How do I achieve my goals?

    I set clear and attainable course and learning objectives and fair standards for evaluations.  Individual and group assessments at crucial times in the course allow students to measure their progress and adjust their efforts to achieve their goals for the class.  Informally polling students at the beginning of a course to assess interests and skills helps me learn a bit about the uniqueness of the class and, along with formal assessments, allows me to better class time to facilitate in-class learning.  For example, identifying as learning objectives on the syllabus specific skills students will need to successfully complete the course helps anticipate bottlenecks in learning.  I focus in time in class and assign homework which help students negotiate the common bottlenecks in learning economics.  Are student failing to grasp elasticity because they do not understand the concept or is it because the measure literally spins the Cartesian plane on its axis?  Figuring out which of these is at issue helps advance and apply their economic knowledge.   

    I start the course explaining that I am going help students fill their toolbox with analytic tools for thinking economically.  I use examples of economic theory in action to raise awareness of what students across the department, college and world might be doing at any given time and how it relates to the course topics.  What is the college’s comparative advantage in producing actuarial science majors?  What is the college’s comparative advantage in producing education majors?  Which graduate will have a higher salary?  Is this fair?  How does an economist answer these questions?  What are the tools in your economic toolbox you can use to approach the debate?

    I do what I ask my students to do.  I hone the tools in my teaching toolkit that seem to be working and I seek out new ones that might help.  I try new techniques.  I listen to what my colleagues are saying works in their courses.  I seek guidance from mentors with years of experience when I encounter situations that do not conform with my expectations and experiences.

    I am accessible to my students.  I set office hours and respond promptly to electronic and voice mail.  I learn something about each of my students early in the course to help break the ice and help them know each other better.  I post class preparation notes.  If clarifications are needed, I promptly post to the Blackboard and notify the class.

What are the challenges?

            For a scientist, observed behaviors and relationships translate into mathematical equations and graphical representations of those relationships.  The language or jargon of the discipline adds its own complexity to teaching.  As a teacher, this can be an obstacle or an asset.  Students come to each course with various levels of skills, abilities, experiences and expectations.  Using all my resource to respond to this helps me make this an asset to learning.

    For example, in a health economics course, I use a slideshow presentation to show a graph of the flow of funds in the health care sector.  Then, I present a mathematical identity:  income equals expenditures.  Finally, I take the identity and share that Dr. Uwe Reinhardt’s calls this the Alfred E. Neuman Cosmic Health Care Equation in Health Economics.  This can provide some levity and make the concept memorable with a picture of Alfred E. Neuman from the cover of Mad magazine.  I might show include a slide of Dr. Reinhardt testifying before Congress or show a picture of me with Dr. Reinhardt at the annual AEA conference. 

    For a principles level class or a class for non-majors, this might be enough to translate that relationship into an equation and insert a memorable hook.  For a principles or intermediate level class, I might assign a reading and discussion of on of Dr. Reinhardt’s blog posts in the NYTimes.  For a class like health economics or a senior seminar, I might focus a series of discussions and writing assignments on how this equation works out in the supply and demand of primary care physicians.  This will help students identify and distinguish the important incentives and market forces at work.  

What does the future hold?

How are economists and other scientists conducting research and sharing our results in the 21st century?  Reflecting on how I am learning from my own research methods and transferring that to my students’ coursework will help me find the educational hooks for engaging the intellects of my students.  Today, it may be a video clip, a song, an interactive classroom simulation of a market transaction, or a field trip to the Federal Reserve or a fair trade coffee shop.  Tomorrow’s possibilities are endless and exciting.  The key will be to keep the tool box filled with the teaching methods that provide an effective foundation in economic learning.