Agrawal Syllabus Fall 05 100B 1 Economics 100B Sections 108 and 109 Syllabus Macroeconomic Analysis, Fall 2005 GSI Contact Information David R. Agrawal Email: [email protected] Mailbox: 108 GSPP old building (mailboxes are above student lockers) Office: 508-7 Evans Office Hours: Monday from 2:30 to 4:30 Meeting Times Lecture: TTh from 3:30 to 5 in 155 Dwinelle Discussion Section 108: TTh from 1 to 2 in 45 Evans Discussion Section 109: TTh from 2 to 3 in 51 Evans Please attend the section that you are registered for on Tele-Bears. Administrative Information This syllabus is not the Professor’s course syllabus. Consult the course syllabus on the web at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~chad/e100b_f05/econ100b2005.html. Note your requirements for the course: “Your responsibilities are to attend and participate in lecture three hours per week; attend and participate in section two hours per week; complete the assigned readings in a timely manner (allowing time to re-read difficult chapters); participate in class and in section; complete all assignments on time; and take two midterms and a final….” Section Details You have two required meetings per week for this course. In general, I will spend one of those meetings going over the problem set from the week before and answering any questions you may have. For the other meeting, I will come prepared with lecture and discussion material of my own. I will cover topics I feel will be helpful to your understanding of Professor Jones’ lectures, the readings, or applications. Sessions not devoted to reviewing the problem sets may clarify some of the material Prof. Jones’ covered in lecture, covering material Prof. Jones’ did not get a chance to cover, engaging in a discussion of examples / applications, or going over something IAgrawal Syllabus Fall 05 100B 2 think would be interesting, among other possibilities. Occasionally, Prof. Jones may have specific things he will ask me to cover in section. You are strongly encouraged to read the news. Feel free to share any examples of macroeconomics in discussion section or to ask questions about how they relate to the course. Try to find one article per week that relates to the macroeconomics we are studying and bring this article to class. By doing this, the theories learned in class will become more tangible to you and I think this will help you understand the material. Do not purchase a subscription, but rather take advantage of the online news. I suggest the following as good sources of economic news: http://www.economist.com http://www.wsj.com http://www.nytimes.com http://www.washingtonpost.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/. Teaching Strategies Given diverse learners, my teaching philosophy seeks to integrate a variety of teaching methods: lectures, applications, discussions, problem workshops, group work, and the Socratic Method. Since I will not simply lecture, please come prepared to section – complete the readings, bring copies of problem set answers, and bring your textbook. Most importantly, come prepared to participate and engage yourself with the material. During discussions, students should be conscious of how frequently they are talking so as not to dominate the discussion. If you are nervous or shy about participating in class, feel free to see me in office hours so we can discuss how to make the section more comfortable for your full participation. Different people have different ways of participating, all of which are valid: active listening, thoughtful preparation, sharing a well-formulated idea, helping a classmate understand a concept, coming to office hours, or bringing news articles to class. For my own reference, I will take attendance in section to see any potential problems. Problem Sets There will be weekly problem sets that will be graded. In accordance with the syllabus, “Late problem sets will not be accepted. Instead, we will drop your two lowest problem set scores when computing your course grade. Problem sets must be handed directly to your graduate student instructor. Problem sets should not be left in GSI mailboxes…. You are encouraged to form study groups for the purpose of learning the course material. BUT you cannot use those study groups to submit collective answers to the assigned problems. Doing so constitutesAgrawal Syllabus Fall 05 100B 3 cheating. Copying problem set answers warrants a mark of zero (0) on the problem set. And it harms you in the long run because you will not learn the material.” I will grade problem sets out of 10 points. I will give some minor indication of what is wrong when I mark off points, but I will not indicate the correct solution; solution sets will be posted online. I, along with all 100B GSI’s, will assign problem set points based on the following determined scale: 10 = Everything correct 9 = A few very minor mistakes 8 = Solid work with some mistakes 7 = Below average 5 = Half right, half wrong 2 = Very little right 0 = Nothing right or failed to turn in. Even though we will drop the lowest two scores for problem sets, I encourage students to complete every problem set. This will help you in the long-term and on the exams. Re-Grading If you feel I have incorrectly marked your problem set, let me know. However, all requests for re-grades must be made to me in writing. You must justify your grievance and why it deserves a second look in writing, and submit it within one week. Students with Disabilities If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class or in my office. Academic Honesty Any test, paper, or report submitted by you and that bears your name is presumed to be your own original work that has not previously been submitted for credit in another course unless you obtain prior written approval to do so from your instructor. In all of your assignments, including your homework or drafts of papers, you may use words or ideas written by other individuals in publications, Web sites, or other sources, but only withAgrawal Syllabus Fall 05 100B 4 proper attribution. “Proper attribution” means that you have fully identified the original source and extent of your use of the words or ideas of others that you reproduce