Economics Across the Curriculum: Infusion of Economics into High School Courses American Institute for Economic Research in collaboration with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Summer 2016 MCLA Credits = 3 Graduate In-service Credits (Course #INSV 690-01) or 45 PDPs (Course #CECS 300-01) Syllabus Days: Monday, June 27 to Thursday, June 30, 2016 Hours: 9:00 AM 4:30 PM Location: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 600 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02210 Instructor: Dr. Natalia Smirnova Phone: 413-528-1216 X 3109 Email: Natalia.Smirnova@aier.org Course Description This course provides high school teachers with an introduction to economic concepts in order to prepare them to incorporate these concepts into their instructional curriculum. We focus on three broad areas of economics: Money and Inflation, Business Cycles, and Government and the Economy. In addition, we demonstrate contemporary pedagogical tools and assessment methods. At the completion of the course, participants produce and present a lesson plan idea to teach one economic concept using pedagogy and assessment methods learned during the course. Teachers within the areas of Social Studies, History, Mathematics, and English Language Arts will benefit from this course. Relationships are drawn between economic concepts and national and state standards such as: Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Understanding by Design (UbD) (Wiggins and McTighe 2005) Framework for Teaching (Danielson 2007) College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework: Exploring Inquiry-Based Instruction in Social Studies (Swan, Lee, et all 2014) Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics (CEE) (see Appendix A) Each of the lesson plans incorporated within the course is aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Alignment of Course Requirements with Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics: Topic Standards (See Appendix A) Money and Inflation 1, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20 Business Cycles 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 15, 18, 19 Government and the Economy 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20 Page 1 of 10
Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this course, it is expected that participants will be able to: 1. Describe how the amount of money in an economy affects prices. 2. Identify sources of inflation. 3. Recognize factors which impact inflation. 4. Understand various measures of inflation. 5. Develop an understanding of business cycles. 6. Identify key economic indicators of business cycles. 7. Describe the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and identify factors which impact it. 8. Understand the concept of unemployment rate and how it is calculated; 9. Understand the role of government in the economy; 10. Understand fiscal policy and its tools; 11. Utilize a variety of teaching methods to provide appropriate instruction to diverse learners; 12. Demonstrate application of a variety of engagement and assessment options to promote higherlevel thinking and integration of economic concepts within the subject area. 13. Demonstrate broadened technological awareness for lesson preparation, delivery and response options for students. Teaching Philosophy: The learning styles of 21st century students require the implementation of innovative approaches to teaching. This is particularly true when teaching Economics, which is perceived by many students as a very technical, boring, and unfriendly subject. The originality of our approach is in its aim to expand three areas of teaching in an integrated, holistic manner. These areas include: (1) presentation of the information; (2) interaction with the concept; and (3) assessment of students understanding. Presentation of the information in any Economics topic is vital in the initiation of instruction. By utilizing the best practices in economic education, we are able to create instructional goals, methods, and materials that are flexible, and can be customized and adjusted for individualized classroom needs. The presentation of familiar economic concepts is facilitated by the incorporation of interactive graphics, videos, and experientially-based examples and assignments, which make the presentation of a concept more effective. The current generation of learners also requires a variety of methods of interaction with the concepts. This course promotes the use of techniques to engage various learning styles by creating flexible and engaging hands-on activities. These activities include using the internet to find data (that is easily downloadable and interactive); creating cooperative learning exercises that explore the richness of information available within the experiences and interests of the students; and seeding and leading a discussion about various economic indicators, trends, and results discovered during the exercises. Page 2 of 10
The most important part of the advancement of economic education is the assessment of students understanding. As educators we need to evaluate whether our instruction has resulted in improved learning for students. We need to accurately assess whether the information is retained, can be transferred and applied to different scenarios and topics, and be integrated with previously learned knowledge. Ultimately, we need to know if we make a difference in our students understanding. In this course we will discuss the variety of assessment techniques that are on the cutting edge of the field of education. Expectations: Participation in and completion of all online components is required. Attendance for all four days is required. Active participation is encouraged in the discussions and activities. Daily assignments are expected to be completed prior to the class presentation for each topic. Familiarity with using email, web-based searches and navigation is expected. s will complete a pre-course questionnaire to identify teaching subject area, availability for follow-up support, and the use of state and district standards, frameworks and instructional strategies. At the completion of the course, participants will produce and present a lesson plan idea to teach one economic concept using pedagogy and assessment methods learned during the course. This lesson will be scheduled to be field tested in the home classroom in the fall. A feedback form will be completed by participants and their students following the field test and submitted to AIER. Academic Honesty: Honesty on the part of every student has and always shall be an integral part of the plan of higher education at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Acts of dishonesty conflict with the work and purpose of the entire College and are not merely a private matter between student and instructor. The MCLA Academic Honesty policy can be found at: http://www.mcla.edu/academics/registrar/academicpolicies/index#1a Texts and Resources: All texts, readings and supplies will be provided to the participants during the course. These materials will focus on economic concepts, as well as on the pedagogical and assessment tools. They will include (but not limited to): Readings to describe economic concepts. Web-based resources to demonstrate and utilize in teaching the concepts. PowerPoint presentations to illustrate the material presented for each topic. Page 3 of 10
