Teaching Economics

HIS 420Summer 2010Scott Fenwick

rsfenwick2@gmail.com

UIC’s Center for Economic Education

Dr. Helen Roberts - hroberts@uic.edu • http://cee.econ.uic.edu/ Certificate for Teaching Economics• http://cee.econ.uic.edu/certification.html • http://cee.econ.uic.edu/undercertification.ht

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Big Questions…

• Why should we teach economics?• What should we teach?• How should we teach it?• How does teaching economics fit into a social

studies framework that seeks to build effective citizens?

• What opportunities exist in teaching economics? Think about student outcomes.

• What can history folks bring to the economics classroom?

Our Provocateur: Michael Moore

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/capitalism-love-story

Capitalism: A Love Story Discussion Questions

1) Define capitalism. Do we Americans truly understand it as an economic system in the abstract? Is there a better alternative?

2) President Calvin Coolidge once said, “The business of America is business.” Since 1981, how has capitalism affected our democracy?

Capitalism: A Love Story Discussion Questions

3) Does our democracy depend upon capitalism, or vice versa? Do Americans tend to conflate the two? Why or why not?

4) Alvarado St. Bakery and Isthmus Engineering

– is this capitalism? Why are cooperative companies the exception rather than the rule?

Capitalism: A Love Story Discussion Questions

5) Professor Black – do those who choose finance on Wall Street really make the world worse?

6) Is deregulation anti-democratic?

Four Approaches to Teaching Economics

• Financial Literacy

• Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• Microeconomic Principles

• Macroeconomic Principles

Financial Literacy

• National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) High School Financial Planning Program http://hsfpp.nefe.org/

• Council for Economic Education’s Financial Fitness for Life http://fffl.councilforeconed.org/

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• Why? Because students need context in order to better understand abstract ideas and phenomena.

• How? Economic History, Biography, Primary Documents

Who are these guys?

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• New Ideas From Dead Economists by Todd G. Buchholz

• The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed

• An Empire of Wealth by John Steele Gordon

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• The Literary Book of Economics by M. Watts

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

• Examples of Primary Documents:– The Muqaddimah by I. Khaldun– The Wealth of Nations by A. Smith– An Essay on the Principle of Population by T.

Malthus– Das Kapital by K. Marx– Principles of Economics by A. Marshall– The General Theory of Employment, Interest and

Money by J.M. Keynes– Economic Organization of a P.O.W. Camp by R. A.

Radford

Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics

Fear the Boom and Bust: John Maynard Keynes

vs. Friedrich August Von Hayek

http://econstories.tv/home.html

Microeconomic Principles

• Choice, Trade-offs & Decision Making• Opportunity Cost & Comparative Advantage• Supply & Demand• Consumer & Producer Surplus• Elasticity• Taxes• Consumer Preference – Utility• Production Decisions• Market Structures

Microeconomic Principles

-Photo Elicitation Activity-

Introduction to Economic Principles: Essential Concepts

Macroeconomic Principles

• Gains From International Trade• Aggregate Supply & Demand• GDP: Measuring Production and Income• Unemployment & Inflation• Economic Growth & Business Cycles• Monetary Policy• Fiscal Policy• Globalization & the International Financial System

Macroeconomic Principles

-“Active Learning” Game-

The Gains From Trade

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Popular Press/Trade Paperbacks• Textbooks & Workbooks• Periodicals• Blogs

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Popular Press/Trade Paperbacks– Freakonomics by S. Levitt & S. Dubner– Superfreakonomics by S. Levitt & S. Dubner– Nudge by R. Thaler & C. Sunstein– The Economic Naturalist by R. Frank– The End of Poverty by J. Sachs– Naked Economics by C. Wheelan– The Armchair Economist by S. Landsburg– Too Big to Fail by A.R. Sorkin

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Popular Press/Trade Paperbacks cont.– The Divine Right of Capital by M. Kelly– Shock Doctrine by N. Klein– The Truth About Markets by J. Kay– Financial Shock by M. Zandi– The Great Unraveling by P. Krugman– The Field Guide to the U.S. Economy by J. Teller-Elsberg, et

al.– The Cartoon Guide to Economics Vol. 1: Microeconomics

by G. Klein & Y. Bauman

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Textbooks and Workbooks– Economics by Example by D. Anderson– Discussing Economics by M. Salemi and W.L.

Hansen– Contemporary Economics by W. McEachern– Econ Alive! The Power to Choose by TCI• http://www.teachtci.com/programs/high/ea-power-cho

ose

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Textbooks and Workbooks cont.– Focus: High School Economics by NCEE– United States History: Eyes on the Economy, vols.

1&2 by NCEE– Mathematics and Economics: Connections for Life,

grades 9-12

http://store.councilforeconed.org/

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Periodicals– Wall Street Journal & WSJ Classroom Edition• http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/cre/index.html

– The Economist• http://www.economist.com

– New York Times Opinion Pages• http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html

Resources: Books and Supplementary Readings

• Periodicals cont.– New Yorker’s Financial Page by James Surowiecki• http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2010/04/12/

100412ta_talk_surowiecki

– Consumer Reports• http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm

Online Resources

• Blogs– Economix, New York Times

• http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/

– Wall Street Journal’s Top 25 Econ Blogs• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124768581740247061.html

– Seeking Alpha’s Economics Blog Resource Page• http://seekingalpha.com/article/3070-the-economics-blogs-resour

ce-page

– Powell Center for Economic Literacy Blog by Timothy Schilling• http://valuingeconomics.blogspot.com/

Online Resources

• National Public Radio and American Public Media’s Marketplace & Marketplace Moneyhttp://marketplace.publicradio.org

• Yoram Bauman: The Stand-Up Economisthttp://www.standupeconomist.com/

Online Resources

• NCEE’s Virtual Economics DVDhttp://ve.councilforeconed.org/

• Econ Ed Linkhttp://www.econedlink.org/

Online Resources

• The Federal Reserve’s Educational Materialshttp://www.federalreserveeducation.org/

Other Resources

• Teaching Economics As If People Mattered– an “alternative” curriculum?– http://teachingeconomics.org/

Teaching Economics as if People Mattered: Think/Pair/Share

• Give a brief summary of your lesson.• Would you use the lesson as is, modify it, or

not use it at all? Why?• Tell us some of your lesson’s pros and cons.

NCEE & GATE

• National Council for Economic Education• Global Association of Teachers of Economics

http://www.councilforeconed.org/

HIS 420 Economics Wiki

http://his420teachingeconomics.wikispaces.com/

- Please make contributions and comments!- Together, we can make a great resource!