Since we launched Credit Clash earlier this month, we hosted several Virtual PDs with over 60 teachers. I wanted to share some highlights from those conversations:

Game Takeaways

• Get your payments in order before opening additional lines of credit. Take into account that opening lines of credit "dings" your credit before it begins improving it. Be careful to have plenty of $ in your bank account in case of emergency [Emily Hardesty]
• Additional lines of credit can build your credit score, but only when you have established strong payment history. Emergencies/life happens...be prepared and don't get overextended. [Sarah Fass]
• You have to really be persistent; it gets frustrating when lots of bad things are happening and you can't recover--being right on the line for payments can cause an issue. That one thing sends you over the edge often times, and it is a downward spiral. [Sheila McIntyre]

Implementation Ideas

• At the start of a credit unit, play as a class to generate terminology and discussion. Then play again towards the end individually when students know the goals of building their credit. [Trevor Kert]
• I would think about having students play the game by themselves the first time, so they could learn the rules and the point of the game. The second time I would pair them up so that they could offer advice to one another of what to be aware of...I definitely didn't get it the first time I played it...playing multiple times would be key. I don't think I would demo the game for them first. The tutorial worked pretty well, and I'd let them know that if they don't understand the first time, that's okay! [Emily Hardesty]
• Definitely part of my credit unit as a "hook" to the unit. I would start with a question that students would have to discuss in pairs such as, "Have there been times in your life when you have lost but didn't give up? Explain what kept you motivated to move forward...." something like that. I would demo but then allow the students to go to the game and go through the tutorial before playing. [Diana Howard]
• I plan to use in my credit unit. I think it's great to have a goal of 850 but not that realistic in real life so I would focus on improvement from game to game by each student or even the greatest gain from Game 1 to Game 2, etc. [Deb Wolken]
• Student need to understand that they will learn from failure during this activity. It may help to start with a challeng activity that is approachable but not guaranteed success that student do. This activity should also emphasis persistence. It is all about have a growth mindset. Have students play and share when scores increased and decreased. [Brett Shifrin]

Resources To Pair with Credit Clash

• You can pair it with Cat Insanity and Shady Sam interactives. [Scott Herman]
• Data Crunch: How Much Does Your Credit Score Impact Your Interest Rate? [Kim Lietz]
• INTERACTIVE: FICO Credit Scores and CALCULATE: Impact of Credit Score on Loans [Courtney Poquette]
• QoD: What will your credit score be after your FIRST six months of making on-time payments? [Brett Shifrin]
• Case Study: Tale of Two Credit Scores [Laurie Gardner]

Sign up for a Virtual PD here and collaborate with other passionate educators from across the country! 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.