This article was written by Cori Burcham.
Mirroring the same excitement of their young students, a group of Delaware K-12 educators spent a Saturday morning in the University of Delaware’s FinTech Innovation Hub, rolling dice, multiplying the results, and drawing cards during a saving-and-spending game at the Econ-O-Ween Fall Mini Conference.
“You collect change from around the house,” one teacher said, before her teammates cheered — collectively reaching their savings goal of $30.
Hosted by the University of Delaware’s Center for Economics Education and Entrepreneurship at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the annual event brought teachers together for a morning of educational games that unmasked challenging economics and financial literacy concepts, making them less scary and more accessible for the classroom. The conference is sponsored by the Delaware Council on Economic Education, with generous support from Robinhood, and YourMoney101.
Now in its third year, Econ-O-Ween offers hands-on resources for all grade levels, showing how topics such as saving, investing, compound interest and game theory can be introduced early and reinforced throughout secondary school. Bringing real-world economics concepts to life through experiential activities, Econ-O-Ween’s nontraditional approach not only made learning more impactful for students but also made professional development more enjoyable for Delaware’s educators.
The day began with a presentation by Thomas Bridges, assistant professor of economics titled Unmasking Public Economics: Taxes and Government Spending Made Simple. From there, educators participated in hands-on sessions, including one led by Kylee Holliday, a social studies teacher at Alexis I. duPont High School and instructional fellow at the CEEE. Educators explored gamified activities progressing from elementary to high school on Delaware’s third financial literacy standard: saving and investing.
The first activity, based on the lesson “Uncle Jed’s Barbershop” by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, introduced the basics of saving and the realistic obstacles that get in the way. Holliday followed with two secondary-level activities to help students learn how wealth can grow..
In one scenario, teachers considered whether their students would rather double the value of a penny every day for 30 days or take $1 million upfront.While most chose the latter, the penny’s growth to $5.4 million showed the power of 100% compound interest. The second scenario illustrated its downside: paying off a $1,000 credit card balance with a 25% interest rate through $30 monthly payments would take four years and cost nearly double in interest.
Teachers were then tasked with drawing a two-faced character representing compound interest as a hero and villain — an exercise Catarina Chamlee believes will help her students at Newark Charter’s Senior High School retain important financial lessons.
“This idea of having students draw out what they’re thinking and apply different concepts through art is another way I think I can help students make those connections,” said Chamlee, noting the gamified activities gave her some inspiration for her own classroom.
In a session by Amy Krzyzanowski, instructional designer at the CEEE, and Scott Bacon, assistant director of the CEEE, educators were introduced to game theory through two activities designed to help students think strategically, make informed choices and predict outcomes — without a crystal ball.
“At a Halloween-themed economic conference, we’ll call it game fear-y, and it’s all about decision-making, where the choices you make and the outcome of those choices also depend on the choices of others,” said Krzyzanowski, detailing an activity that illustrates the prisoner’s dilemma.
Each team of two received “trick” and “treat” cards and a goody bag featuring a mystery prize. With the outcome of the game relying on their combined choices, the teachers were tasked with deciding whether to play “trick” — stealing the contents of the bag — or “treat” — and split everything with their partner. The game also had the inherent risk of losing everything if both played “trick.” The teams were given time to discuss strategy and predict their partner’s selection. After the reveal, many were surprised to see the results of their collective choices.
Reflecting on their motivation afterwards, some teachers noted they chose to steal mainly out of self-interest, while others decided to cooperate based on trust and prior relationships. The winner of round two, which had the teams play for tickets to a raffle featuring an economics-themed t-shirt and a gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts, shared that her motivation was more strategic.
“It was just a last-minute decision. Everybody was being nice and choosing ‘treat’,” said the third-grade teacher. While it became a running joke that elementary teachers would likely share, she defied that expectation by deciding to steal her partner’s raffle ticket, which ultimately won her the prize.
Exploring a more advanced game theory concept, Bacon then introduced the oligopoly game, a high school level activity modeling competition between large firms dominating an industry. Dividing into four teams, each group received $10 and a “plus” and “minus” card. Similar to the trick or treat game, each group had the chance to discuss the risk and reward of playing either a “plus” or “minus” determined by a payoff matrix. The outcome was a profit or loss between $1 and $3, depending on the teams’ collective decisions.
By the third round, educators became aware of the intrinsic flaw with oligopoly dynamics when representatives from each team unanimously agreed to play “minus” to mutually benefit — a promise which only one team kept, losing money in the process. While the “cheaters” earned short-term gains, no team made a profit in the end, revealing how collusion fails and self-interest leads to collective loss.
While the oligopoly game is too advanced for her kindergarten students, Alexis Washofsky of UD’s Lab School intends to use the trick-or-treat game as a foundational lesson on behavioral economics.
“This conference deepened my understanding of how to make economics accessible and engaging for young children. I was able to think about how I can integrate economic concepts into hands-on activities and dramatic play, engaging my students in critical thinking about the choices we make and discussions on fairness,” said Washofsky.
After spending the day playing collaborative games and gaining additional digital resources, many educators left Econ-O-Ween encouraged by new ideas and supported by the sense of community that defines the CEEE’s professional development events.
“I love that they always include Delaware teachers as presenters, which gives us firsthand experience when learning from other professionals. Seeing practical applications from people who have actually tried it in the classroom is very valuable,” said Chamlee, highlighting the camaraderie that continues to make Econ-O-Ween a treat for Delaware educators to attend year after year.