Syllabus
ECON 122:
Principles of
Microeconomics
Spring 2008
Section 007, TR 9:30 - 10:45 am, Keith Hall 130
| Instructor: |
Dr.
Stephanie M. (Brewer) Jozefowicz |
| Email: |
Stephanie.Jozefowicz@iup.edu
(Note:
I tend to
check email fairly infrequently.) |
| Economics
Dept. Phone: |
724-357-2640 |
| My
Office Location: |
McElhaney
Hall 202B |
| My
Office Phone: |
724-357-2642 |
| Office
Hours: |
Mondays
3:45 - 4:45 pm, Tuesdays 8:30 - 9:15 am & 12:20 - 1:50 pm,
Thursdays 8:30 - 9:15 am & 3:20 - 4:20 pm, or by
appointment |
| Course
Website: |
www.chss.iup.edu/smjozef/brewerteach.html
|
| MyEconLab: |
www.myeconlab.com |
| Course
Prerequisites: |
None |
| Course
Description: |
Economics
of the firm; theory of
consumer demand;
determination of price and output in different market structures;
distribution
of income; economic growth |
| Course
Objectives: |
The
student will be able: 1)
to understand
how the operations of demand and supply establish price in the
market.
2) to understand how price and output are affected by various
market
structures. 3) to understand how the price mechanism
operates
to allocate resources. 4) to gain insights into the
functioning
of the American economy in order to analyze current economic,
political,
and social problems facing our country. 5) to lay the
foundation
for a career as an economist in government, industry or teaching at the
high school or university level. 6) to provide an academic
framework
from which to view other social science and business subjects. |
ECON 122 Website
I have set up a
website for this class. The specific html address location is
given
above. (This page can be accessed from the Department of
Economics
website, as well, if go to the faculty listing, link to me, and follow
a link from there.) I am changing my use of this site in light of
using MyEconLab. What you will find now are links to the
following
items: the course syllabus, MyEconLab, a companion website operated by
Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishing Company for the Hubbard/O’Brien
textbook, the Department of Economics, and links to additional
resources in various economic fields of interest.
Textbook and MyEconLab Requirements
I have selected the following (required) textbook for this
course. R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O’Brien,
Microeconomics, 1st edition. Additional readings may sometimes be
handed out in class or posted to the web for you to read online and/or
download. You are responsible for asking me for materials handed
out in any class period that you miss. The textbook and
additional readings are designed to facilitate learning both inside and
outside the classroom. Reading assignments from the text are
included on the course outline and will be mentioned regularly in
class. You will know what you should be reading if you check the
course outline. Lecture material will make more sense if you read
the text first; the text will make more sense if you attend lecture
first. Although exam questions are based on the lecture material,
the text parallels the lectures. Hence, the readings in the text
should be thought of as a supplement to the lecture material.
In addition to the textbook, I am requiring each individual student to
have a subscription to MyEconLab for this course. MyEconLab is an
online resource (including tutorials, news articles, and problem sets
specific to this text) that we will use extensively throughout the
course. Homework, practice exams, announcements, and other
materials will be posted online in MyEconLab. You may purchase a
new textbook packaged with a subscription to MyEconLab at the campus
bookstore. If you purchase a used textbook, if you purchase a
textbook from an online vendor, if you choose to not individually
purchase a textbook (e.g., say if you and your roommate are both in the
class and have agreed to share a textbook), or if you choose to
purchase an e-book, then you still need to purchase a separate
individual Student Access Kit subscription to MyEconLab. This can
be done either by purchasing a stand-alone Student Access Kit at the
campus bookstore or by going online to the MyEconLab website: www.myeconlab.com. If you wish to
purchase the subscription of MyEconLab online rather than at the
bookstore, you will need to use a major credit card for payment.
See the “Registration” handout for more instructions about that process.
Each time you log into MyEconLab, you should first check the “Course
Home” button. This will display course announcements. I
intend to update announcement postings following my classes on a
given day (this may happen right after my second morning class, or if
interrupted, I may not get to it until later in the afternoon or
evening). The announcements will include a brief summary of the
main topics covered during that day’s class period,
announcements/reminders regarding
homework/in-class/quiz/exam/extra-credit assignments, and anything else
that I think is important to communicate. I may sometimes add
additional announcements if, for instance, a student asks me a question
in office hours that I think is an important point to clarify for the
entire class before we meet again. (Note that the “Calendar”
feature in MyEconLab will only track MyEconLab assignments.)
