Problem Based Economics Overview
Problem Based Economics Overview Table of Contents FOREWORD................................................................................ 3 WHAT IS PROBLEM BASED LEARNING?....................................................... 4 HOW DO WE APPLY PROBLEM BASED LEARNING TO ECONOMICS?............................. 5 HOW ARE THE UNITS DESIGNED?............................................................ 8 SUPPORT MATERIALS....................................................................... 8 APPENDIX I: CONTENT STANDARDS AND CORE SKILLS....................................... 10 1
The Buck Institute for Education The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) is a not-for-profit (501c3) research and development organization working to make schools and classrooms more effective through the use of problem and project based instruction. Founded in 1987, we received permanent funding from the Leonard and Beryl Buck Trust, and receive funding for specific projects from foundations, schools and school districts, state educational agencies, and the federal government. BIE s current programs are organized around three objectives: 1. Engaging Learners: BIE has developed problem based curriculum units for high school economics, government, and world history. The BIE Project Based Learning Handbook is used by teachers throughout the United States to plan, implement and assess standards-focused projects that motivate students and enhance their learning. 2. Supporting Teachers: BIE provides professional development workshops in Problem Based High School Social Science and Project Based Learning (PBL) several times each year at its offices in Novato, California, and provides customized workshops at schools and districts by request. 3. Showing Results: BIE curricular materials and training strategies are extensively evaluated to assess their impact on students and teachers and the conditions which facilitate and impede their effectiveness. For further information visit http://www.bie.org. John Mergendoller, Ph.D. Executive Director Copyright 2003 by the Buck Institute for Education, 18 Commercial Blvd., Novato, CA 94949 All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce any part of this publication, please contact the BIE, (415) 883-0122. Graphic design: Pam Scrutton, San Francisco, CA 2
Foreword Students learn more when they care about what they are learning. Students understand concepts better if they see how these concepts apply to the world outside of school. Students retain information longer if they are actively engaged in discussion and demonstration of what they are learning. These are hardly new ideas, but too much of what happens in American classrooms does not meet this ideal. Problem Based Economics (PBE) is built upon these principles. It addresses the concepts and content defined by the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, but does it in such a way that this material becomes meaningful and involving to students. PBE reverses the traditional method of teach the concepts first then give students the opportunity to apply them. Instead, PBE confronts students with an interesting problem and asks them to arrive at a justifiable solution using economic concepts. The problem thus pulls students through the content. The teacher s role is to clarify, facilitate and guide, rather than push the students toward the learning objectives. Additionally, the PBE methodology helps teachers build valuable interdisciplinary or core skills. These include working in teams, gathering and evaluating data, making decisions, and knowing how to solve problems. We have found that PBE works well for diverse students in a variety of school settings. Through our workshops, which are offered regularly at the Buck Institute and by our partner Training Sites across the nation, and with the information provided in the teacher s guide accompanying each unit, teachers can learn to use the problem based approach to instruct students in virtually all content defined by content standards for typical high school courses in micro- and macro-economics. We strongly recommend that teachers attend a Buck Institute training workshop before using PBE units in their own classes. Without this preparation, we have found that teachers either place too much emphasis on the problem based approach and lose sight of the economics curriculum, or use the PBE units simply as activities that pave the way to the real teaching which is conducted in a traditional, didactic method. These units were developed collaboratively by the Buck Institute for Education and the HIRE Center, California State University, Hayward. They have been pilot-tested and critiqued by a group of energetic and insightful teachers throughout California. Although too many teachers have been involved in the development of these units to thank each teacher by name, we are extremely grateful for their time, insight and contributions to making these units successful. In addition, there have been a number of university professors, staff developers, and school district staff that have contributed to unit development. We have benefited from their observations and suggestions, and offer a collective Thank You! Finally, we hope these PBE units will live into the future and grow and change with each teacher s experience. Please consult the BIE website (http://www.bie.org) for additional resources and to see how you can share your own experience, learn from that of others, and keep informed of BIE workshops and conference presentations. Nan L. Maxwell, PhD HIRE Center, California State University, Hayward Yolanda Bellisimo College of Marin BUCK INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION John Larmer Associate Director of Program Development 3
