tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7901702614466053583.post7821487621812410475..comments2015-12-11T22:02:53.630-08:00Comments on John Hicks Econ 490: ReflectionsJohn Hicks ECON 490http://www.blogger.com/profile/00134587051000839135noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7901702614466053583.post-28064739859538130882015-12-11T22:02:53.630-08:002015-12-11T22:02:53.630-08:00Sorry again for the principal- agent mistake again...Sorry again for the principal- agent mistake again, I don't know why I can't seem to remember that.<br /><br />I definitely agree, I feel like when I was writing to learn, I was able to make it up as I went along but voicing it was rather awkward. If I evaluated myself harshly I think that is just a function of me being unfamiliar with the blog setting.<br /><br />With regards to the excel homework, I completely understand the issue and why giving the homework before would push students to actually use the book. I just think that even a slight preview of the material would help because sometimes I found some of the main concepts were missing from the homework that would have helped in completing the homework. The excel homeworks were generally not that bad though so it isn't necessary. <br /><br />Finally, with respect to the lectures I think they would just help for students to take notes. Your lecture style is very loose and made taking notes hard. I think a powerpoint would just help us to stay on track with notes so that we had a better idea of the main points of the lecturesJohn Hicks ECON 490https://www.blogger.com/profile/00134587051000839135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7901702614466053583.post-67601617670353994372015-12-08T08:54:09.284-08:002015-12-08T08:54:09.284-08:00One pain point for me - It is principal-agent, not...One pain point for me - It is principal-agent, not principle-agent. <br /><br />On the rest of what you said and that the blogging was a challenge, I have two reactions. The first is that is how real learning works. It doesn't just fall into your lap every time. Some things are a struggle. You have to keep working on them. That is how you improve. And for the most part your posts were coherent and interesting to read. So you may be evaluating yourself a bit harshly here, focusing more on the process than on the product. The other point is writing to learn (which is what the blogging was meant to be) versus writing to communicate prior thinking that happened elsewhere. Writing to learn is like making it up as you go along. It is really quite natural to do that, but it may not be very natural to make those thoughts public. That does take some getting used to.<br /><br />On the Excel homework and then what you said about lectures, there is a chicken and egg problem - where do you first get exposed to the ideas and then how do go from first exposure to more of an in depth understanding of the idea. In the traditional approach that you described, where the instructor has a very structured PowerPoint to go through in class, my sense is that many students use that as their first exposure to the ideas and then don't get much farther with that particular subject matter. In other words, they don't slug through the textbook ahead of the lecture. So my approach did ask that students figure out more things on their own ahead of class. Without a lot of practice doing so, that could easily make you feel uncomfortable. Professor Arvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15256000730474030475noreply@blogger.com