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e-book
Recognizing that a course in economics may seem daunting to some students, we have tried to make the writing clear and engaging. Clarity comes in part from the intuitive presentation style, but we have also integrated a number of pedagogical features that we believe make learning economic concepts and principles easier and more fun. These features are very student-focused. The chapters themselves are written using a “modular” format. In particular, chapters generally consist of three main content sections that break down a particular topic into manageable parts. Each content section contains not only an exposition of the material at hand but also learning objectives, summaries, examples, and problems. Each chapter is introduced with a story to motivate the material and each chapter ends with a wrap-up and additional problems. Our goal is to encourage active learning by including many examples and many problems of different types. A tour of the features available for each chapter may give a better sense of what we mean: Start Up—Chapter introductions set the stage for each chapter with an example that we hope will motivate readers to study the material that follows. These essays, on topics such as the value of a college degree in the labor market or how policy makers reacted to a particular economic recession, lend themselves to the type of analysis explained in the chapter. We often refer to these examples later in the text to demonstrate the link between theory and reality. Learning Objectives—These succinct statements are guides to the content of each section. Instructors can use them as a snapshot of the important points of the section. After completing the section, students can return to the learning objectives to check if they have mastered the material.Heads Up!—These notes throughout the text warn of common errors and explain how to avoid making them. After our combined teaching experience of more than fifty years, we have seen the same mistakes made by many students. This feature provides additional clarification and shows students how to navigate possibly treacherous waters. Key Takeaways—These statements review the main points covered in each content section. Key Terms—Defined within the text, students can review them in context, a process that enhances learning. Try It! questions—These problems, which appear at the end of each content section and which are answered completely in the text, give students the opportunity to be active learners. They are designed to give students a clear signal as to whether they understand the material before they go on to the next topic. Cases in Point—These essays included at the end of each content section illustrate the influence of economic forces on real issues and real people. Unlike other texts that use boxed features to present interesting new material or newspaper articles, we have written each case ourselves to integrate them more clearly with the rest of the text. Summary—In a few paragraphs, the information presented in the chapter is pulled together in a way that allows for a quick review of the material.End-of-chapter concept and numerical problems—These are bountiful and are intended to check understanding, to promote discussion of the issues raised in the chapter, and to engage students in critical thinking about the material. Included are not only general review questions to test basic understanding but also examples drawn from the news and from results of economics research. Some have students working with real-world data.
- Subjects:
- Economics
- Keywords:
- Macroeconomics Textbooks
- Resource Type:
- e-book
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e-book
Russell Cooper and Andrew John have written an economics text aimed directly at students from its very inception. You're thinking, ”Yeah, sure. I've heard that before.“ This textbook, Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications, centers around student needs and expectations through two premises: … Students are motivated to study economics if they see that it relates to their own lives. … Students learn best from an inductive approach, in which they are first confronted with a problem, and then led through the process of solving that problem. Many books claim to present economics in a way that is digestible for students; Russell and Andrew have truly created one from scratch. This textbook will assist you in increasing students' economic literacy both by developing their aptitude for economic thinking and by presenting key insights about economics that every educated individual should know. How? Russell and Andrew have done three things in this text to accomplish that goal: 1. Applications Ahead of Theory: They present all the theory that is standard in Principles books. But by beginning with applications, students get to learn why this theory is needed. The authors take the kind of material that other authors put in ”applications boxes“ and place it at the heart of their book. Each chapter is built around a particular business or policy application, such as minimum wages, the stock exchange, and auctions. Why take this approach? Traditional courses focus too much on abstract theory relative to the interests and capabilities of the average undergraduate. Students are rarely engaged and the formal theory is never integrated into the way students think about economic issues. And traditional books are organized around theoretical constructs that mean nothing to students. The authors' applications-first approach ensures that students will not see chapters with titles like ”Cost Functions“ or ”Short-Run Fluctuations“. They introduce tools and ideas as and when they are needed. Each chapter is designed with two goals. First, the application upon which the chapter is built provides a ”hook“ that gets students' attention. Second, the application is a suitable vehicle a vehicle for teaching the principles of economics. 2. Learning through Repetition: Important tools appear over and over again, allowing students to learn from repetition and to see how one framework can be useful in many different contexts. Each piece of economic theory in this text is first introduced and explained in the context of a specific application. Most are re-used in other chapters, so students see them in action on multiple occasions. As students progress through the book, they accumulate a set of techniques and ideas. These are collected separately in a ”toolkit“ that provides students with an easy reference and also gives them a condensed summary of economic principles for examination preparation. 3. A Student's Table of Contents vs. An Instructor's Table of Contents: There is no further proof that Russell and Andrew have created a book aimed specifically at educating students about economics than their two tables of contents. The Student's Table of Contents speaks to students, piquing their interest to involve them in the economics, and a Instructor's Table of Contents with the economics to better help you organize your teaching—and frankly, you don't need to get excited by economics, you already are.