Problem Based Economics Overview What is Problem Based Learning? In problem based learning (PBL), students and teachers confront a dilemma in a particular discipline (in this case high school economics) that, through investigation, research, and cooperative input, allows for more than one possible solution. Through this learning process students discover that economics is essential to understanding and solving the problem. Because students now recognize the need to understand economics, they become motivated to learn the material in the curriculum. Problems, although structured flexibly enough to allow for student discovery and independent learning, follow a series of steps or phases. These phases may sometimes overlap but can generally be defined as follows: Entry Point Students either receive some type of authentic correspondence or have an authentic experience intended to grab their attention. Framing the Problem Teachers coach students through a questioning process that leads to the construction of a problem statement according to the model: How can we, as?, do?, so that? Knowledge Inventory (know/need to know) Teachers lead the class through a discussion and recording of knowledge that the students already have (know) and information that they still require (need to know) in order to arrive at a solution to the problem. This knowledge inventory process is repeated periodically throughout the lesson. Problem Log Teachers review a problem log to track student progress toward building a solution to the problem. Students keep a to-do list, time-line, questions, observations, outline for their group or individual project, and a list of resources, if appropriate. The problem log should reflect the students line of inquiry, new questions that arise during the process of investigation, and their thoughts on the problem. Research and Resources Teachers seed the investigation process with resources in the form of additional authentic correspondence, text, tables, and benchmark lessons. Through the research process students gather information to answer the questions: What do we know? What more do we need to know? What are potential solutions to the problem? Teachable Moments, Dialogues, and Background Information Students, with the teacher as coach, continuously engage in a dialogue about what they have discovered and what they know/need to know. This then produces a reconsideration and possible redefinition of the problem statement. During this process, moments will arise in which students recognize the need to know economics. It is during these teachable moments that instruction in economics principles is most effective. 4
Exit from the Problem Students determine which solution they support and then take action via presentation or report. Either as individuals or in groups, students prepare and present their solutions in an authentic context. Wrap-up and Debriefing In a teacher-led discussion involving the whole class, students consider the thinking that went into their problem solving. This includes insights and analysis of both content issues and process issues (e.g. the adequacy of competing solutions as well as the difficulty of having to make choices). Because the problem based method of learning relies on the construction of knowledge, we recommend keeping a permanent record of students thought processes (e.g. problem statement, know/need to know) so that prior knowledge or questions can be referenced as new knowledge is constructed. This permanent recording of knowledge can be done easily by using chart paper or a computer. How Do We Apply Problem Based Learning to Economics? First, what is economics? It is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. If resources were not scarce, individuals and societies would not face issues of who gets goods and services, what gets produced, and how much gets produced. Take the example of air (not clean air). No one and no society is concerned with the production and distribution of air because it is not scarce. By understanding the principles behind how scarce resources are allocated within a free market, we gain a better understanding of the difficulties that we as consumers, as future producers, and as citizens face on a daily basis. Because resources are scarce, individuals, firms, and society must make choices about how to allocate resources. That is, when deciding how to spend a fixed amount of money and by not having enough money to buy all of the goods desired (i.e. operating on the constraint ) then it is possible to get more of one good only by giving up another good. This is also true for firms and society. For example, in order to hire more labor, firms must reduce capital. For government, unless public debt is increased, expenditures in one area must be reduced in order to increase dollars spent on education (or other areas). To help students gain a better understanding of how our economy allocates scarce resources, the Buck Institute has focused all of its problem based learning curriculum units around teaching different aspects of scarcity and the related concepts of opportunity costs and tradeoffs. By integrating each of these PBL units into a high school economics course, students will have a better understanding of how the allocation of scarce resources forces individuals, firms, and society to make choices among competing goods and why those choices determine how resources are used. In other words, taken together, the units demonstrate how our economy responds to each of the four basic economic questions: What is produced and in what quantities? How are goods produced? For whom are goods produced? Who makes economic decisions and by what process? 5
