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Dr. Tammie Fischer
Director, Center for Economic Education
Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Toby Boss
Director of Professional Development,
Nebraska Educational Service Unit #6
Jennifer Davidson, M.Ed Director, Programs and Community Development,
Nebraska Council on Economic Education
Wiki link:
http://unlecon.wikispaces.com/
Tentative Agenda
Morning Session
8:00 - 8:45 Registration
8:45 - 9:00 Introductions and Overview
9:00 - 10:15 The Show
Break
10:30-11:45 Online Resources
Lunch
Afternoon Session
1:00-2:15 Engagement Strategies
Break
2:30-3:45 Integrating Economic Concepts
3:45- 4:00 Closure
Essential Questions for the Day
1. What are Big Ideas and Essential Questions?
2. What knowledge and pedagogy do we want
teacher candidates to possess?
3. How can we model the pedagogy in our
classroom?
Big Ideas
• Big Picture – How can a better understanding of
econ help us understand the economic world of
the past, present and future?
Literature Framework
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by
design. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by design.
Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Big Ideas
• An important inference, drawn from the experience of
experts, stated as a specific and useful
generalization.
• Refers to transferable, big ideas having enduring
understanding beyond a specific topic.
• Involves abstract counterintuitive and easily
misunderstood ideas.
Big Ideas
• Is best acquired by “uncovering” (i.e., it must be
developed inductively, co-constructed by learners)
and “doing” the subject (i.e., using the ideas in
realistic settings and with real-world problems).
• Summarizes important strategic principles in skill
areas.
Knowledge vs Understanding
• The facts
• A body of coherent
facts
• Verifiable claims
• Right or wrong
• I know something to be
true
• I respond on cue with
what I know
• The meaning of the
facts
• The “theory” that
provides coherence
• Fallible, in-process
theories
• A matter of degree
• I understand why it is
true
• I judge when to use
what I know
Transfer
• Apply learning to new situations not only in school,
but also beyond it.
• The point of school is to learn in school how to make
sense of learnings in order to lead better lives out of
school.
• Learn now to apply lessons to later challenges.
Big Ideas in Econ
•
•
•
•
People choose.
People’s choices have costs.
People respond to incentives in predictable ways.
People create economic systems that influence individual
choices and incentives.
• People gain when they trade voluntarily.
• People’s choices have consequences that lie in the future.
Processing
• What are some big ideas that are included in your
curriculum?
Essential Questions
• What essential questions will foster inquiry,
understanding, and transfer of learning?
Essential Questions
• Provocative and arguable question designed to guide
inquiry into the big ideas.
• By actively exploring the essential questions,
students develop and deepen their understanding.
Processing
• What are some essential questions that could apply to your
curriculum?
Essential Question #2:
What knowledge and pedagogy do we want teacher
candidates to possess?
How do we best prepare future teachers?
• Active and Engaging
• Modeling
• Resources: print and online
Economics
Knowledge
Effective Economic
Education
Place In
Curriculum
Teacher
Resources
Economic
Knowledge
Teaching
Methods
•
•
•
•
16 week, Semester Courses
Meeting Twice Per Week
2 Days of Student Holidays, Per Course
Generally taken during their sophomore or junior year
Course Components
Portfolio Approach:
• Lesson Plan Projects
– One, Three, and Five Days
• Journals
– Articles and Assigned
• Reflection Letter
• Exams
– 4, noncomprehensive
Text
– McConnell/Brue Economics, 19th edition
Course Philosophy
•
•
•
•
Interactive and engaging
Learn by doing, no “busy work”
Various teaching methods and strategies
Model course design, teaching with objectives tied to
assessment
• Professional networking opportunities, experiences
Student Feedback…
“In a regular economics class you would not be
given the opportunity to make lesson plans or
improve on your teaching skills. That is a very big
benefit of taking the education major’s section.”
“I was very intimidated going into the semester, but
then I became very comfortable with the subject, and it
just didn’t seem hard anymore.”
“I never would have imagined applying these
concepts to many different classes. I am excited to
actually be able to use these ideas in my future
classroom.”
“The lesson plans have amazed me on how beneficial
they have been to helping me learn the concepts.”
“Economics is much easier to learn when there is a
real practical purpose such as teaching applied to it.”
