‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ | ‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. | ‘I don't much care where--‘ said Alice. | ‘Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. | ‘--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation. | ‘Oh, you're sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’ | [Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll]
Question: What is effective learning?
Answer: Effectiveness is the degree to which a process delivers a 'desired outcome', which is to me to see my students as high-caliber members of the professional and academic community, even more rewardingly to see my former students as people bringing positive change to the society.
Question: What is effective learning from the perspective of a student?
Answer: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. See the previous Q/A to form your personal answer.
Question: Should I attend each class hour?
Answer: There is a strong association between performance and attendance.
Question: So, showing up in class is enough, right?
Answer: “To attend” does not only mean “to show up”, it rather has a connotation with “to come to class prepared and to participate”.
Question: Is classroom a boring environment?
Answer: No, as longs as everyone behaves with basic politeness and civility. An informal atmosphere is acceptable as long as it is orderly.
Question: I have a good memory; can I rely on it?
Answer: Memorization has some role in triggering your learning, but it should eventually be replaced with a full command of the subject matter. I usually refer to a revised version of Benjamin Bloom's work (Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objective) with the addition of the psycho-motor domain (as developed by Harrow, 1972) to view the cognitive domain: "
Knowledge: recognizing or recalling information (~memorization)
Comprehension: organizing and arranging material mentally; grasp a topic; collect together a battery of information and ideas
Application: applying the previously learned to reach an answer
Analysis: thinking critically and in depth; solving problems
Synthesis: thinking creatively to present something original; producing original communications, making predictions and solving problems
Evaluation: judging the value or validity of an idea, a solution to a problem, or an aesthetic work; offering an opinion on an issue through objective criteria, standards or personal values "
Based on this, every course has a pre-designed target complexity over the Knowledge-to-Evaluation spectrum. ECON 221 reaches mostly upto Application and partly Analysis, while ECON 222 reaches upto Synthesis and Evaluation.
Question: How long should I study?
Answer: See the previous Q/A.
Question: What gear do I need?
Answer: Each student is suggested to have a 'traditional notebook + pencil' or 'tablet with notetaking capacity' and a calculator for exams.
Question: I will never cheat. But what happens to cheaters?
Answer: Cheating ~ plagiarism is unfair and may be penalized at a minimum with failing the course and at a maximum with suspension.
Question: Is there an AI policy?
Answer: ECON 221 and ECON 222 do not employ AI in teaching. However, students may assist themselves with AI while they are studying the subject matter. See also the previous Q/A.
Question: What are the exam rules? How can I learn about the exam logistics?
Answer: See the very end of this page.
Question: When is Office Hours?
Answer: Office hours are the time slots dedicated to answer the students' course-related questions and other queries; students may come to A-108 without appointment, except for the first week of classes & the final exams period. Office hours in Fall 2025 are to be held every Wednesday from 11:00 to 13:00.
Question: OK. I'm ready to go for it. Where can I find the Lecture Notes from?
Answer: PDF version of Lecture Notes is available at Lecture notes (PDF) and HTML version is at Lecture notes (Page).
Question: Can I also reach the previous semesters' materials?
Answer: Yes, indeed. These are available at Past materials (Folder).
Also,
Statistical distributions practice file (221 and 222) is at SD (XLSX),
Confidence intervals practice file (222) is at CI (XLSX),
Hypothesis testing practice file (222) is at HT (XLSX),
Selected distribution tables are at z (PDF, PNG) t (PDF, PNG) Chi2 (PDF, PNG) F (PDF),
and, Microsoft Excel function reference is at Excel (Page).
You don't need to return to this point every time, these links are repeatedly given below when needed.
Question: How are the official announcements made?
Answer: Via emails sent by the teacher through STARS/AIRS/SRS platform. So, make sure your email address registered with the University receives these emails.
Question: What are the topics to be covered? How should I proceed now?
Answer: Simply bookmark this page in your favorite browser & use it & come to classes regularly.