Teaching Economics

1. Teaching Economics HIS 420 Fall 2012 Scott Fenwick rsfenwick2@gmail.com

2. 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.html

3. “What Economics Should We Teach Before College, If Any?”byHelen Roberts and Deirdre McCloskeyUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

4. Review/ReflectionOn your own…1) What’s the “big” or “essential” question that Roberts and McCloskey seek to answer? [one sentence]2) What’s their argument? [1 or 2 sentences]3) Circle three words or terms that you think are important.4) Underline three words or terms that you don’t understand or are unfamiliar with.5) Draw a box around the most important sentence or phrase.

5. Pair and ShareWith a partner…Share and discuss your responses to numbers 1-5.Did you have similar or different responses? Why or why not?

6. Whole Class Discussion What is the “enduring understanding” or “big takeaway”? Do you agree or disagree with the authors? Why or why not?

7. Four Pieces of a Comprehensive Economics Education • Microeconomic Concepts • Macroeconomic Concepts • Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics • Financial Literacy

8. Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics “VNCS” http://www.councilforeconed.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/voluntary-national-content-standards-2010.pdf

9. Microeconomic Concepts in VNCS • Scarcity • Decision Making • Allocation • Incentives • Trade • Specialization • Markets and Prices • Role of Prices • Competition and Market Structure • Institutions

10. -Photo Elicitation Activity-Introduction to Microeconomic Concepts

11. -Photo Elicitation- Introduction to Microeconomic Concepts • Look at the ten images on the tables. • Each image represents one of the ten concepts defined on your worksheet. • Walk around the room and match the images to the definitions. • You’re free to converse and debate with your classmates! • Remember, this is your interpretation, so don’t worry about getting things “exactly right”. • We’ll discuss the results when you finish.

12. What are these people so pissed off about?

13. Argument: If free trade is so bad, why have people been doing it (and trying to do it) for well over 4,000 years??!!

14. Simulation:“The Gains from Trade”

15. You (yes, you) are your own nation. In your glorious land of one, your diet consists only of candy. Like all nations, your resources are limited – so is your productive capacity.

16. Round 1: Autarky Since the dawn of time your great nation has believed in the idea of self-reliance. Despite the fact that the Dear Leader (you) knows there are other people (and products) out there in this great big world, you think it’s a good idea for you and your people (well, maybe just your people) to consume only what your land is capable of producing. Your nation only produces one thing or a few variations of the same thing.

17. Round 1: Autarky Open your bag of goods. DO NOT SHOW ANYONE WHAT YOU PRODUCE! This is autarky!!! You know other types of candy exist, but borders are closed!!! Okay, this is what nature has determined for you. C’est la vie. On a scale of 1-5, with one being “kill me now” and 5 being “my land is most glorious”, rate your bag of goods in terms of utility (or happiness).

18. Round 2: Bilateral Trade You Dear Leader have had a change of heart. Perhaps you have more in common with your neighbors than you thought. Maybe they’re not so bad after all? The only way to find out is to open up trade talks…

19. Round 2: Bilateral Trade You have agreed to bilateral trade talks with two of your neighbors. If you want to, you are allowed to trade ONLY WITH THE PEOPLE SITTING NEXT TO YOU (maximum two)! Do not show your bag of goods to anyone else. Remember, you are not obligated to trade. There is no limit to what and how much you can trade with a single trading partner. No multilateral trading allowed! Once trading has ceased, on a scale of 1-5, with one being “my neighbors are useless” and five being “perhaps dual citizenship is in order,” rate your bag of goods in terms of utility (or happiness).

20. Round 3: Global Free Trade Something unprecedented has occurred in your nation’s history. The Dear Leader (yes, that’s you) has been presented with an unimaginable opportunity. The United States of Scott has invited you to Chicago to participate in the 2012 Global Trade Fair! He’ll send a private jet, so pack your bag of goods and let’s go! p.s. – don’t forget to bring your gasmask and flak jacket 

21. Round 3: Global Free Trade Welcome to the Global Trade Fair at UIC! You are allowed to trade with anyone you meet! But, you are not obligated to do so. There is no limit to the number of people you can trade with or the amount of goods you trade. Multilateral trades are permitted! The only rule is that you must come away with something!

