Today’s post is so unique from a great success in the classroom to the effect of the economics on people. I am happy to see the students applying economics concepts in their daily life. From an educators point of view definitely learning through projects much longer lasting than taking a test. I hope the economy improves in support to the people.
Looking forward to seeing how the data analysis project works out! I've also added in a data analysis component to my Intro Macro class, but it's a small project. I view it as a complement to the standard assessments, and being a small project, it does not replace the final. However, I'm really curious how a bigger project with a research component plays out in an intro-level course!
Last semester I was teaching Trade Dynamics and shifted from the previous model of tests to three papers. What I found was that the office hour questions were much more detailed and rather specific. It went from "I picked the right theory" to "Is this the proper application in this situation?"
There were only 12 people in the class, so a little more managable than "cattle classes" with 40.
That look of "I get this" is truly gratifying.
*The February/March employment situation has so much noise from the nursing strike. At a minimum 55K on strike w/ variations since the data only collates strike over 1000 persons.
Congrats on the lecture! It feels so good when you nail it. I also felt good after my class yesterday, but it couldn't have been more different: I taught standard errors and confidence intervals. We built on our foundation of probability theory, and I had them work through a series of scaffolded exercises. I saw so many students move from kind-of getting it to real understanding. It's so cool that there are so many ways to teach a great class.
Per your project--It sounds awesome, but be careful--I'm sure you know that at least some of your students are leaning hard on AI for this sort of thing. That can mean AI is a force multiplier, but it can also mean they are not doing the work required for real learning. And the higher the (grade) stakes, the harder they will lean.
Thanks for sharing your experience and for your advice on AI. It is something we are working through and evaluating how to best assess it. We have some ideas that we will share, but too early now.
I've often found that the most interesting time to teach and learn macroeconomics is when the economy isn't booming. I wish it were something we could get students excited about during booms, too.
Yes, stories bring it to life.
Today’s post is so unique from a great success in the classroom to the effect of the economics on people. I am happy to see the students applying economics concepts in their daily life. From an educators point of view definitely learning through projects much longer lasting than taking a test. I hope the economy improves in support to the people.
I am glad to hear you enjoyed this post.
Looking forward to seeing how the data analysis project works out! I've also added in a data analysis component to my Intro Macro class, but it's a small project. I view it as a complement to the standard assessments, and being a small project, it does not replace the final. However, I'm really curious how a bigger project with a research component plays out in an intro-level course!
I would love to hear about your project. I’ll share more soon now that I see so much interest in this change.
Last semester I was teaching Trade Dynamics and shifted from the previous model of tests to three papers. What I found was that the office hour questions were much more detailed and rather specific. It went from "I picked the right theory" to "Is this the proper application in this situation?"
There were only 12 people in the class, so a little more managable than "cattle classes" with 40.
That look of "I get this" is truly gratifying.
*The February/March employment situation has so much noise from the nursing strike. At a minimum 55K on strike w/ variations since the data only collates strike over 1000 persons.
https://www.bls.gov/wsp/
I am glad to hear the shift worked for you too.
Congrats on the lecture! It feels so good when you nail it. I also felt good after my class yesterday, but it couldn't have been more different: I taught standard errors and confidence intervals. We built on our foundation of probability theory, and I had them work through a series of scaffolded exercises. I saw so many students move from kind-of getting it to real understanding. It's so cool that there are so many ways to teach a great class.
Per your project--It sounds awesome, but be careful--I'm sure you know that at least some of your students are leaning hard on AI for this sort of thing. That can mean AI is a force multiplier, but it can also mean they are not doing the work required for real learning. And the higher the (grade) stakes, the harder they will lean.
Thanks for sharing your experience and for your advice on AI. It is something we are working through and evaluating how to best assess it. We have some ideas that we will share, but too early now.
I have always said to my students at the center of economics are people an those people are what drive economics not the other way around.
It is always about the people.
I've often found that the most interesting time to teach and learn macroeconomics is when the economy isn't booming. I wish it were something we could get students excited about during booms, too.