Teacher Professional Development (PD)

K-12 educators, it’s tough for you to participate in professional development and still be in the classroom with your students. You have a lot to do and so little time to finish everything. Our online professional development programs are designed to make it easier! There are three options for you to consider, each with a different level of time commitment and a different level of educational attainment:

Program Options

1 | Graduate Credit

One hour of graduate credit can be acquired through Wichita State University for completing 15 hours of course work, including readings; participation in an online, interactive program; and completion of the unit assessment. For more about the program and information on how to register, download this PDF.

2 | FRB Professional Development Certificate

You can earn a professional development certificate from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis by participating in an estimated 10 hours of lessons, readings and online programming.

Learn more about this no-fee program.

Each course in the FRB Professional Development Certificate program contains lessons, readings and learning modules that you can use to teach the topic to students in your classroom. For each course, you will need to complete both content and teaching assessments to obtain your professional development certificate.

Once registered, you will receive an email with instructions. Upon finishing the program, you will be awarded a certificate recognizing your completion of 10 hours of professional development.

FRB Professional Development Certificate Courses:

Gross Domestic Product
This course will cover key content about gross domestic product (GDP), including what it measures, how it is measured, and how well it serves as an indicator of the health of an economy and the well-being of that economy’s population.
Inflation
This course will cover key content about inflation, including how it is measured, how it affects savers and borrowers, and why the Fed targets a low and stable inflation rate.
The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy
This course will cover key content about the Federal Reserve System and how the Fed conducts monetary policy to achieve the goals set for it by Congress: price stability and maximum employment.
Money and Payment Systems
This course will cover key content about money and payment systems, including the functions and characteristics that make money an effective tool within an economy and payment systems that facilitate its use in trade.
Unemployment
This course will cover key content about unemployment, how it is measured, types of unemployment, and current unemployment data and trends.
Economics of Trade
This course will cover key content around the concept of comparative advantage and its impact on trade.

3 | CPDU Credit

Teachers can earn one hour of CPDU credit with no fee by working with their students to complete an online course in one of more than 50 topics spanning concepts in economics and personal finance. To register for the program, log into Econ Lowdown, navigate to the Professional Development Options, and click on CPDU credit.

Invite Us to Your District's Next Professional Development Event (or Day)

Fed staff is available for professional development events at your school or in your district. Whether you are seeking a one hour or a full-day professional development experience, we can provide resources and instruction in personal finance and/or economics. As always, Fed workshops and resources are free of charge. Professional development workshops are limited to the Eighth District. For more information, contact economiceducation@stls.frb.org.

Read more about the mission of the St. Louis Fed’s economic education staff in the essay "Teach One, Reach Many," from our 2016 annual report.

Digital Badge Programs

Learn more about our digital badge programs and how they can help with your professional development and continuing education.

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Education Level: Pre-K-5 , 6-8 , 9-12 , College
Subjects: Professional Development