Assignments and Grading
Policy
Homework/In-Class
Assignments: Frequently homework and/or in-class assignments
will be made. These assignments may be assignments posted to
MyEconLab, problems from the text, web-based assignments, or other
materials that I prepare. The purpose of these assignments is to
provide opportunities to apply course content to real world contexts
and/or provide opportunities to practice problem solving using the
economic tools learned in class. These assignments have been
constructed to meet course content goals and are not merely busy work.
Most homework assignments (and their due dates) will be posted on
MyEconLab. You are expected to complete these assignments and
submit them online for grading. Point values for MyEconLab
homework assignments are set by the computer at 1 point per
question. The number of questions in each MyEconLab homework
assignment will vary. Across the semester as a whole, there will
be a total of 280 questions. I will divide your total earned
MyEconLab question points by two to enter this component of your grade
into my main course gradebook (i.e., each question will effectively be
worth ½ point).
MyEconLab assignments will be accepted up to 9:15 am
on their respective due date. My first ECON 122 class of the day
begins at 9:30 am; therefore, I have decided to set the time at 9:15 am
to give as much time as possible between the time the assignment is
made on a given class day while attempting to guarantee students have
time enough to still come to class. Note, however, I don’t
recommend that you wait until the last minute to complete a given
assignment. We all know that sometimes the electric power goes
off, computer servers crash, and computers malfunction. Once 9:15
am on a given due date has come and gone, NO late MyEconLab assignments
will be accepted. Period. Computers don’t understand the
concept of “grace.” However, I can appreciate that sometimes
computer glitches can cause the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework”
excuses. Hence, you will have an opportunity to earn some
additional “replacement” points to compensate for this type of
situation by successfully completing designated practice tests posted
to MyEconLab before each of the three respective exams that will occur
during the semester. These “replacement” points are designed to
account for either a situation in which you don’t submit a homework
assignment at all (for whatever reason)or situations in which you don’t
earn full credit on the homework assignment. More will be
discussed in class about how these opportunities will work.
Additionally, there will be a few graded non-MyEconLab homework and
in-class assignments, and these all will be due in class. Points
will be deducted from any non-MyEconLab assignments turned in after
they are due unless prior arrangements with the instructor have been
made. A non-MyEconLab assignment will not be accepted for a late
grade once that assignment has been graded and returned to the
class. This policy means that if you miss a class, it is YOUR
responsibility to check with a classmate to determine what, if any,
assignments were made. Not being able to reach me personally
concerning non-MyEconLab assignments because you missed class is NOT a
legitimate excuse for late homework. If you know you will be
missing the class in which a non-MyEconLab assignment is due, you can
send the assignment with a classmate, turn in the assignment to me in
advance, have it placed in my box (during normal business hours), or
email the assignment to me attached as a Word or WordPerfect
document. The non-MyEconLab assignment must be in my box or
received as email by the end of the class period. Point values
for any given non-MyEconLab assignment will vary according to the
length and degree of difficulty of the assignment. Non-MyEconLab
homework and in-class assignments will be worth a combined total of 25
available points.
In-Class
Quizzes: A four question multiple choice quiz will be
given in class 1-2 times per week most weeks. Each
consecutive quiz will span the material covered since the
previous quiz or exam. In-class quizzes will be designed to serve
as a check that you can demonstrate mastery of the material in more of
a test-like setting than with homework. These quizzes may be
given either at the beginning of class or at the end. If you
arrive too late or leave too early to take a respective quiz, you will
miss the opportunity to take that quiz. In other words, there
will be NO make-up quizzes. However, the lowest two in-class quiz
grades automatically will be dropped at the end of the semester.