To help evaluate students general knowledge in the area of scarcity, opportunity costs, and tradeoffs, we have developed a test bank (Appendix II) that can be used for assessment. Questions were taken from the Test of Economic Literacy, 1 which was developed and normed by the National Council for Economic Education (NCEE) to assess high school students knowledge of economics. Questions were also taken from the test bank associated with Teaching and Testing from The Study of Economics: Principles, Concepts and Applications, 2 by Turley Mings. The questions can be used as a content assessment and as a guide to curricular focus. Across Units Each problem is designed to help students understand an element of resource scarcity using the problem based learning (PBL) approach. In each unit, students learn that scarce resources force individuals, firms, or society to make tradeoffs. In contrast to the traditional method of teaching economics, the PBL units have students recognize a dilemma that arises from resource scarcity, and discover what more they need to know about economics in order to solve the problem. Without an understanding of economics, an inappropriate solution (or no solution) to the problem will result. Each problem is carefully structured so that students discover that the tradeoffs made determine how resources are allocated. The answers to the four primary economic questions vary because these tradeoffs often differ and are determined by the perceived opportunity costs of scarce resources. As part of the discovery process, students will peel away the layers of the problem to go deeper into the economics concepts that serve as the foundation of each problem. For example, in The High School Food Court, students are presented with the need to know about demand and costs. In the process of learning about these broad concepts, students will dig deeper and learn about the determinants of demand and cost in order to allocate scarce restaurant space in the Food Court. The goal of each unit is to provide students with an understanding of economic concepts so that they can apply the underlying thought process to other situations in school and the world beyond it. Through PBL, students are shown that economic thinking has value above and beyond learning definitions for a test. Within Units Each PBL unit presents a different aspect of scarcity, opportunity costs and tradeoffs. In the introductory problem, Running in Place, students are asked to explain and illustrate the relationship between producers and consumers of shoes. Running in Place presents students with a problem that will help them discover how a free market society allocates scarce resources. As a result, students discover Who makes economic decisions and by what process? and are introduced to the issues surrounding How are goods produced? The Great Awakening presents students with a problem in which two island nations that had existed in economic isolation find they can increase the total consumption of goods and services through specialization of production and trade. Because political and social forces exert pressures that counteract trade, students must grapple with the tradeoffs that exist between economic and social and political forces. As a result, students will discover that the (opportunity) costs associated with production are often social or political and tied to the questions: What is produced and in what quantities? How are goods produced? 1 John C. Soper and William B. Walstad, Test of Economic Literacy (2nd edition) 1987. NY: Joint Council on Economic Education. The Joint Council on Economic Education is now called the National Council for Economic Education (NCEE). It is the national association devoted to improving the instruction of economics in the high schools. 2 Matthew Marlin; Turley Mings and Diane Swanson, Teaching and Testing from The Study of Economics: Principles, Concepts and Applications (5th edition) 1995. Guilford, Connecticut: Dushkin Publishing Group/Brown and Benchmark Publishers. 6
The third problem, The High School Food Court, presents students with straight forward demand and cost issues that become confounded as political forces begin to intrude on the economic allocations. Working through this problem will help students understand how resources are allocated by consumers and producers in a given time period. As a result, students discover What is produced and in what quantities? as well as For whom are goods produced? The Invisible Hand presents students with a dilemma of setting the price of gasoline when the market-based price leaves many without the ability to purchase fuel. As members of a consumer organization that lobbied to lower the price of gas, students are faced with the problems that arise for consumers who must face long lines, black markets, or violence if they wish to purchase fuel at the lower price. By grappling with the nonprice mechanisms used to allocate goods without market-set prices, students discover that benefits and costs arise with all methods of allocating goods and services. Monopoly s Might presents students with a problem of demand and supply in unfettered markets. Because students are placed in the role of entrepreneurs in a School-Based Enterprise at their high school, they see the decrease in demand (and price) for their product with increased competition and the increased profit from becoming a monopoly. By tracing through the changes in price, quantity, and profit over time as firms enter and leave an industry, students discover: Who makes economic decisions and by what process? and What is produced and in what quantities? The Might Strikes Back has students balancing the advantages and disadvantages of economic institutions. Through this problem, students will see that, although economic institutions are created to temper the disadvantages of market operations, the (opportunity) cost of erecting the institutions often includes inhibiting entrepreneurial activity. As a result, students discover that answers to the four basic economic questions are grounded in a normative assessment of (opportunity) costs and that, by restricting market forces, society must weigh the perceived tradeoffs between the outcomes of an unfettered market with those of economic and political institutions. The seventh problem, The President s Dilemma, presents students with an economy that has several difficulties for government to solve. As the problem unfolds, students will discover the tradeoffs that society must incur to pursue a healthy economy. That is, it illustrates how societies struggle with the allocation of scarce resources. Students discover that in our society, the government may answer the questions: Who makes economic decisions and by what process? What is produced and in what quantities? and For whom are goods produced? Matildaville presents students with an allocation problem that is grounded in decision making within a city. Through this problem, students will discover that there are a number of ways in which cities (and individuals, countries, etc.) can make investments. Students will also discover that the type of investments made determines the level of both short run and long run economic growth. By gaining an understanding of the links between investment and growth, students discover the temporal dimension to answering the question: What is produced and in what quantities? 7
