Principles of Microeconomics - ECON 2301.001
Course Syllabus for Fall2016
Economics is good! Economics is life-changing! Economics is world-changing!
And this is the premise from which we will begin our study of Economics this semester!
Instructor: Mrs. Susan Doty
Director of the Center for Economic Education & Financial Literacy
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799
Office:BUS #240
E-mail:
Please note that e-mail is my preferred method of contact. Even if you want to talk by phone, the best way to do so is by sending me an e-mail and asking me to call you back. Please always identify yourself and provide the course and section you are in.
Phone:903-566-7459 (Office) – 903-570-9020 (cell fortext messages only.) Again, please be sure to identify yourself by name, course and section. Text for simple questions only! No grade discussions are held by phone, text or email; please see me in person during office hours.
Office Hours:Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:00-4:00 pm
You do not need to set up an appointment to meet with me during WF open office hours.
Class
Meeting Times:Section 001 meets MWF from 9:05-10:00 am in BUS 158.
Course Package:McGraw-Hill Course Connect with Asarta Butters Economics. Please note that this online course package is required. I will provide you with registration information in a separate document on Blackboard, in the Getting Started folder. The course package contains the e-text, videos, tutorials, homework and quizzing that not only represent 20% of the course grade but provide the foundation for much of what we will do in class. You cannot be successful without the course materials! New students may purchase access code card in the university bookstore or purchase directly on line from McGraw Hill through the registration portal on the document I provide in Blackboard. Either way, purchase only the access code, not a hard or paper copy of the book!!! Former students, who have taken economics in Spring of 2016 and have an active McGraw-Hill account, should be able to activate the new course at no additional cost – see me for course transfer code and register through the registration portal on the document I provided in Blackboard. You also need a smart device with communication app and .pdf annotation capabilities. There are a limited number of university-owned iPads available to borrow for the semester. See me EARLY if you would like to reserve one.
Course Summary:Through the Core curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning. Core objectives include critical thinking skills, communications skills (both written and oral), empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, social responsibility and personal responsibility. Economics is an approved course in the Core curriculum.
Economics, at its foundation, is a social science course about choice. Everything we value as humans is scarce relative to how much we want. Because of scarcity, we can’t have it all. Because we can’t have it all, we must make choices. Every choice we make means giving up something else. This “economic way of thinking” can be summarized in the 6 points of the Guide to Economic Reasoning: People Choose; People’s Choices Involve Costs; People Respond Predictably to Incentives; People Create Economic Systems That Influence Choice and Incentives; People Gain When They Trade Voluntarily; People’s Choices Have Consequences That Lie in the Future. Students in Economics apply these points to decision-making at the individual, household, business firm, and government levels both in closed domestic economies and open global ones.
Economics is a course of study that will provide you with methodological tools to view the world differently. The “economic way of thinking” is truly a unique way of approaching problems, understanding issues and proposing solutions. It will help you in decision-making when you vote, spend, save and make life choices. Throughout the course, you will develop and have multiple opportunities to demonstrate an understanding of basic economic concepts, the techniques and methods of economics, and the economic challenges facing society today and in the future. In addition, you will be developing and demonstrating critical thinking skills, oral and written communication skills, empirical and quantitative evaluation skills, teamwork, social responsibility and personal responsibility.
Economics will benefit each of you regardless of your major. It will have relevance to all aspects of your life and it will provide you with tools to help you view the world differently. Economics provides great preparation for careers in business, government, law, education, mathematics and science
A favorite quote of mine is this one by the late economist, Murray N. Rothbard:
It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline
and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.'
But it is totally irresponsibleto have a loud and vociferous opinion
on economic subjects while remaining in this
state of ignorance.
A goal of this class is to provide you with the conceptual framework and tools to develop and articulate informed opinions on economic issues. It is not my job or purpose in this economics class to influence your politics or opinions. It is, however, my highest objective to give you the economic tools and the foundational principles so that you can develop and articulate your own positions more effectively.
In this election year, we will examine the way that economics both forms and frames every policy, program and promise of the candidates.
Course Objectives:Beyond the foundational economic concepts and tools that are common to both macroeconomics and microeconomics, this Macroeconomics course is going to cover six major topic areas including:
- Measuring Aggregate Economic Performance
- GDP accounting, nominal and real currency measures, inflation and unemployment, business cycles and economic indicators
- Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand
- Productive resources, spending, saving, investment, technology and growth
- Money and Financial Markets
- Banking systems and the Federal Reserve
- Monetary and Fiscal Policies
- Multipliers, velocity, taxation, government spending, crowding out
- Policy Debates & Applications
- Economic systems, monetary/fiscal policy mix, automatic stabilization
- International Economics
- Balance of trade and balance of payments, trade barriers and exchange rates
Study Time:A general guideline is that you should spend three hours of independent study time outside of class for each hour in class. We meet for three hours each week so that is nine hours of independent work each week. I know many of you are working part-time and full-time jobs, have families and are active in student sports and activities. I do understand that many of you are taking 15 and 18 hours. Based on the 3-to-1 formula, that is 60 to 72 hours of academic work alone! YOU need to be realistic about your own capabilities and commitments!