Macroeconomics
At A Glance
Week
1
2
Concepts
Economics and the economic problem; economic goals; micro vs. macro; positive vs.
normative economics
Economic resources; scarcity; production possibilities; opportunity cost; economic systems;
circular flow model
3
supply and demand; determinants; equilibrium; shortages and surpluses
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Review Concepts Previously Taught
Gross Domestic Product
Business Cycle; Unemployment; Inflation
Aggregate Demand; Aggregate Supply; Equilibrium
Fiscal Policy
Review Concepts Previously Taught
Functions of Money; Money Supply; Demand for Money
Federal Reserve System
Money Creation; Monetary Policy
Monetary Policy Continued
Deficits and Surpluses; Public Debt
Economic Growth; International Trade
Trade Barriers; Balance of Payments; Exchange Rates
Microeconomics
At A Glance
Week
1
2
Concepts
Economics and the economic problem; economic goals; micro vs. macro; positive vs.
normative economics
Economic resources; scarcity; production possibilities; opportunity cost; economic
systems; circular flow model
3
supply and demand; determinants; equilibrium; shortages and surpluses
4
supply and demand continued
characteristics of market system; basic economic questions; competition and invisible
hand
public and private sectors; legal forms of business; circular flow
government finances (federal, state and local)
price elasticity of demand
price elasticity of supply
elasticity applications
consumer behavior and utility maximization; demand for resources
demand for resources (continued)
costs of production; short run, long run
pure competition
pure monopoly; monopolistic competition
monopolistic competition and oligopolies
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Appendices
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Student Syllabus – Macro
Student Syllabus – Micro
Cognitive Levels
Basic Economics K-12 Concepts
Voluntary National Economics Standards
Lesson Plan Format
Economics Curriculum Project Evaluation
http://www.councilforeconed.org/syllabus/
Break Time!!
Online Resources
• Econ Ed Link http://www.econedlink.org/
• Econ Ed Reviews http://www.econedreviews.org/
• Online Calculators
– CPI Calculator
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
– Money Chimp http://www.moneychimp.com/
• U.S. Debt Clock http://www.usdebtclock.org/
• Federal Reserve Education
http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/
• Keynes vs. Hayak rap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk
• Virtual Economics - tutorial
Virtual Economics 4.0
Virtual Economics Version 4.0
is available as a CD-ROM
VE 4.0 is also available as
a 1 GB USB Flash Drive
Virtual Economics 4.0
51 key economics concepts illustrated
with an overview, a multimedia
demonstration, teaching tips and
featured lessons
Virtual Economics 4.0
1,400 CEE lessons searchable by
economic concept, grade level, key
word, national economics standard,
your state economics standard and
publication
Lunch Time!!
Essential Question #3:
How can we model the pedagogy in the
classroom?
Engagement Strategies for Economics
• Opportunity Cost Apron
• The Bag Game
• Property Rights Activity
Bag game slide here
Take a Break!
Integrating Economic Concepts
in Preservice Preparation
Big Ideas in Econ
•
•
•
•
People choose.
People’s choices have costs.
People respond to incentives in predictable ways.
People create economic systems that influence individual
choices and incentives.
• People gain when they trade voluntarily.
• People’s choices have consequences that lie in the future.
Other Examples
• In a free market, price is a function of supply and
demand.
• Relative scarcity may lead to trade and economic
interdependence or to conflict.
• Governments make rules to influence the economy.
• Firms make decisions based on profit maximization.
• Freely competitive markets are efficient.
• The topography, climate, and natural resources of a
region influence the culture, economy, and lifestyle of
its inhabitants.
• There is rarely a single obvious cause to a complex
event.
What does “Essential” Mean in Econ?
• Important questions that recur throughout life:
– “what is fairness?”
• Core ideas and inquiries within a discipline:
– “what causes recession?”
• Helps students make sense of complicated ideas:
– “how do we manage the economy?”
• Engages the students through relevance and
meaning:
– “how am I a consumer?”
Econ Examples
•
•
•
•
•
•
What motivates human behavior?
What determines value?
Why do people trade?
Why do people migrate?
Why do economies grow?
How does where we live influence how we live?
Understanding Econ in U.S. History
• Why did the colonists fight when they were safe
prosperous and free?
• How did cotton become king?
• Was free land a good deal?
• Were the Robber Barons really robbers?
• Could the U.S. economy have grown without the railroad?
• Who should make the food safe?
• Did the New Deal help or harm the recovery?
Processing
• What are some essential questions that could apply
to your curriculum?
• What strategies can you use to teach econ
vocabulary?
The Flipped Classroom
• Article: The Flipped Classroom
• Video: The Flipped Classroom
• The Flipped Classroom is Born
Charge!!
3–2–1
List 3 things you found interesting.
List 2 things you want to learn more about.
What 1 thing will you try in your classroom?