How Are the Units Designed? Each unit is designed to meet part of the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics. Taken together, the units meet all of these standards. These standards were developed by the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) in partnership with the National Association of Economic Educators (NAEE), the Foundation for Teaching Economics, and the American Economic Association s (AEA) Committee on Education. The AEA is the principal professional association of economists. The standards were developed in 1996 in accordance with the Goals 2000: Educate America effort to develop standards for K-12 learning. By including economics as a core subject in this act, the government supports the value of economic understanding. Each unit contains a table that shows the standards that are met in the unit. Additionally, we have included a full text copy of the 12th grade standards from the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics at the end of this introduction (Appendix I) and have indicated which of the standards are met in each of the units. The Problem Based Economics units present students with the opportunity to improve core skills in teamwork, communication, time management, decision making, data collection, and research. In addition, most of the problems expect students to prepare written materials, including charts and graphs, and/or to make a presentation. These core skills are woven into each unit. As students progress through the curriculum, the assignments demand a higher level of skill. We have included a table of core skills and the way that they are met in each of the six units (Appendix I). Support Materials Each unit comes complete with all of the following materials necessary to undertake the unit: an example of a problem statement. In working through the unit, students develop the problem statement and thereby gain an understanding of the economic concepts around which the unit is designed. a brief introduction to the problem a description of where the problem would best fit into the curriculum (i.e., which concepts students should know before undertaking the unit) a listing of economic concepts that students should learn in the lesson. The concepts listed are layered. All students should learn the primary concepts. However, the remaining concepts will be learned as students go deeper into the problem. a list of objectives for students to meet in the unit a table illustrating which content standards are met in the unit the approximate amount of class time required to undertake the unit a one-paragraph description of the lesson a description of the resource materials needed to undertake the unit an example of a sequence of the unit 8
a detailed procedure guide for using the problem. This includes a discussion of how students enter the problem and examples of coaching students toward a problem statement and through the know and need to know. It also contains a discussion of how the problem log can be used to focus students on economics, how the resources can be used as research materials, and how the benchmark lessons can be used to stimulate midpoint dialogues. Finally, the procedure section includes a discussion of the students products to be evaluated and aspects of the problem to be emphasized during the debriefing. a discussion of ideas to try and ideas not to try. Each problem is carefully structured so that students can be coached into learning the underlying economic concepts. To achieve this, each problem has been extensively field tested. During the field testing, we uncovered some bad ideas and some good ideas for potential change. The bad ideas are those that might seem to improve the problem, but in reality lead the students astray. The good ideas for changes are ways that you can modify the problem to better suit your students without altering the problem s structure. We highlight each of these. the document that introduces students to the problem (the entry document) background information for teachers to use in benchmark lessons (The benchmark lessons discuss many of the primary concepts in a traditional manner and provide the teacher with information for introducing material at the appropriate teachable moment.) a definition of each of the primary and secondary concepts around which the unit was designed. These definitions are written at a level for the teacher and not for the student. a copy of all the resource materials necessary for the problem (if appropriate) a listing of questions that can be used during the students oral presentations scoring guides that can be used for evaluating students products (check the BIE website for new and additional rubrics www.bie.org) a multiple choice test. The questions can be used not only as a content assessment at the end of the unit, but also to coach curricular focus while the problem is being unraveled (check the BIE website for new and additional versions of tests www.bie.org). 9
Appendix I: Content Standards and Core Skills 10
