Teaching Economics
HIS 420
Spring 2010
Scott 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.h
tml
Big Questions…
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Why should we teach economics?
What should we teach?
How should we teach it?
How does teaching economics fit into the
social studies and our vision/goal to build
effective citizens?
• What opportunities (think about student
outcomes) exist in teaching economics?
• 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
• So, what is capitalism? Do we Americans truly
understand it as an economic system in the
abstract?
• Can Democracy exist with or without capitalism?
Do we Americans conflate the two ideas without
realizing it? If yes, what are the costs/benefits of
doing so?
• The Bread Co. and Isthmus – is this Capitalism?
Why don’t we see more businesses like this?
• Professor Black – do those who choose finance
on Wall Street really make the world worse?
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
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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 ActivityIntroduction to Economic
Principles: Essential Concepts
Macroeconomic Principles
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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” GameThe Gains From Trade
Resources: Books and
Supplementary Readings
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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.
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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. TellerElsberg, 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-powerchoose
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://www.councilforeconed.org/
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/2010/04/1
2/100412ta_talk_surowiecki
– Consumer Reports
• http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm
Resources: Books and
Supplementary Readings
• Blogs
– 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-blogsresource-page
– Powell Center for Economic Literacy Blog by Timothy
Schilling
• http://valuingeconomics.blogspot.com/
Other Resources
• National Public Radio and American Public
Media’s Marketplace & Marketplace
Money
http://marketplace.publicradio.org
• Yoram Bauman: The Stand-Up Economist
http://www.standupeconomist.com/
Other Resources
• NCEE’s Virtual Economics DVD
http://ve.councilforeconed.org/
• Econ Ed Link
http://www.econedlink.org/
Other Resources
• The Federal Reserve’s Educational
Materials
– http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/FRED
/?CFID=5414555&CFTOKEN=88536688
– http://www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources
/
Other Resources
• Teaching Economics As If People
Mattered
– an “alternative” curriculum?
– http://teachingeconomics.org/
HIS 420 Economics Wiki
http://his420teachingeconomics.wikispaces.
com/
- Please make contributions and comments!
- Together, we can make a great resource!