Principles of Economics

From February to May 2024, I taught Principles of Economics at St. Olaf College to two sections of students. Before this, I worked as a teaching assistant in designing an online version of the course at UMN in the Fall 2022 semester.

When I designed the course, I paid special attention to the before-class and after-class assignments to help students establish a consistent rhythm. Before classes, students would read a short article or a news piece related to the subject and briefly answer some reflection questions. In class, they spend 15 minutes working on a worksheet or on a team-based learning activity. After class, they work on more technical questions in the problem sets. Frequent assessments help to guide learning and are manageable for the students when the stakes are kept low, designated time in class is provided and they are posted on schedule.

The optional question posting and one-minute paper allow students to voice their needs, express their curiosity, and the joy of learning. They are easy to implement, non-stress for the students and help immensely in building rapport.