This policy is designed to account for the fact you may have to miss a
quiz due to any number of reasons (these include, but are not limited
to registration difficulties, illness (documented or otherwise),
family/personal emergencies, participation in a school-related
function, inclement weather conditions for which IUP does not
officially cancel classes, or simply a faulty alarm clock during the
semester)--so think twice before intentionally being late, leaving
early, or entirely cutting class and needlessly missing a quiz. I
may sympathize with your plight, but the policy is
non-negotiable. If during the course of the semester, you must
miss more than two quizzes for legitimate documented reasons, please
discuss the matter with me in person. There will be a total of 9
in-class quizzes given during the semester. Each in-class quiz
will be worth a total of 10 points. Hence combined in-class
quizzes will comprise a total of 70 available points across the
semester after the two lowest quiz grades are dropped.
Attendance:
I believe class attendance and participation are closely linked with
how well students learn and perform on exams. Hence, I have
elected to provide you with an incentive to come to class
regularly. A portion of your grade will be based on the number of
times you decide to grace the class with your presence. There are
a total of 28 official days of class throughout this semester, as
listed in the Course Outline section of this syllabus. You will
receive 1 point for each class attended after the first day of
class. You will be able to miss two days of class without
penalty. Thus, there are 27 - 2 = 25 available attendance
points. You will be required to sign an attendance sheet.
The attendance sheets will be the only valid record of your attendance
on a particular day. You must be present and in your seat at the
time the attendance sheet is circulated in order to be able to sign
it. Furthermore, I expect you to contribute to class discussion
and to be present in mind as well as body when you come to class.
NOTE #1: These attendance points can (and have in past semesters
for some students) make the difference between borderline final course
grades. NOTE #2: For any class days that I cancel class due
to conference travel or unexpected illness, you will receive
“attendance” points by completing the replacement assignment given in
lieu of class.
Major
Exams: There will be two major exams given in class during
the semester. Each exam is worth 140 points. The exam dates
are Major Exam #1: Thursday,
February 21 and Major
Exam #2: Thursday, April 3. If you absolutely cannot
take
one of these exams during the designated time because of a LEGITIMATE
reason (e.g., a documented illness, death in the family, or
participation in an IUP sanctioned function), then you will be able to
take a partially comprehensive make-up exam towards the end of the
semester. Please talk to me BEFORE the exam if you know you will
not be able to take it. I expect to be notified before the next
class if circumstances are such that you cannot contact me before the
exam. Regularly scheduled exams will consist of a mixture of
multiple choice and True/False/Uncertain questions, and they may
include Short Answer/Essay questions. Exam questions will stress
analysis including math and graphical story problems. Exams will
be based on the material covered in class. You may use a basic,
non-programmable calculator on exams. All cell phones and all
MP3/iPod/related devices should be turned off and put away before any
exam begins. Once the exam is handed out, you will not leave the
room until you are ready to hand in the exam.
Final
Exam: There will be a final exam given on Thursday, May 1 from 8:00 -
10:00
am in Keith Hall 130. Check your schedule and resolve any
conflicts NOW!!! The final exam is worth 160 points. The
final exam will have either the same format as the major exams or be
entirely multiple choice. There historically has been a
comprehensive section on the final exam which will include major topics
from the entire semester. You may use a basic, non-programmable
calculator on exams. All cell phones and all MP3/iPod/related
devices should be turned off and put away before any exam begins.
Once the exam is handed out, you will not leave the room until you are
ready to hand in the exam. Unless alternative arrangements
are made before the final exam, a score of zero will be entered in my
grade sheet for the final exam if you do not show up in the correct
room and at the correct time for the final exam.
Extra-credit:
Under no circumstances will I give extra-credit
work to individual students. However, during the semester, I may
offer optional class exercises for which extra-credit points can be
earned. Offering opportunities for extra-credit is subject to my
discretion.
