presentation copyright ©1997, 1998, 1999 by Barry and Deborah Brownstein Getting Started With Econ 640

Prologue l “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

Learning Is A Discovery Process n "The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost."- Albert Einstein n "Few things are as potentially difficult, frustrating, or frightening as genuine learning, yet nothing is so rewarding and empowering." n You can never completely understand anything.

About Memorization “The economic value of memorization as a skill will fall while the importance of synthesis and creative application of material will rise."- James Davidson "

n knowledge: rote memorization n comprehend: summarize n application: give an example n analyze: distinguish key elements n synthesize: combine, compose something new n evaluation: capacity to make it your own Taxonomy of Learning Objectives

Pedagogical Considerations l Course is designed to be a rigorous and intellectually stimulating graduate education experience. l Books and readings have been carefully selected to expose students to the works of original thinkers. Thus students grow in their capacity to analyze, synthesize and apply original works. l All writing assignments, group dialogues, lectures, class and web-board discussion are designed to facilitate this learning process.

On Listening n " To be a good listener, you have to forgo your own ego and put the other person first. You have to shut off the talking inside your own head."- Wall Street Journal, July 10, 1997 n Listen for what you don’t know n Do not listen to fit the speaker’s words to what you know already or do not listen just to respond.

Nobody knows as much as everybody and everybody knows very little.

About Dialogue "The difference between most conversation and true dialogue is purpose. If the purpose is to help other people get clear about their own thoughts and to get clear about your own, then true dialogue can happen... This conversation is a discovery process...when I truly listen to you I may begin to see things I didn't know I knew."- -Michael O'Brien

What Econ 640 Can Do For You l Students will take with them a framework that is useful in understanding markets, useful in management and useful in professional development l Exposure to state of the art management techniques as an application of the economic framework l Improved general conceptual abilities l Improved ability to dialogue

Econ 640- What It Covers (a partial list) n spontaneous vs. planned orders n property rights and markets n using dispersed knowledge n the role of the entrepreneurial discovery process n formal vs. substantive regulations n applications: – international trade – environmental policy – telecommunications – health care policy

Barry Brownstein Pages l l available at this site: –lecture slides –useful links and new information

Web-Board Discussion l on brof.nsf on brof.nsf l You may respond to a thread (topic) or create a new one at any time l Your username is your first name followed by your last name (e.g. Barry Brownstein) l Your password is the last four digits of your social security number

Consider Posting To The Web-Board l Questions- e.g. I don’t understand the quote…on page 63. l Interpretations- e.g. To me this means, I see how these points are related l Examples- from work, from current events l As in your group work I will be monitoring the discussion but not responding directly l Have respect for dialogue as a learning device