22. Round 3: Global Free Trade Once trading has ceased, on a scale of 1-5, with one being “I’m going back to my cave” and five being “time to buy a fleet of cargo planes”, rate your bag of goods in terms of utility (or happiness).

23. Macroeconomic Concepts from VNCS • Money and Inflation • Interest Rates • Income • Entrepreneurship • Economic Growth • Role of Government and Market Failure • Government Failure • Economic Fluctuations • Unemployment and Inflation • Fiscal and Monetary Policy

24. Inside Job (2010)by Charles FergusonAcademy Award WinnerBest Documentary Film

25. Some folks you should know… Larry Summers • Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton and former Director of U.S. National Economic Council under President Barack Obama Robert Rubin • Secretary of the Treasury under Clinton and former director of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Alan Greenspan • Former chairman of the Federal Reserve under Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, and GW Bush

26. Some more folks you should know… Ben Bernanke Federal Reserve Chairman since 2006 Timothy Geithner Former president of the New York Federal Reserve and current U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

27. Inside Job Teacher’s Guide • Previewing and Post-viewing prompts and questions • Four activities with handouts • http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/_pdf/InsideJob_StudyGuide.pdf

28. “Lunchroom Conversation” Would you use Inside Job in your classroom? • Students and teacher read, listen to, or watch something • Teacher give a prompt or poses a question • Students talk to each other • Teacher monitors, takes notes (and tries not to interrupt)

29. When Income Grows, Who Gains? Economic Policy Institute’s “State of Working America” project http://stateofworkingamerica.org/

30. Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics • Why? Because students need context in order to understand abstract ideas. • How? Economic History, Biography, Primary Documents, Documentary Film

31. Who are these guys? • 1111111111 3 5 1 2 4 10 6 8 7 9 15 14 12 11 13 16

32. Historical/Philosophical Foundations of Economics • New Ideas From Dead Economists by Todd G. Buchholz • The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner

33. 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

34. Historical/Philosophical Foundations Lesson Plans • NCEE Lesson Plans http://search.store.yahoo.net/ncee/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=ncee&.autodone=http://store.councilforeconed.org/nsearch.html&query=history&x=0&y=0 • Scott’s Lesson Plans http://scottfenwickteachingeconomics.wikispaces.com/Economists+for+Consideration

35. Examples of CEE Lesson Plans • Adam Smith and the Market Economy • The Decline of Spain • The Constitution: Ground Rules for the Economy • Growth after World War II

36. Macro Hip-Hop from “Fear the Boom and Bust” John Maynard Keynes vs. Friedrich August Von Hayek http://econstories.tv/2010/06/22/fear-the-boom-and-bust/

37. More on the “Fight of the Century” from econstories.tvhttp://econstories.tv/2010/10/25/part-i-keynesianism-%E2%80%93-it%E2%80%99s-all-about-spending/

38. Even more on the “Fight of the Century” from econstories.tvhttp://econstories.tv/2010/10/22/fear-the-boom/

39. Financial Literacy • There has been progress in economics education, but this trend had slowed in the last couple of years. • Our economy has become “financialized”, so we must become financially literate! • Situation in Illinois: • Non-financial econ education remains stagnant and behind the trend. • Financial literacy education is trending upward! • http://www.councilforeconed.org/news-information/survey-of-the-states/

40. Financial Literacy Read Aloud & Dialogue With a Text: “Greater Fools” by James Surowiecki, writer of The New Yorker’s Financial Page http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2010/07/05/100705ta_talk_surowiecki

41. Financial Literacy • National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) High School Financial Planning Program http://hsfpp.nefe.org/ • CPS and NEFE Partnership • Council for Economic Education’s Financial Fitness for Life http://fffl.councilforeconed.org/

42. Important Resources • Council on Economics Education (CEE) http://www.councilforeconed.org/ • CEE’s Virtual Economics DVD http://ve.councilforeconed.org/ • The Federal Reserve’s Educational Materials http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/

43. Teaching Economics Wikispace http://scottfenwickteachingeconomics.wikispaces.com Do you (or will you) using its content in the classroom? If yes, please share your ideas! Send me an e-mail at: rsfenwick2@gmail.com

44. Recommended Reading If you’re going to teach an economics class and only have time to read one book, I recommend Naked Economics (2010) by Charles Wheelan.