Classroom Conduct:This is simply a matter of respect – mine for you – yours for each other and for me. Arrive on time and stay for the duration of class. Be quiet and attentive during lectures. Participate during activities. Be prepared. With the exception of your required devices, keep your other electronic devices turned off. Stay on task and don’t get distracted! In economics, we learn about the importance of private property ownership – be good stewards to university property. Do not photograph, audio or video tape lectures, discussions or activities. Do not copy or distribute any presentation, activity, or assessment materials from class or on-line supplement. Do your own work and properly cite the work of others. The University of Texas at Tyler has an academic integrity policy. I take it very seriously and expect you to also. Be honest, do your best work and learn.
Participation: Woody Allen said, 80% of life is showing up! You can’t learn if you’re not in class! You are expected to attend every class. There will be hands-on active lessons designed to reinforce the unit material and emphasize the importance of attendance. Be prepared to move around, work in pairs or groups, and think “out of the box” on class days. Your charged smart devices are required in class every day!
Class Notes:I will provide you with copies of my slides in both PowerPoint and .pdf form on Blackboard. This will allow you to open and annotate them on your smart device. These slides provide the skeleton for your class notes and form the foundation for my lectures and for our class discussions and activities. You must have them each day. Please familiarize yourself with both Blackboard Mobile and a .pdf annotating program (I highly recommend the Notability app for iPad users) and be ready to annotate these notes at the beginning of each class. I do not prepare my slides or lectures from the book. My lecture notes and your McGraw-Hill course materials will complement, not duplicate, each other. That said, our new course materials by Asarta and Butters are the best I have ever used and both the topic sequence and the shared language will be aligned.
Macroeconomics
Challenge:This will be a fun way to REVIEW in class for your Final Exam. Maybe you can even earn points!
Discussion Board:There will be both graded and ungraded forums that I will open for you on the Blackboard discussion board forum for you each unit so that you may help each other, form virtual study groups and ask content questions of me. The help forums will be ungraded but may be considered in calculating your community learning grade.
Homework Help:These individual and group sessions will be led by Teaching Assistant Steven Schwartz. You may contact Steve at .
Academic Integrity:For each assessment, you will sign a statement confirming that you have taken the assessment in accordance with the Academic Integrity Policy currently in place at The University of Texas at Tyler.
I embrace honor and integrity that will not allow me to lie, cheat, or steal
nor to accept the actions of those who do.
Grading*:QuickStart Buffer Points**10 @ 10 points = 100 points
McGraw Hill Independent Learning Assignments10 @ 20 points = 200 points
Class Community Learning Activities20 @ 10 points = 200 points
Individual Project Writing, Graphing and Technology Portfolio 2 @ 100 points = 200 points
Unit Exams4 @ 50 points = 200 points***
Final Cumulative Exam1 @ 200 points = 200 points
*Read grading policy thoroughly!
**There is no such thing as a free lunch! You must earn your QuickStart buffer points! See directions posted on Blackboard.
*** A missed unit exam, for ANY reason, may be made up with the final exam.
Course Grade:A = 950+ points
B = 800-899 points
C = 700-799 points
D = 600-699 points
F = 599 points
New Grading Policy Effective 2016:
There are FOUR learning and assessment aspects to the course and you MUST ACHIEVE a minimum of 50% in each of them in order to pass the course. There are 1000 points available to earn through the four categories. 900 are required for an A, 800 are required for a B, 700 are required for a C and 600 are required for a D. These two course requirements – the four aspect categories and the 1000 available points - viewed separately, are known as necessary but not sufficient conditions. If you only score 50% in each aspect, you will only achieve 500 points and that is not enough points to pass, although if you also earn 100 QuickStart points at the start of the semester, that would raise your 500 points to 600 points and your F to a D … still not where you want to be, however. If you achieve more points in total than you need to pass, let’s say 700, but you do not achieve the 50% threshold in each aspect of the course, then you still will not pass. The four aspect categories are 1) independent learning through homework, 2) community learning through class activities and lectures, 3) project learning through the portfolio assignment that includes writing, graphing and technology presentation and, 4) most importantly, cumulative learning assimilation through unit and final exams. You MAY REPLACE your lowest scoring category with your highest scoring category to get the grade you want once you have achieved the 50% threshold in each aspect of the course. In addition, QuickStartpoints, earned at the beginning of the semester, will be added AFTER students achieve minimum thresholds in each category. The following vignettes will help you understand the implications of this grading policy. Examples from a Tale of Four Students:
- The straight “A” student who finds this class difficult
This describes students who say, “I have a 4.0 average and I can’t seem to score above an 80 on your tests.”
