For future teaching reference

So, Econ 306-009 Fall 2009 is done and over with. But I do plan to teach again in the future, and I have collected some good links here. Why not continue to file good resources and links in the same place, so that when I teach again everything is in one spot? So here's the first link, a 2.5 minute video on Bastiat's Broken Window Fallacy.
watch it here.

Grades are Posted!

I just entered your grades.
I really enjoyed teaching this semester. I learned a lot and I hope you did, too.
I may post the solution to the final if anyone is interested.
Grades on the exam:
A: 10
B: 4
C: 4
D: 3
F: 5

Average was a 78%.

Earlier in the semester grades were fairly evenly distributed about the mean. On this last test they were certainly skewed towards the higher end. Well done!

Grades for the course:

A: 8
B: 5
C: 8
D: 3
F: 4 (includes some who dropped.)

Overall, not bad.

Send me an email anytime if you have questions about econ, ethics, or liberty!
ndsnow@gmail.com

Nathan

Calculator

You will want to bring a calculator with you Wednesday night for the exam.

Final Exam

Okay,
I have written the exam, and will take it to the copiers soon.
I've decided to include some multiple choice, 10 questions.
Then there are several short-answer questions.
Some math questions follow.
And there are a few extra credit problems.
Everything on the exam has been covered in class, and most of it was also touched upon in the text.

I am accepting Extra Credit essays by email now. Actually, it is easier to grade them on-screen than on paper.

See you @7:30 on Wednesday
Nathan

Extra Credit, and HW Solutions

For extra credit, you may write a 2-3 page essay describing an example of the "Bootleggers and Baptists" phenomenon. In class I said it will count as an extra 3.3% of your grade. If you do it, you can earn an extra 3.3 points toward your final grade for the course, not for the test.
You might want to download this podcast and listen to it to better understand the idea.
Please don't use bootleggers and Baptists as your example. Part of how I grade this will be based on your being able to recognize unique examples of the phenomenon.

Also, your HW solution set is here.
Please feel free to email me with and questions or concerns. I will be on campus various times over the next week if you need to meet with me.
Nathan

Note of HW #3, Problem #1

I had a typo. If you have already done the problem, then disregard, but if not, the equation for the second demand curve should have read:
Q2 = 10 - 0.05P2.
You can see I got the decimal in the wrong place on the assignment.
Again, if you have already done the problem, don't worry about it, this was my mistake, but if you have not done it yet, this correction could make the problem a little more straightforward, and I daresay, interesting.

The Final Exam

I will offer some discussion about the final exam this week in class, and perhaps here at the blog before the exam.

For now, I will say that the exam is cumulative. There will be questions based on the material from every portion of the course. I am thinking that there will be 12-16 problems total, with a structure similar to the midterms.
You should look back on your old exams and homework assignments, look at questions from the ends of the chapters in the text, and make sure you know the graphs, and what belongs on which axis.

There will be at least one, if not two extra credit questions, which should help any of you who are struggling to improve your grade.

That's all for now,
Nathan