- Subjects:
- Economics
- Keywords:
- Microeconomics Textbooks
- Resource Type:
- e-book
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e-book
Collaborative Statistics was written by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean, faculty members at De Anza Collegein Cupertino, California. The textbook was developed over several years and has been used in regularand honors-level classroom settings and in distance learning classes. Courses using this textbook have beenarticulated by the University of California for transfer of credit. The textbook contains full materials forcourse offerings, including expository text, examples, labs, homework, and projects. A Teacher's Guide iscurrently available in print form and on the Connexions site at and supplemental course materials including additional problem sets and video lectures are available. The on-line text for each of these collections collections willmeet the Section 508 standards for accessibility. An on-line course based on the textbook was also developed by Illowsky and Dean. It has won an awardas the best on-line California community college course. The on-line course will be available at a later dateas a collection in Connexions, and each lesson in the on-line course will be linked to the on-line textbookchapter. The on-line course will include, in addition to expository text and examples, videos of courselectures in captioned and non-captioned format. The original preface to the book as written by professors Illowsky and Dean, now follows: This book is intended for introductory statistics courses being taken by students at two– and four–yearcolleges who are majoring in fields other than math or engineering. Intermediate algebra is the only prerequisite.The book focuses on applications of statistical knowledge rather than the theory behind it. Thetext is named Collaborative Statistics because students learn best by doing. In fact, they learn best byworking in small groups. The old saying “two heads are better than one” truly applies here. Our emphasis in this text is on four main concepts: thinking statistically incorporating technology working collaboratively writing thoughtfully These concepts are integral to our course. Students learn the best by actively participating, not by justwatching and listening. Teaching should be highly interactive. Students need to be thoroughly engagedin the learning process in order to make sense of statistical concepts. Collaborative Statistics providestechniques for students to write across the curriculum, to collaborate with their peers, to think statistically,and to incorporate technology. This book takes students step by step. The text is interactive. Therefore, students can immediately applywhat they read. Once students have completed the process of problem solving, they can tackle interestingand challenging problems relevant to today's world. The problems require the students to apply theirnewly found skills. In addition, technology (TI-83 graphing calculators are highlighted) is incorporatedthroughout the text and the problems, as well as in the special group activities and projects. The book alsocontains labs that use real data and practices that lead students step by step through the problem solvingprocess. At De Anza, along with hundreds of other colleges across the country, the college audience involves alarge number of ESL students as well as students from many disciplines. The ESL students, as well asthe non-ESL students, have been especially appreciative of this text. They find it extremely readable andunderstandable. Collaborative Statistics has been used in classes that range from 20 to 120 students, and inregular, honor, and distance learning classes.