Content Standards & the Problem Based Economics Units Standard Economic Concept Unit Title The The The The Running The Great High School Invisible Monopoly s Might President s Matildaville in Place Awakening Food Court Hand Might Strikes Back Dilemma 1 Scarcity 2 Opportunity Cost 3 Market Systems (allocation of goods & services) 4 Economic Incentives (prices, wages, profits, taxes, etc.) 5 Free Trade & Voluntary Exchange 6 Specialization & Free Trade 7 Market Economies 8 Supply & Demand 9 Effects of Competition 10 Economic Institutions 11 Money 12 Interest Rates 13 Income & Productivity 14 Entrepreneurship 15 Investment 16 Public Policy Alternatives 17 Public Policy Costs 18 Gross Domestic Product 19 Unemployment & Inflation 20 Fiscal & Monetary Policy Note: Standards are based upon the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, which were developed by the National Council on Economic Education in partnership with the National Association of Economic Educators, the Foundation for Teaching Economics, and the American Economic Association s Committee on Economic Education. = a standard that is met with this curriculum = a standard that could be met with this curriculum 11
Content Standards: Student Objectives Content Standard 1 (Scarcity): Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people can not have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others. Identify what they gain and what they give up when they make choices. Content Standard 2 (Opportunity Cost): Effective decision making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits. Most choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something: few choices are all or nothing decisions. Make effective decisions as consumers, producers, savers, investors, and citizens. Content Standard 3 (Market Systems): Different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. People acting individually or collectively through government, must choose which methods to use to allocate different kinds of goods and services. Evaluate different methods of allocating goods and services, by comparing the benefits and costs of each method. Content Standard 4 (Economic Incentives): People respond predictably to positive and negative incentives. Identify incentives that affect people s behavior and explain how incentives affect their own behavior. Content Standard 5 (Free Trade and Voluntary Exchange): Voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and usually among individuals or organizations in different nations. Negotiate exchanges and identify the gains to themselves and others. Compare the benefits and costs of policies that alter trade barriers between nations, such as tariffs and quotas. 12
Content Standard 6 (Specialization and Free Trade): When individuals, regions, and nations specialize in what they can produce at the lowest cost and then trade with others, both production and consumption increase. Explain how they can benefit themselves and others by developing special skills and strengths. Content Standard 7 (Market Economies): Markets exist when buyers and sellers interact. This interaction determines market prices and thereby allocates scarce goods and services. Identify markets in which they have participated as a buyer and as a seller and describe how the interaction of all buyers and sellers influences prices. Also, predict how prices change when there is either a shortage or surplus of the product available. Content Standard 8 (Supply and Demand): Prices send signals and provide incentives to buyers and sellers. When supply or demand changes, market prices adjust, affecting incentives. Predict how prices change when the number of buyers or sellers in a market changes, and explain how the incentives facing individual buyers and sellers are affected. Content Standard 9 (Effects of Competition): Competition among sellers lowers costs and prices, and encourages producers to produce more of what consumers are willing and able to buy. Competition among buyers increases prices and allocates goods and services to those people who are willing and able to pay the most for them. Explain how changes in the level of competition in different markets can affect them. 13
Content Standard 10 (Economic Institutions): Institutions evolve in market economies to help individuals and groups accomplish their goals. Banks, labor unions, corporations, legal systems, and not-for-profit organizations are examples of important institutions. A different kind of institution, clearly defined and enforced property rights, is essential to a market economy. Describe the roles of various economic institutions. Content Standard 11 (Money): Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services. Explain how their lives would be more difficult in a world with no money, or in a world where money sharply lost its value. Content Standard 12 (Interest Rates): Interest rates, adjusted for inflation, rise and fall to balance the amount saved with the amount borrowed, which affects the allocation of scarce resources between present and future uses. Explain situations in which they pay or receive interest, and explain how they would react to changes in interest rates if they were making or receiving interest payments. Content Standard 13 (Income and Productivity): Income for most people is determined by the market value of the productive resources they sell. What workers earn depends, primarily, on the market value of what they produce and how productive they are. Predict future earnings based on their current plans for education, training, and career options. 14
Content Standard 14 (Entrepreneurship): Entrepreneurs are people who take the risks of organizing productive resources to make goods and services. Profit is an important incentive that leads entrepreneurs to accept the risks of business failure. Identify the risks, returns, and other characteristics of entrepreneurship that bear on its attractiveness as a career. Content Standard 15 (Investment): Investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people can raise future standards of living. Predict the consequences of investment decisions made by individuals, businesses, and governments. Content Standard 16 (Public Policy Alternatives): There is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income. Identify and evaluate the benefits and costs of alternative public policies, and assess who enjoys the benefits and who bears the costs. Content Standard 17 (Public Policy Costs): Costs of government policies sometimes exceed benefits. This may occur because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, because of actions by special interest groups that can impose costs on the general public, or because social goals other than economic efficiency are being pursued. Identify some public policies that may cost more than the benefits they generate, and assess who enjoys the benefits and who bears the costs. Explain why the policies exist. 15
