

(Session 2 Begins)Two YouTube videos will be shown of testimonies

from people who invested in an RESP. One positive

and one negative experience.

Learners will then be asked to create Excel worksheets to

track an RESP investment for one child, and an investment plan that uses a combination of TFSA and real estate, for

another child.

For simplicity, we will assume that all investments will grow at the same rate of

5% and both plans commence in the year that each child is born, and ends

when they turn 18.

Learners will then be asked to report their

findings and discuss the implications of them.

Learners will be asked to identify other investment strategies that could be used to save for a child's Post Secondary Education that may be more lucrative

than an RESP.


Arrange for

copyright clearance if you use materials not your

own

I assumed all YouTube videos are in the public domain so

there is no need for copyright clearance.

Each group would need to create a Pinterest Account and

agree to the terms and conditions, and Wordle seems to be available for anyone to

use.The licenses for Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Excel

would have already been purchased for use on the

computers.


Prepare for using the activity.

Does this mean you want to

make some changes?

All the hands-on part of the learning activity will be completed in groups so

learners will provide assistance to each other.Steps will be provided for

students to create the Excel spread sheets, using

Pinterest and Wordle, and all the formulas will be

displayed.At this time I do not foresee any changes to be made, but there may be some obvious

ones during the development phase.

How will you

evaluate its

usefulness?

Learners will be given different scenarios and asked to compute the investment return.

For example:1. Increasing the government contribution

3. Decreasing the rate of appreciation on the rental property

Learners will be asks to use their spreadsheet to determine the amount of government

contribution that would provide the same return for both savings plan.

Learners will be asked to identify other investment strategies that could be used that provide a similar flexibility like the real estate

plan, and asked to demonstrate why their choice is considered better than an RESP.


A learning activity design plan

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