Peer Review

Origins and Mission of the Federal Reserve

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Mar 23, 2023 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

In March 2012, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke delivered a four-part lecture series about the Federal Reserve and the financial crisis that emerged in 2007. The series began with a lecture on the origins and missions of central banks. The Chairman explains what central banks do, the origin of central banking in the United States, and the early experience of the Federal Reserve in dealing with a serious financial crisis: the Great Depression. The lectures were offered as part of an undergraduate course at the George Washington University School of Business. The lecture is about one hour and 12 minutes long. On-demand video, transcripts, and presentation slides are available for each lecture.

Type of Material:

Presentation

Recommended Uses:

Video can be individually assigned or shown in the classroom.
Excellent resource for in-class presentations on specific topics to support lecturers
Can be used as a resource tool for student reference to facilitate understanding of real-world applicability of money and banking, economic policy, and the role of the federal reserve.

Technical Requirements:

Firefox browser, pdf reader

Chrome

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Identify the origin
Understand the mission of the federal reserve
Understand US monetary
Understand the banking system

Target Student Population:

Undergraduate students to support upper level Economics, Finance and Money and Banking courses.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Microeconomics,
macroeconomics,
introductory finance.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

comprehensive presentation of a historical event to enhance students understanding of the role of the federal reserve in monetary policy and a basic understanding of the banking system.
addresses lessons learned and possible future impacts. student question and answer session.
website contains the other three presentations that are part of the lecture series for a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
students may browse the site for additional information on monetary policy, current events, economic research, information about the federal reserve, payment systems, supervision and regulation, data, and consumers and communities.
wonderful job of providing complete and appropriate content.

Concerns:

material does require a basic understanding of economics and finance as well as the federal reserve to fully grasp the benefits of the presentation.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

presentation is broken down into mini-lectures, so students can focus on the particular part of the presentation that is of most interest to them.
Faculty may use the mini-presentations to enhance lecture material by topic
Student Q&A session lets students hear the questions their peers have about the information presented which may help them to understand how they should be thinking about the topic as a student in business.
material increases the potential for student learning and understanding of the federal reserve.

Concerns:

Students without prior academic exposure to economics and finance may feel overwhelmed with the discussion and information presented.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Website is easy to navigate.
Pdf transcript of the presentation is available.
Faculty may easily identify the presentation most relevant to the planned lecture and use the mini lectures accordingly.

Concerns:

None

Other Issues and Comments:: This is an excellent resource for any economics or finance program. The on-demand video presentations are divided into manageable mini lectures for easy inclusion with class lectures to enhance student understanding of the federal reserve system and monetary policy. The material presented is relevant, timely, and required for a sound understanding of the federal reserve system.
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