On My Website, I Teach Economics, Not Algebra and Calculus

Publication: Journal of Economic Education

Volume: 36, No. 3

Issue: Summer 2005

Page: 305

Author(s): John D. Hey

Address (Principal Author):

John D. Hey
Department of Economics

University of York
Heslington, York
North Yorkshire YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
 

Internet Address (Principal Author): jdh1@york.ac.uk

Title: On My Website, I Teach Economics, Not Algebra and Calculus

URL: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~jdh1/JEE/index.htm

Descriptive Note:

 

The presentation on the University of York website is designed to show instructors the power of a graphical approach to the teaching of intermediate microeconomics, in a way that is not possible in the author’s Journal of Economic Education article that described his course. The Website contains 11 examples of the type of animated graphics that can be used to teach economics. The presentation could usefully be viewed in conjunction with the journal article.

 

The philosophy behind this course is related to the observation that most people learn to drive without knowing how the engine works. In a similar vein, the author believes that one can learn economics without knowing the algebra and calculus underlying the results. If instructors follows the philosophy of other economics courses in using graphs to illustrate the results, and if the graphs are drawn accurately, then they can teach economics with virtually no algebra or calculus. The author’s intermediate micro course is taught using mathematical software that does the mathematics, and that draws accurate (and often animated) graphs from which students can see the key results. Eleven of these graphs are now available on the Website. Instructors can show them in class as an aid to teaching the concepts, and ask students to use them to review the course material. Instructors using the Website might usefully back up this no-algebra no-calculus approach with tutorial exercises in which students do economics and with exams that require no knowledge of algebra and calculus. The students end up feeling the economics, rather than fearing the algebra and the calculus.

 

 

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