- Subjects:
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Keywords:
- Textbooks Statistics
- Resource Type:
- e-book
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Courseware
The BIIG problem-solving method is unique in that it forces us to concentrate on decoding a real-world word problem completely into meaningful parts and aids us in finding and applying the right formula to easily arrive at the correct solution. As desired, it places less emphasis on the memorization of factual detail and more emphasis on the understanding of concepts. Evidently, this method is beneficial in many ways as it aids students in honing skills in critical thinking, logical approach and attention to detail. As a method for organizing information it helps students avoid errors and sets them on a path to succeed. As long as the numbers are “buddied up” with their units, “identified” by the appropriate variables, “isolated” within the context, and the answer is presented “gourmet”, or explained in terms of the original question, finding a solution to any complex problem will become seamless, understandable and enjoyable. This innovation in science education fosters a passion for learning and serves as a foundation for a new paradigm for problem-solving in any discipline of science worldwide.
- Subjects:
- Physics
- Keywords:
- Problem solving Physics
- Resource Type:
- Courseware
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Others
The "Staying F.O.C.U.S.E.D." philosophy is a strategic thinking framework designed to help prepare the next generation of thought-leaders for a complicated world. By using this framework, you will learn BETTER, learn FASTER and learn MORE than you are used to.
We operationalized this framework through the aid of seven (7) dice to give a “touch-and-feel” of the philosophy. The statements / prompts / questions appearing on each of the seven dice have been statistically determined. The “Staying F.O.C.U.S.E.D.” framework has proven so useful that real organizations are using it to help their senior management and board of directors open up the ALTERNATIVES to better deal with their UNSOLVED problems, issues and challenges."
The F.O.C.U.S.E.D dice are designed based on an extensive survey carried out with 400+ business students at our Faculty of Business and feedback from practitioners on what our students need to do to help take their learning to the next level. The key findings culminated in the importance of the “Staying F.O.C.U.S.E.D.” philosophy where each letter represents a critical competency much sought-after in the real world today:
"F" - Bring Fresh Perspective
"O" - Think, feel and act like an Owner/ Manager
"C" - Show Connected-thinking
"U" - Have a Sense of Urgency
"S" - Show Team SPIRIT
"E" - Always Engage
"D" - Exercise Deliberate Practice
To learn more about the idea of the “ecosystem” that we built around the FOCUSED philosophy and its accompanying 7 colourful dice framework, please visit the FOCUSED homepage or click "View Resource".
- Keywords:
- Problem solving Dice games
- Resource Type:
- Others
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Courseware
The focus of this guided inquiry laboratory is to foster critical thinking that allows students to design, perform, and interpret experiments. In addition, the student acquires technical skills that are required for further advancement in experimental sciences. Although an ability to collect and analyze data in a quantitative manner is developed, the emphasis of the course is to provide a qualitative understanding of the basic concepts of chemistry. This is accomplished by demonstrating that chemical principles are derived from experimental data. The goal is to provide students both with a more accurate picture of the scientific process and with skills that are relevant to solving real life problems.
- Subjects:
- Laboratory Techniques and Safety and Chemistry
- Keywords:
- Chemical laboratories Chemical laboratories -- Technique Chemistry
- Resource Type:
- Courseware
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Courseware
We will discuss sciences and societal consequences of air pollution problems such as 1. Photochemical smog 2. Atmospheric particle pollution 3. Indoor pollution 4. Acid rain 5. And human triggered climate change.Essential concepts of chemistry, physics, meteorology and mathematics will be introduced. The consequences of air pollution will be discussed in historical and international perspectives. The main educational goal is raising critical thinking skills for the students to develop their own opinions future environmental issues
- Subjects:
- Environmental Engineering
- Keywords:
- Air -- Pollution
- Resource Type:
- Courseware
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Courseware
6.0002 is the continuation of 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python and is intended for students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems and to help students, regardless of their major, feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class uses the Python 3.5 programming language.
- Subjects:
- Computing, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Keywords:
- Python (Computer program language) Computer programming Computer science
- Resource Type:
- Courseware
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