Economics and Crises: Teaching my first general education course (Part 1)

This semester I am teaching a course in the Roanoke College Intellectual Inquiry curriculum (the name of our general education program.)  My course is titled INQ 260EC Economics and Crises. All students must take two of the INQ 260 courses, as required by the general education curriculum. These courses focus on teaching social science methodology and require significant writing. My course was approved by the Faculty last spring and I am teaching it for the first time this semester.

Given this is my first time teaching a course outside of the Economics Program I am a bit anxious, but I thought that I would create a series of blog posts about its progress for my pedagogy pals and for my future reference.

This post will focus on the content and purpose of the course with some specific comments about the first week (last week.)

The INQ 260 courses focus on a question and teach social science methodology from the perspective of the faculty member.  I proposed my course (and it was accepted) as one that investigates how economists study crises. These crises include poverty, war, natural disaster and may vary from semester to semester depending on current events.  Each semester, I pick a country and a data set to focus daily lectures and lessons and from which students will frame their semester research project.

This semester I am using Nepal with a focus on the devastation created by the April 25, 2015 earthquake.  Nepal is ripe with other crises for students to study as well, including poverty, violence against women, and child health issues. 

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) began the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program in 1984 which conducts surveys in developing countries that focus on women and children's issues like fertility, family planning, and health.  Currently there are five DHS data sets available for Nepal, including the 2015-2016 survey which was completed after the earthquake. The DHS data sets are commonly used in the development and health economics literature, and the data sets pertaining to Nepal will be the primary data resources for my course.  As a complement to the DHS data, the program offers STATcompiler which is how my students, with no required statistics background, will create visual analytics for their research project.

This semester, we will cover the steps of the research process including:
1) Creating a research question and hypothesis
2) Conducting a literature review
3) Using and analyzing data to address the research question
4) Interpreting the results
5) Using the results to frame policy

The end result is an original research paper for each student based upon the question they devise in the first few weeks.

Want to know more about the course details? You can see my syllabus here and lecture slides from Lecture 1 and Lecture 2. 

So far students have selected broad research topics which we will narrow this week. Students began selecting their broad topic after Lectures 1 and 2 (provided above) and with the help of the summary of key findings from the 2015 DHS-Nepal.  I am pleased with the range of issues students have selected:

A few additional notes on the first week:
1) Of the 25 students, 22 are women! Given I teach economics, this ratio is usually the reverse.
2) The students come from many different majors, although a few are economics majors and are using the course as an elective in our major.
3) Encouragingly, I had 100% attendance both days of class last week.
4) Following #3, everyone did their reading and were ready for discussion (yes, only one week in, but still, YAY!)
5) Again per #3, students selected broad topics for the semester project on Thursday and each student worked diligently to make their choice.

Each week or so I will provide updates for those interested in pedagogy.  The updates will also help me formulate a pedagogy manuscript after the semester is over.  I would love to hear your feedback.

Thanks,

Venting and a (legal) product testimonial

Recently I have made several social media posts about the frustration that masters athletes, including myself, have with the rise of doping amongst older athletes. While legal in some respects, many prescribed anti-aging tools, such as testosterone and human growth hormone, are considered illegal by USATF/WADA and other athletic governing bodies because of their performance enhancing capabilities. I suspect that some who use these products and compete justify the use since it is 1) prescribed by a doctor or 2) the Rx is "just leveling the playing field" for them. And getting a TUE for competition...you know what you are doing is wrong and you are using the system to get around it.

Our health and abilities depreciate as we age (the health economist had to enter at some point), and pure athletes (for lack of a better term) must adjust training regimens. Currently I am running quite well for me and believe that I have several PRs left in me ranging from the 1500 meters to marathon. To get to those PRs, however, I must respect my age and body and modify my training accordingly. I cannot run over 100 miles a week as I did when I was in my 20s and 30s since it takes longer for me to recover at age 42. I can't hammer every run. (You are right to be suspicious of 40+ year old athletes posting ridiculous training regimens on Strava. If it sounds "incredible" it is probably not credible.)

This season, which is focused on road and cross country races 5K and 6K in distance, I am consistently running over 50 miles a week and will approach 60 a few times in the next 4-6 weeks. To replace the aerobic work from the decreased running mileage, I swim several times a week. Not only does swimming provide excellent aerobic (and anaerobic when I do speed sessions) benefits, but the water and its weight provides a massaging effect which helps with recovery. 

Additionally, as an older athlete my recovery days must truly be recovery days. I take one day off completely from running. Some of my easy run days are at a 9:00 minute per mile pace or slower (something the younger me would have been ashamed of, but now I embrace with pride.) The little things are also increasingly important as we age: deep tissue massage, stretching, strength training, icing, diet, etc.

Per the diet, I do take some legal (in all respects) supplements, many produced by my long-time sponsor Hammer Nutrition. (NOTE: This is a testimonial. I am not a trained physician or nutritionist so do not take my testimonial as such.) One that I starting taking in the last year to help with recovery is Essential Mg, which is a magnesium supplement. Magnesium, an electrolyte, aids in many things including metabolism, muscle contraction, blood sugar regulation, and blood pressure normalization. I get plenty of magnesium through cashews and other foods, but the supplement brings me up a level as I hit my heavy training volumes. I take Hammer's Essential Mg each evening (one serving is 200 mg of magnesium) before bed. Without scientific evidence, and relying solely on anecdotal evidence, I have fewer sugar crashes on training runs, feel more energetic when I wake up in the morning, and am training on an overall high level for a 40+ year old female. Magnesium is not the only thing potentially causing this (see the "little things" above and my weekly training), but I believe it is a contributor. Like all of Hammer's products, Essential Mg is easy on the stomach. If you are looking for more information on the product, check out their web page.

Before signing off, to make sure that you are not accidentally taking a product that is banned by your athletic governing body, use the Global DRO site to check any Rx or supplement. (HINT: Magnesium is not a banned substance by WADA but HGH is!)

Mg is all good

HGH is not good at all

Hammer on,