Grading
Scale: There will be no "curve" in the grading scale, per
se. Your course grade will be based on the above overall point
total. This means you are not in direct competition with any of
your fellow classmates. Note that this scale may differ from the
distributions in some of your other courses. The standards
are absolute according to the following percentage distribution:
A: 88 -
100%
B: 76 -
87%
C: 64 -
75%
D: 55 -
63%
F: < 55%
Summary of Grading:
MyEconLab
Homework Assignments:
|
140 points |
(20.0%) |
| Non-MyEconLab
Homework/In-class Assignments: |
25
points |
( 3.6%) |
| Attendance: |
25
points |
( 3.6%) |
| In-Class
Quizzes: |
70
points |
(10.0%)
|
| Major Exam #1: |
140 points |
(20.0%) |
| Major Exam #2: |
140 points |
(20.0%) |
| Final Exam: |
160 points |
(22.9%)
|
| Total: |
700 points |
(100.0%)
|
Miscellaneous
Many students may
find it beneficial to discuss the course material with one
another. You are encouraged to share helpful suggestions for
studying and mastering the material. There is an underlying
principle of learning when working together in small groups like
this–you can determine what you know as you are forced to explain the
concepts and problem solutions to one another.
You may wish to bring colored pens/pencils with you to class. For
some graphical analyses, I will use different colored
font/chalk/overhead markers in my presentation. Some students
have expressed that having colors of their own greatly enhances their
ability to understand their notes.
I follow the policy outlined in the IUP Academic Integrity Policy and
Procedures with regard to cheating and academic dishonesty. I
will give an incomplete only for the specific reasons outlined in the
IUP Incomplete policy, so please don't ask for exceptions to these
rules. Both policies can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog 2007-2008.
If you historically have not regularly checked your IUP email, you
should begin to do so. I sometimes may email the class
information, and I only will use your assigned IUP email address.
Furthermore, I ask that you only use your IUP email account to email me
(you can use the I-mail web interface from any computer if you don’t
have Outlook Express or other similar program set up for your IUP email
address) and that you include “ECON 122" as the first part of the
subject line. We’re all overwhelmed by junk mail, and this should
aid our communication with one another so that we don’t accidentally
delete important messages.
If you qualify for services through the IUP Advising and Testing
office, please talk with me sooner rather than later about what
accomodations you plan to seek if they are directly related to this
course. Additional IUP services that you may wish to explore: the
Writing Center (http://www.wc.iup.edu/).
I will be available for questions or comments about class during my
office hours. I will arrange to see you by appointment if you are
not able to come see me during the designated office hours.
Please talk with me to arrange any appointments.
Course Outline
(Consider this
very approximate and NOT set in stone. We will have spillovers
from one week into another. Specific homework and in-class
assignments will be made in class. Announcements about upcoming
quizzes, exams, and extra-credit opportunities will be made in class.)
Week 1: (1/15, 1/17) Introductions; Economic
Overview; Ch. 1–What is Economics?
Week 2:
(1/22, 1/24) Ch. 1; Ch. 1 Appendix-Using Graphs and
Formulas; Ch. 2 Trading
Drop/Add on Banner ends: Sunday,
January 20
No classes university-wide (Martin Luther King Day): Monday,
January 21
Week 3:
(1/29, 1/31) Ch. 2 & 8-Comparative/Absolute
Advantage, Gains from Trade,
International Trade;
Week 4:
(2/5, 2/7) Ch. 3–Demand and Supply
Week 5:
(2/12, 2/14) Ch. 3-Demand and Supply
Week 6:
(2/19, 2/21) Ch. 6–Elasticity;
Major
Exam #1: Tuesday, February 20 (Ch. 1-3 & 8; possibly part of Ch. 6)
Week 7:
(2/26, 2/28)
Note: My
classes and office hours
are cancelled October 2 - 5 (Tuesday-Friday), because I am traveling
and attending the National Association on Economic Education Annual
conference (Denver). A replacement application assignment for missed
class time will
be given.
Week 8:
(3/4, 3/6) Ch. 6–Elasticity;
Ch.
4–Supply/Demand/Elasticity Applications
Week 9:
(3/11, 3/13)
No classes university-wide (Spring
Break!): March 10-15 (Monday-Saturday)
Week 10:
(3/18, 3/20) Ch. 5–Government Intervention/Market
Failure
Students can view mid-term grades
on
Banner: Monday, March 17, 8:00 am
Week 11:
(3/25, 3/27) Ch.
