Brookline High School
EVERYDAY ECONOMICS FOR TEACHERS
A dedicated and enthusiastic group of elementary, middle and high school teachers from Brookline, Massachusetts recently completed the “Everyday Economics” Teacher Summer Institute. This intensive professional development program for teachers was held at Brookline High School for 5 days, June 28 – July 2, 2010, from 9:00 am-3:30 pm. Participants had a chance to earn PDP’s or 3 graduate credits through Bridgewater State College.
The primary goals of this institute were to provide content training for Brookline teachers in the three main areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics and to provide pedagogical training that will enhance and stimulate creative, hands-on teaching approaches in their own classrooms. The teacher-participants subsequently developed their own lesson plans and shared these ideas with other teachers within the Brookline school system.
The Institute provided up-to-date content and teaching methodology in economic education, using online resources, short DVD clips, case studies, lesson plan demonstrations, and directed reading. Emphasis was on building participants’ economic and financial literacy skills through a variety of hands-on activities. Teachers were encouraged to find innovative ways to implement these content ideas into their classrooms so that students will have a better understanding of everyday economic decisions and about the economy itself.
The materials presented were consistent with the Massachusetts state curriculum framework for social studies, which states: “Citizens in our society need to understand the current condition of the world and how it got that way, and be prepared to act upon the challenges to democracy in our own day. What are the roots of our current dangers, and of the choices before us? For intelligent citizenship, we need a thorough grasp of the daily workings of our own societies, as well as the societies of our friends and our adversaries, and of those who live amid poverty and violence, with little freedom and little hope.”
Teachers understood the importance for Massachusetts students be aware of how the economy influences our everyday lives, how the business cycle has impacts on businesses and communities, and how the economy of the United States economy is influenced by monetary and fiscal policies, and by its economic interactions with the rest of the world. This Summer Institute provided participants with the chance to develop their knowledge of economic theory in each of these areas and greater confidence to bring these concepts to their students. In turn, their students will be better prepared to make informed decisions throughout life, even in the face of changing economic and financial environments.
Institute staff
Co-Directors
Dr. Geoff Tegnell, K-8 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Dr. Gary Shiffman, 9-12 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Public Schools of Brookline
Instructor – Dr. Margaret Brooks
President, Massachusetts Council on Economic Education
Professor and Chair of Economics, Bridgewater State College
Academic Staff
Dr. Ilter Bakkal, Economics Professor, Bridgewater State College
Dr. Dorothy Siden, Chair and Professor of Economics, Salem State College
Mr. George Scott Guild, Director of Economic Education, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Teaching Consultants
Ms. Joan Wool and Ms. Jean Boucher
Day #1 Microeconomics Monday June 28
9:00am Introductions; Overview; State of economic education in Massachusetts
10:00am Resource scarcity and consumer choices by Margaret Brooks
11:00am Supply and demand; Price and income elasticities by Dorothy Siden
12:00pm Lunch
12:30pm Financing your Future DVD lessons by Joan Wool from Marshfield High
3:30pm Closure
Day #2 Microeconomics Tuesday June 29
9:00am Profit maximization and cost minimization by Margaret Brooks
10:00am Market structures, business case studies, and environment by Ilter Bakkal
12:00pm Lunch
12:30pm Incorporating entrepreneurship into the classroom by Jean Bouchard, certified Mini-Society trainer
3:30pm Closure
Day #3 Macroeconomics Wednesday June 30
9:00am Defining and measuring GDP by Margaret Brooks
10:00am Understanding unemployment and inflation by Dorothy Siden
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Lesson modeling by Joan Wool
3:30pm Closure
Day #4 Macroeconomics Thursday July 1
9:00am Government spending, taxes, and budgets by Margaret Brooks
10:00am Money and monetary policy by Ilter Bakkal
12:00pm Lunch
1:00 pm Lesson modeling and lesson plan development by Gary Shiffman and Geoff Tegnell
3:30pm Closure
Day #5 International Economics Friday July 2
9:00am International economics overview, Comparative advantage by Margaret Brooks
10:00am The Federal Reserve and project-based learning including International Economic Summit and Euro Challenge by George Scott Guild
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Lesson plan presentation by teacher-participants
3:30pm Closure
Brookline Teachers Participating in the 2010 Summer Institute
Geoff Tegnell, Scott Guild, Gary Shiffman