Content Standard 18 (Gross Domestic Product): A nation s overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies, and others in the economy. Interpret media reports about current economic conditions and explain how these conditions can influence decisions made by consumers, producers, and government policy makers. Content Standard 19 (Unemployment and Inflation): Unemployment imposes costs on individuals and nations. Unexpected inflation imposes costs on many people and benefits some others because it arbitrarily redistributes purchasing power. Inflation can reduce the rate of growth of national living standards because individuals and organizations use resources to protect themselves against the uncertainty of future prices. Make informed decisions by anticipating the consequences of inflation and unemployment. Content Standard 20 (Fiscal and Monetary Policy): Federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System s monetary policy influence the overall levels of employment, output, and prices. Anticipate the impact of federal government and Federal Reserve System macroeconomic policy decisions on themselves and others. 16
Core Skills & the Problem Based Economics Units Core Skills Unit Title Running in Place The Great The High School The Awakening Food Court Invisible Hand Manage oneself as an individual students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge Work as a contributing team member students work as a class to defend a production strategy within an economic framework students work as an island group to determine production of goods and services students work in teams as members of the Student Council students work as members of a consumer lobbying organization to set the price of gasoline Communicate effectively using a variety of methods and technologies students create a graph illustrating the circular flow of resources students create a flier justifying their trade agreement they develop students present their allocation decision to the school board and use visual aids students write a memo detailing their recommendation as to how the price of gasoline should be set Gather and evaluate data students read and respond to an entry document and create a circular flow diagram of a production strategy students analyze and manipulate production data and read and respond to a technical report students read and respond to documents, work through tables, listen and respond to voice mail messages to decide on allocation of restaurants students analyze the benefits and costs associated with different mechanisms to allocate goods Make reasoned decisions students make and defend choices among production and buying strategies students make and defend their choice of goods to produce and the goods to get through trade students make and defend their choices for food court restaurants students weigh the benefits and costs of different pricing mechanisms, decide on the appropriate price for gas, and defend their decision Understand interrelationships within school, workplace and community systems students are introduced to the interrelationship between consumers and producers students are shown the advantages from trade between different communities students recognize competing needs among constituency groups within school students confront the different costs to individuals and society that arise when prices are set below those established in the market 17
Core Skills & the Problem Based Economics Units Core Skills Unit Title Monopoly s The Might The President s Matildaville Might Strikes Back Dilemma Manage oneself as an individual students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge students use a problem log to track construction of knowledge Work as a contributing team member students work in groups to analyze the changes in price, quantity, and profit that occur over time students work as a team of employees within one of four economic institutions students serve as members of the President s Economic Consultant Team students work as a team of economic and policy analysts Communicate effectively using a variety of methods and technologies students debate the pros and cons of monopolies students develop a compromise on production for a lawsuit settlement students prepare a written economic proposal and present its conclusions to constituency groups using visual aids students write a brief summary of their investment strategy Gather and evaluate data students analyze price, quantity, and profit data and use theories provided in policy briefs and their textbook students gather information necessary to defend against or bring forth a lawsuit students investigate and report on fiscal and monetary policy issues using a variety of data sources, including statistical tables, to make policy students investigate the city s long and short-term investment options to develop an investment strategy Make reasoned decisions students defend and critique their decision to create a monopoly and to sell their rights to a major corporation students balance the tradeoffs between the conflicting purposes of four economic institutions students create and defend an economic policy students select and defend long and short-term investment strategies Understand interrelationships within school, workplace and community systems students grapple with the fairness of market forces and monopoly profits students are faced with the benefits and costs of government regulation students confront the needs of the private sector and the response of government students grapple with fiscal problems faced by a community 18