Individual Learning Homework: 180 of 200
Community Learning Class Activities: 180 of 200
Project Learning Portfolio: 180 of 200
Cumulative Learning Exams: 150 of 200 on Unit Exams and 150 of 200 on Final Exam
Passed threshold in all categories, 840 earned points, replacing a 150 with a 180 gets student to 870 points, adding the 90 of 100 QuickStartPoints earned at the beginning of the course brings the student to 960 points and an A. My advice: Do what you do best, organize, come to class, do all the assignments, focus on understanding and looking for connections rather than memorizing and don’t stress about exams.
- The hard worker who doesn’t test well
This describes so many students who do all the work, never get great scores but keep plugging. This is the student who probably benefits most from my grading system.
Individual Learning Homework: 160 of 200
Community Learning Class Activities: 160 0f 200
Project Learning Portfolio: 160 of 200
Cumulative Learning Exams: 100 of 200 on Unit Exams and 100 of 200 on Final Exam
Passed threshold in all categories, 680 earned points, replacing a 100 with a 160 gets student to 740 points, adding the 80 of 100 QuickStartPoints earned at the beginning of the course brings the student to 820 points and a B. My advice: Your strengths are that you are a hard worker and you care about learning. Be sure to earn your QuickStart points at the beginning of the semester, come to class and do all of your assignments on time. Come to see me for extra help and go to Homework Help sessions.
(Still don’t see yourself? Keep reading!)
- The recalcitrant slacker
This is the student who chooses not to get with the program at the beginning of the semester but has an epiphany after the first exam.
Individual Learning Homework: 100 of 200
Community Learning Class Activities: 100 0f 200
Project Learning Portfolio: 180 of 200
Cumulative Learning Exams: 120 of 200 on Unit Exams and 150 of 200 on Final Exam
Passed threshold in all categories, 650 earned points, replacing a 100 with a 180 gets student to 730 points, adding the 30 of 100 QuickStart Points earned at the beginning of the course brings the student to 760 points and a C. (This underperforming but capable student, although relieved to pass, is regretting the choice not to take advantage of the QuickStart points offered at the beginning of the semester!!) My advice: Don’t make it so hard on yourself! Do what you’re supposed to do at the beginning of the semester. Yes, you will be able to recover but there is an easier path! (I bet people have been telling you that all your life!!)
- The Know-It-All who tries to “game” the system
This describes students who say, “I’m going to cram like crazy for exams, do what I need to do on the big point assignments and blow off the homework and class participation.”
Individual Learning Homework: 80 of 200
Community Learning Class Activities: 100 0f 200
Project Learning Portfolio: 180 of 200
Cumulative Learning Exams: 170 of 200 on Unit Exams and 170 of 200 on Final Exam
Although this student passed all exams and earned a total of 700 points, this student will receive an F. This is because the threshold point level in each category was not met. The student did not earn the option to replace a low scoring category with a high scoring one and did not earn the option to apply any QuickStartpoints from the beginning of the semester. My advice: Remember that it is not a university degree that has value but a university education. You are among a privileged minority of people who have earned the opportunity to attend college; please embrace it. Know that I really do care about what you learn and not just what you achieve.
So, which student resonates most with you?
What do you plan to do about it?
How can I help you?
Please keep track of your own grades with the very simple form that I provide you on Blackboard in the Getting Started folder. It asks you to identify your grade goal and the requirements to reach that goal; it lists the four categories and requires you to record in each, your points earned, whether the threshold has been met, the remaining points available, whether you are on track and, if not, what changes you need to make to get there. Please bring this completed form any time you want to discuss grades or course progress. Grade discussions will only be held in person during office hours.
Schedule of Classes for Fall 2016 Principles of Microeconomics
Week # / Day / Class # and Topic / Assignment / Information1 / Monday, August 29 / Class #1
Welcome to Economics! / Purchase McGraw-Hill Course Connect materials. / Blackboard and McGraw-Hill are open.
Begin by opening the Getting Started Folder on Blackboard where you will find the syllabus, the McGraw-Hill registration instructions and the list of QuickStartactivities.
Wednesday, August 31 / Class #2
Course Tools and Policies / Read Syllabus thoroughly and register for McGraw-Hill. Begin working through QuickStart activities. Be sure that you are registered in the correct class on McGraw-Hill for your course materials.
Bring your Smart Device to class. / QuickStartactivities #1-#10 are due by Friday, September 9th at 5:00 pm. QuickStart #9 and #10 also count as Independent Learning Assignment #1 Parts One and Two.
Friday, September 2 / Class #3
The Economic Way of Thinking / Work on QuickStart activities #1-10
Apply the Economic Way of Thinking to Election Economics and Understanding Fiscal Responsibility / QuickStartactivities #1-#10 are due by Friday, September 9th at 5:00 pm. QuickStart #9 and #10 also count as Independent Learning Assignment #1 Parts One and Two.
Learning Objectives for week #1: