Frequently Asked Questions about participating in The Stock Market Game

I am not an investment expert and have very little knowledge of the stock market. Can I still have my students play the game?

Participation in the stock market game does not require a teacher to be an investment professional. Once you introduce the game to your students and the resources available to them it is their job to become the expert. There are many internet based resources to help answer their questions and assist them with investment resources. The Economics Center can also arrange to bring investment professionals to your classroom to help introduce investment concepts and answer student questions. While Economics and business teachers often play the game with their students so do math, social studies and business education teachers. Research has found that student participation in the game helps reinforce knowledge of many subjects including math and reading.

The 5 main subjects that teachers teach who utilize The Stock Market Game are:

• Mathematics
• Economics
• Business Education
• Gifted Program %
• Social Studies- Not Economics 8%

I do not have much classroom time to dedicate to the stock market game. How much classroom time do I have to dedicate to the game?

You have a great deal of flexibility in determining how much classroom time you want to spend on the game. The initial student training might require 30-45 minutes of time to explain the mechanics of the game and discuss investment concepts. Once the teams of students are trained they can do much of what the game requires on their own time either before or after school or even in the evening. The Stock Market Game does provide a number of lesson plans which teacher may use to help supplement the learning that comes with participation in the game. These lesson plans are designed to take approximately 50 minutes. You can make a decision before the game begins about how much or little classroom time you wish to dedicate to the game.

I plan on registering for the Game however I am holding off because I don’t know how many students are in my class yet.

If you can estimate how many students you typically have in your class each term we highly recommend that you register your teams ASAP. This way you are in the system and your teacher ID and student ID’s and Passwords are sent to you in a timely manner. The registration never requires the names of your students and if you contact the coordinator we can always delete unneeded teams or add additional teams to your account.

I am concerned that this game teaches our students to get rich quickly and the values of day trading.

With the school period being structured in quarter and semester periods, we had to find a way of giving students real world experience and still be able to fit the program inside of the school day. The lessons in the game and human experiences and testimony are more than enough to show the students the value of long term investments.