Assistant research professor Juan Pablo Martínez Guzmán and assistant professor Luke Spreen were awarded a near $16,000 Teaching Innovation Grant from the University of Maryland earlier this year. The Teaching Innovation Grant was available to faculty throughout campus to improve circumstances of moving online to the fall semester.
Half of the grant was used to improve summer pay for faculty, and the other was used to create the Financial Fridays video series. Each video in the series explains a portion of the process, such as budget reconciliation, Maryland’s budget process, municipal bonds, and Congressional appropriations.
The goal of the videos was to create an easier space for MPA and MPP students to learn about the financial process of Maryland and the federal government. Martínez, creator of the videos, expressed that “with the move to online learning, it’s even more important to explain concepts thoroughly due to the lack of in-person teaching.” He explained that the videos were designed to be concise, quick and comprehensive tools for educating online.
They will “last a very long time,” said Martínez on the videos as a tool for education for the School of Public Policy.