On the first day of traditional face-2-face class, I share my philosophy of teaching/learning, and specifically as it pertains to studying economics. This note is an attempt to convey those same thoughts as we start our four-week virtual learning journey together. 

There is good news, and there is bad news about the study of economics.

The good news is that economics is everywhere in our daily lives, e.g. sports, government, religion, medicine, science, military, and law. Thus, in some ways, this may be the most practical and/or useful class you take at the community college level.

The bad news is that this can be the most boring, dismal, convoluted, abstract, contradictory, confusing subject matter to study. Why?  This is not an exact science; rather a combination of subjective thinking with objective thinking. Economics is the study of choice under the condition of scarcity. There are costs and benefits when analyzing and making choices on all kinds of issues. So, once you understand that it is mostly about a new way of thinking, it becomes tolerable (and sometimes even interesting).

I have often said (jokingly) that we should not allow a student to take any economics class until they are at least 40 years of age. This subject is a lot more interesting if you have personally experienced many of the economic situations that arise in one's life. I can personally attest to this; as an 18-year-old, I flunked my very first economics class at the University of Arizona because, a) I didn't go to class very often, and b) when I did go to class, I was mentally asleep. For those of you who are not recent high school graduates, I think you'll have an advantage and will soon understand what I mean. 

Because of the two bad news points I just noted, my approach to teaching Economics is probably a little different than most college econ instructors. 

First, I do not consider myself a teacher. Rather, I view my position as a moderator, facilitator, orchestrator, or coach. Rather than bore you with all the research, the fact is that the best instructors at this level of learning are the ones who present a variety of learning opportunities to a class, and then get out of the way and let students learn on their own. In fact, many students can learn more from a fellow student (who might be able to restate a principle or idea in a simpler way), than they do from the "talking head" at the front of a class. Obviously, the instructor should always be available when students need help with any of the learning opportunities, which I will. 

Second, I doubt that any of you want to be like Jerome Powell when you grow up. Thus, if you are not planning on becoming the next Federal Reserve Board Chairman, or even an economics major and/or working as a professional economist, I believe it is important for me to present this course material accordingly. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I have spent a lot of time sorting through what's important for this course in terms of the districts standard learning outcomes requirement, and designed the course around an appropriate textbook to enhance the learning process for the curriculum. Studies have shown that our short-term memories can only handle about six or seven new concepts/ideas/principles before they start squeezing out existing knowledge in our short-term memory. This is probably an oversimplified explanation of the process, but I'm sure you get the idea. Therefore, rather than hold you responsible for everything in every chapter of a larger textbook, you'll find our text to be very focused and quite appropriate for this college-level principles of macroeconomics course.

By now you have been preached to that learning is a lifelong process - which is true, so I'll skip that sermon. However, along those lines, I compare our PHYSICAL muscle tone to our MENTAL muscle tone. That is this - if you don't use it, you'll lose it. So my advice to you is to always seek opportunities to learn something new, because from that experience you will grow, mature, and change for the better, and keep your mind from turning to mush. In fact, some of the most painful experiences can be the most rewarding, because you'll see that it is exciting to discover that "your reach can exceed your grasp." For those of you who have accomplished something which you previously thought was not probable, you know exactly what I mean. 

Lastly, if you've not already discovered this, learning is a lot more about asking good questions than about getting correct answers on an exam. Critical thinking skills that involve a curious mind are at a premium in the workplace today, so please try to develop the ability to locate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information via probing questions - you'll then enhance your chances of success in any lifetime endeavor. 

Happy learning!

By appointment. 

Greetings and thanks for visiting this contact link.

I was born and raised on a small farm in Indianola, Iowa. We moved to Phoenix when I was a freshman in high school (Cortez), where one of my schoolmates was Alice Cooper ;-)

I have a B.S. in Public Administration from Arizona, a MBA from Iowa, and a M.A. in Economics for Educators from Delaware.

I am happily married and have four adult children, six granddaughters & six grandsons, and two step-children. I live in Phoenix and this is my 22nd year as an adjunct instructor at Mesa CC, and retired after 16 years as a full-time instructor at Central Arizona College.  Prior to that I was at Arizona Western for two years, and have taught online economics for 23 years. 

I teach online Microeconomics (ECN212), Macroeconomics (ECN211) and Economics of Sports (ECN 110).

 

• Bachelor of Science in Public Administration, University of Arizona
• Master of Business Administration, University of Iowa
• Master of Arts in Economics for Educators, University of Delaware

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