Grading: All components of this course will be graded. Pre-workshop Online portion = 20%; Face-to-Face portion: Attendance and participation = 20%; Homework assignments completion= 20%; Course Project: presentation of the lesson idea = 40%. Points Letter Grade conversion: A = 94-100 B+ = 87-89 C+ = 77-79 D+ = 67-69 A- = 90-93 B = 84-86 C = 74-76 D = 60-66 B- = 80-83 C- = 70-73 F = below 60 AIER Economics Across the Curriculum If PDP option is selected -- Pass/Fail will be assigned as your grade. Pass = above 60. If in-service credit option is selected a letter grade will be assigned. MCLA grading policies, including conversion to 4.000 quality points for GPA calculation, can be found at http://www.mcla.edu/academics/registrar/gradingpolicies/index. Course Project Lesson idea development and presentation This is the primary graded assignment for this course. A unique lesson plan idea will be developed to provide instruction for ONE of the economic concepts presented during this program. s will use one of the lesson plans demonstrated during this course as the basis for their idea. s will incorporate unique features to reflect their subject area, student populations, and state/district standards and expectations. Each plan idea will include: identification of specific goals; a variety of techniques to describe and display the concept; an array of ways to encourage student interest; a range of interactive activities for selection by students; additional ideas to expand upon the lesson to encourage higher-level thinking. This lesson plan idea project will be presented by each participant on the final day of this course and will be evaluated by a panel of judges using the Scoring Rubric (see Appendix B). Course Schedule Online portion this is a 13-hour self-pace segment to be completed prior to the workshop. Money and Inflation = 3 hours; GDP, Business Cycles, and Unemployment = 6.4 hours; Government and the Economy = 2.2 hours; Supply and Demand = 1.5 hours. Page 4 of 10
Face-to-Face portion at the Federal Reserve Bank = 30.5 hours Day Schedule of Activities Learning Objectives Day 1 Money and Inflation AM - Introduction/Demonstration of concept 1, 2, 3, 4 PM - Application of concept to HS lessons, pedagogy and assessment exploration 11, 12, 13 Homework = 2 hours Day 1 Instructional Hours= 8.25 Day 2 -- GDP, Business Cycles, and Unemployment AM - Introduction/Demonstration of concepts 5, 6, 7, 8 PM - Application of concept to HS lessons, pedagogy and assessment exploration 11, 12, 13 Homework = 2 hours Day 2 Instructional Hours= 8.25 Day 3 Government and the Economy: Government Budget and Fiscal Policy AM - Introduction/Demonstration of concept 9, 10 PM - Application of concept to HS lessons, pedagogy and assessment exploration 11, 12, 13 Homework = 2 hours Day 3 Instructional Hours= 8.25 Day 4 Key note speaker and participants presentations: AM - Economic Education within HS subjects 11, 12, 13 PM - Project presentations 11, 12, 13 Day 4 Instructional Hours= 5.75 Total instructional hours for the whole program = 44 hours Page 5 of 10
Selected Bibliography Alexander, P. 2006. Psychology in Learning and Instruction. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Education, Inc. Ambrose, Susan A., Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha Lovett, and Marie K. Norman. 2010. How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Anderson, Curt L., Brett Burkey, Bonnie Meszaros, Mike Raymer, Martha Sevetson Rush, and Phillip J. VanFossen. 2014. High School Economics. 3 rd ed. New York, NY: Council for Economic Education. Anderson, D. and J. Chasey. 2014. Favorite Ways to Explore Economics. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Anderson, David A. 2007. Economics by Example. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Becker, William, Michael Watts, and Suzanne Becker, eds. 2006. Teaching Economics: More Alternatives to Chalk and Talk. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. Danielson, Charlotte. 2007. Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Day, H. 2011. Playful Economics: Using Modeling Clay to Teach Basic Economics. New York, NY: Council for Economic Education. Hamermesh, Daniel S. 2014. Economics is Everywhere. 5th ed. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Krueger, A. & D. Anderson. 2013. Explorations in Economics. New York, NY: BFW/Worth Publishers. Lopus, J. S., A. M. Willis, and National Council on Economic Education. 2003. Economics in Action: 14 Greatest Hits for Teaching High School Economics. New York, N.Y: National Council on Economic Education and Junior Achievement Japan. Marzano, R., D. Pickering, and J. Pollock. 2005. Classroom Instruction that Works. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Education Inc. Meier, D. 2000. The Accelerated Learning Handbook: A Creative Guide to Designing and Delivering Faster, More Effective Training Programs. New York: McGraw-Hill. Smirnova, N.V. Forthcoming. Economics Across the Curriculum: Integration of economic concepts into various disciplines. Perspectives on Economic Education Research 10(1). Smirnova, N.V. 2015. Economics Across the Curriculum: Effective Delivery of Economics Instruction to High School Students. (Working Paper #005). American Institute for Economic Research. https://www.aier.org/working-papers Page 6 of 10
