Spring 2006 - Economics 302: Intermediate Macroeconomics
Prof. Donald Nichols
Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:15
Soical Sciences 5106
Contact Info
Office: 6435 Social Sciences
Phone: 263-3873
Email: radunn@wisc.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:20-3:20 and Thursday 2:20-3:20
I will be the TA for the following discussion sections:
Thursday
Thursday
Friday
Friday
Friday
1:20pm
3:30pm
8:50am
12:05pm
1:20pm
55 Bascom Hall
4314 Social Sciences
6322 Social Sciences
123 Ingraham
6224 Social Sciences
This page will include links to websites or information I mention in discussion. For information about the course in general, please refer to the course homepage.
Course Expectations
To avoid future confusion and potential ill-will, it is important that you understand my expectations as your teaching assistant.
I believe that discussion sections offer an opportunity to interact with the material in a completely different manner than you would in a lecture. Instead of passively processing the material, I want to assist you in actively engaging the topics we cover. It is my goal that by the end of the semester, you have a greater appreciation of what economists do, how we think, what tools we use, and how we address phenomena.
The first step is learning to ask challenging questions, which I find is a more valuable education than memorizing generic answers. I will routinely ask you to rebuild models from scratch, leading you with appropriate questions. At times, this can be frustrating for both of us, but understanding how an economist constructs a solution through questioning is a skill every economics major must possess.
Unlike English or Philosophy, Economics tests your knowledge of the material through problem sets. Although the format is different, I expect the same care to be taken on your problem sets and assignments as a Philosophy professor would expect on a paper or a Chemistry professor would expect with a lab notebook. Your work must be well-organized and neat. If it is on multiple pages, it must be stapled. It must be handed in on-time in the proper place. The paper should not be creased or have coffee stains. This is your work, a representation of your thoughts, and I expect you to take pride in it. Failure to do so will result in a lower grade on the assignment.
Additionally, I have zero-tolerance for cheating, and I catch more than a handful of people each semester who nonetheless attempt to copy or plagarize. Do not cheat, you will get caught and you will be punished.
Finally, I think it is important to remember my role. I am a teacher and my energy is dedicated to discovering new and better ways to present the material. I enjoy developing new examples--some stylized and some from the "real world"--that illustrate the practical (and occasionally impractical) applications of what you are learning. I also attempt to respond to all appropriate emails between 24 and 48 hours after I receive them. Concomitantly, I am not a secretary. It is your responsibility to know when assignments are due, when exams are held, to get classnotes when you have missed lecture, etc. Emails of this variety will be ignored.