5–Government Intervention/Market
Failure; Ch. 9
& Ch. 9 Appendix-Consumer Choice
Individual Course Withdrawal
Deadline: Wednesday, March 26
Total Semester Withdrawal
Deadline: Friday, March 29
Week 12:
(4/1, 4/3) Ch. 9
& Ch. 9 Appendix-Consumer Choice; Ch. 10–Production & Costs,
Applications
Major
Exam #2: Thursday, April 3 (Ch. 4-6 & 9)
Week 13:
(4/8, 4/10) Ch.
10–Production & Costs,
Applications; Ch.
11–General Market Structure
Overview, Profit
Week 14:
(4/15, 4/17) Ch. 11–Perfect Competition
Week 15:
(4/22, 4/24) Ch.
14–Monopoly
Week 16:
Last
Day of Classes: Monday, April 28
Reading Day: Tuesday, April 29
Final
Exam: Thursday, May 1, 8:00 - 10:00 am; Location–Keith
Hall 130 (Ch. 1-6, 8-11, 14)
Spring
2008 Commencement:
Saturday, May 10
Spring
2008 Semester Grades Available on Banner: 8:00 am, Friday, May 16
DR. S. JOZEFOWICZ’S TOP TEN LIST FOR A SUCCESSFUL SEMESTER:
1. Attend class regularly. Missing class means
you lose out on easy attendance points, course lecture material that is
vital to successful performance on quizzes and exams, in-class quizzes,
in-class assignments, and valuable discussion with peers.
2. Be on time for your own benefit and out of
consideration for others–the disruptions you cause by coming in late
affect everyone (in economics, we call such impacts negative
externalities). Similarly, if you know you will have to leave
before class ends, then sit by the door to minimize disruptions and
interruptions for your classmates that will occur if you don’t sit near
the door and have to stomp over the top of them and/or parade across
the front of the room as you exit (furthermore, I would appreciate if
you would kindly mention your need to leave to me before class starts).
3. Having to get up and leave in the middle of class
in the case of an emergency is one thing, but DO NOT make it a habit to
wander into and out of lecture–this is rude and disruptive behavior
that causes a NEGATIVE impact on your fellow classmates and makes your
instructor grumpy. Being asked to work with a neighbor or in a
group should NOT be interpreted as a signal that you have a free pass
to get up and leave class.
4. KEEP UP--the materials build as the semester
progresses--very few students can succeed by just studying the night
before the exam. You have many opportunities for working on
sample quiz and exam questions between formal MyEconLab homework
assignments, MyEconLab study plan materials, non-MyEconLab in-class and
homework assignments, graded multiple choice quiz questions, and other
practice materials I make available. Students who perform at the
top of the class generally are the ones who diligently work on these
practice materials and ask questions as they go about what they
discover they don’t understand as well as they thought they did.
5. Take excellent class notes–write out explanations
and examples of the concepts covered rather than just copying down the
definitions or graphs–this will help you immensely as you work on
assignments and as you study for quizzes and exams. Additionally,
look over your class notes and text readings before (yes, I said
before!) coming to class–for each section of notes, go back and think
how you can reorganize them so they make sense to you (students have
found that making flow diagrams can help connect the material in a
personally meaningful way).
6. Make use of office hours–clear up questions as
they arise and are fresh on your mind... generally students find I am
friendly and helpful in office hours, and the additional one-on-one
attention does wonders for truly comprehending the material.
7. Realize at the outset that you may have really
buckle down and approach studying for this class differently.
This class will require much more than basic memorization and
regurgitation of definitions. This class has the reputation of
being “hard” for a reason. Merely showing up every day for class
is likely to be insufficient to secure an “A” or even a “B” letter
grade. You should plan on allocating time outside of class to
working on practice problems from MyEconLab and the textbook well
beyond any formal homework assignments. Historically
undergraduate students have been advised time and again to plan on
spending 3 hours studying outside of class for every hour of official
class time....
8. Expect that we virtually always will have class
every day and that we virtually always will stay the entire length of
class. Class time is a mixture of lecture/note taking, in-class
problem solving, application exercises to news and pop cultural print
and visual media sources, and peer discussion.
9. Cell phone/MP3/iPod/related devices: double check and make
sure
that they are turned off before class starts. Furthermore, they
are to be turned off and placed completely out of sight during all
quizzes and exams.
10. Just as you expect to be treated with respect,
remember to treat your fellow students and me with the same high level
of respect.
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