Swan, K., Lee, J., Mueller, R., and Day, S. 2014. Teaching the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework: Exploring Inquiry-Based Instruction in Social Studies. Maryland: National Council for the Social Studies. Trilling, B. and C. Fadel. 2009. 21 st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines Version 2.0 (2011) Retrieved November 22, 2013 from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, 2nd ed. 2010. New York, NY: Council for Economic Education. Watts, Michael. 2003. The Literary Book of Economics. Wilmington, DE: Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Watts, Michael, S. McCorkle, B. Meszaros, and M. Schug. 2008. Focus: High School Economics. New York, NY: National Council on Economic Education. Weaver, F. 2011. Economic Literacy: Basic Economics with an Attitude. Landham, MD: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. Wiggins, G. and J. McTighe. 2005. Understanding by Design. Expanded 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Page 7 of 10
Appendix A: Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics 1 : AIER Economics Across the Curriculum Content Standards Students will be able to understand that: 1. SCARCITY Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others. 2. DECISION MAKING Effective decision making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits. Many choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something: few choices are all or nothing decisions. 3. ALLOCATION Different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. People acting individually or collectively must choose which methods to use to allocate different kinds of goods and services. 4. INCENTIVES People usually respond predictably to positive and negative incentives. 5. TRADE Voluntary exchange occurs only when all participating parties expect to gain. This is true for trade among individuals or organizations within a nation, and among individuals or organizations in different nations. 6. SPECIALIZATION 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. 7. MARKETS AND PRICES A market exists when buyers and sellers interact. This interaction determines market prices and thereby allocates scarce goods and services. 8. ROLE OF PRICES Prices send signals and provide incentives to buyers and sellers. When supply or demand changes, market prices adjust, affecting incentives. 9. COMPETITION AND MARKET STRUCTURE Competition among sellers usually lowers costs and prices, and encourages producers to produce 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. 10. INSTITUTIONS Institutions evolve and are created to help individuals and groups accomplish their goals. Banks, labor unions, markets, 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. 11. MONEY AND INFLATION Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services. The amount of money in the economy affects the overall price level. Inflation is an increase in the overall price level that reduces the value of money. 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. 13. INCOME Income for most people is determined by the market value of the productive resources they sell. What workers earn primarily depends on the market value of what they produce. 14. ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurs take on the calculated risk of starting new businesses, either by embarking on new ventures similar to existing ones or by introducing new innovations. Entrepreneurial innovation is an important source of economic growth. 15. ECONOMIC GROWTH Investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people stimulates economic growth and can raise future standards of living. 1 Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, 2nd ed. 2010. New York, NY: Council for Economic Education. Page 8 of 10
16. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ECONOMICS AND MARKET FAILURE 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 have direct or indirect effects on peoples incomes. 17. GOVERNMENT FAILURE 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. 18. ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS Fluctuations in 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. Recessions occur when overall levels of income and employment decline. 19. UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION Unemployment imposes costs on individuals and the overall economy. Inflation, both expected and unexpected, also imposes costs on individuals and the overall economy. Unemployment increases during recessions and decreases during recoveries. 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. Page 9 of 10
Lesson Expansion Expression of Understanding Encourages student interest & interaction Integrates concept with discipline Organization AIER Economics Across the Curriculum Appendix B: Presentation Rubric for Lesson Plan Project 0 1 2 3 4 SCORE Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. Audience had great difficulty following presentation because there is a limited sequence of information. Audience has difficulty following presentation because there is an inconsistent sequence of information. Audience can follow the presentation because there is a logical sequence of information. Audience can follow presentation because there is a logical, interesting sequence of information. provides a lesson plan that is not specific to their subject area. provides limited integration of the lesson plan to their subject area. provides a general integration of the lesson plan to their subject area. provides clear integration of the lesson plan to their subject area. provides clear and consistent integration of the lesson plan to their subject area. does not identify a procedure to encourage interest in, OR student interaction with the economic concept. identifies a single procedure to encourage interest in, OR student interaction with the economic concept. identifies two procedures to encourage interest in, OR student interaction with the economic concept. identifies at least two procedures to encourage interest in AND interaction with the economic concept. identifies procedures to encourage interest in AND interaction with the economic concept which are varied, integrated and appropriate. does not identify a method to assess student understanding. identifies a single method to assess student understanding. identifies two methods to assess student understanding. identifies at least one method of assessment which demonstrates students deep understanding. identifies methods to assess student understanding which are varied and clearly demonstrate the students deep understanding. does not identify a method to expand upon the lesson. identifies a single method to expand upon the lesson. identifies two methods to expand upon the lesson. identifies at least one method to expand upon the lesson which demonstrates higher-level thinking. identifies methods to expand upon the lesson which are varied and demonstrate higher-level thinking. Total Points: Page 10 of 10