Questions You Asked and Answers You Need

Question:

Should I buy the required text?

Answer:

Yes.  All graded activities are based on the text.  All posted lecture materials are based on the text.

Question:

Should I read the syllabus?

Answer:

Yes.  It has a lot of information that repeatedly will be of use throughout the course and does not appear here, under Questions and Answers.

Question:

Should I try to do the MC quizzes with the assistance of classmates or friends?

Answer:

Yes.  Some students with very tight schedules prefer to work alone.  Other students like to work and learn in a group context.

Question:

Should I attend the Supplemental Instruction session:

Answer:

Yes.  It will boost your grade (see attached summary report).  Also check the study sessions link under Supplemental Instruction in the Message Box under Important Dates.

Question:

I would like to see the following question discussed in class.

I would like to see the following question discussed in class
Comments
View chart of frequency of questions asked.

Step 1:  go to the class homepage.
Step 2:  click on important dates.
Step 3:  have your printed MC quiz handy.
Step 4:  identify the question you want to see discussed in class.

Step 4a:  enter the number of that question.
Step 4b:  type in any additional comments or other questions you may have.

Step 5:  click the send button

Note:  your message will be forwarded as an anonymous message to me, via the Econ. Dept. server.

Step 6:  see what questions your classmates have been asking.  They are tabulated as a bar chart or histogram (see the questions for chapter 15, last semester).  Which questions do you think students want to see discussed in class?

How to do the MC Quiz

Question:

I am a student in your Econ 102 class, and I had a question about the MC quizzes.  I know that you said that we will go over some of the more difficult questions during the lab class times.  Should I wait until we get some of those answers before taking the quiz or do you want us to have the quiz completed before we go over some of the answers during the lab?

Answer:

Print the quiz.  Then try to figure out the answers by reading the text.  On some questions you may be in doubt as to whether you have the correct answer or possibly you may have doubts as to whether you even understand the question.  Mark that question on your printed quiz with a question mark.  At this point you might go to important dates and information me via the anonymous e-mail send button that you want to see this question discussed in class during the last lecture before the quiz is due.  You may also contact any one of the TA's directly, by phone, or by simply going to the Help Room in Heady 178 or by sending your preferred TA an e-mail message informing her/him that you are going to come see her/him with respect to questions with which you need assistance.  My advice is to come to the scheduled in-class lab (see important dates).  At the beginning of the lab period we will distribute the answers to the 15 questions "voted" as being most in need of being discussed by students like yourself who have sent me anonymous e-mail messages when running into troubles while doing the quiz.  I know from past experience that it takes about six minutes to work out a detailed and satisfactory answer to a single MC question.  If we were to do 15 questions then we would need 90 minutes.  However, we only have 50 minutes, enough for (50/6)=8 questions.  It is important for students to fully understand and to be able to solve the more difficult questions, because the degree of difficulty on the midterm and final will reflect the topic and degree of difficulty of the questions solved in class.

By the end of the lab session you should be able to fill out the answers to the MC quiz with confidence, not only being sure about most of the answers but also as to why those answers are the correct answers.

Finally obtain a blank score sheet.  Read the instructions on the first page of the quiz.  Submit the filled out score sheet by the respective Friday 5 pm deadline.

Bubble sheets

Question:

Where do we get the bubble sheets?  And what do I do now?

Answer:

Question:

Is it important for me to identify my submitted work?

Answer:

Yes.  Please follow the instructions (see below).

Instructions:

This is the on-line Multiple Choice Quiz for Chapter 4.  Please do the following:

Step 1:  Go to the special codes section on your score sheet

Step 2:  Enter your university identification number, using numbers and corresponding bubbles.

Step 3:  Enter your name, using letters and corresponding bubbles.

Step 4:  Answer all 35 questions.

Step 5:  Check the important dates link on the class homepage for the availability and closing dates for the successive on-line multiple choice quizzes.

Step 6:  Hand in your score sheets in class, to your TA's or to myself, in class, or outside my office, Heady 281, no later than the posted closing date and hour (5 p.m.).

We will use the following grading scale:
A = 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30
B = 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24
C = 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18
D = 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12
F = less than 12

Note:  All MC quizzes will be discussed in detail in class prior to the posted Friday 5 p.m. closing date and hour.  Bring your printed test and score sheet to that class session for that purpose.

How to do the Aplia quiz

Exams

Question:

When are the exams?

Answer:

Midterm Exam

Carver 0001, Friday, February 25

Covers chapters 4, 6, 10.  Approximately 40 MC questions.  Similar, but not identical, to the Homework questions.  No texts.  No notes.  No crib sheets.  No quizzes.  Bring your university ID.  Only one make up exam per student per semester.

Final Exam

Carver 0001, Monday, May 2, 9:45-11:45 a.m.

Covers chapters 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15.  Approximately 80 MC questions.  No texts.  No notes.  No crib sheets.  No quizzes.  Bring your university ID.  No earlier than scheduled exam dates for individual students.

Roll Calls

Question:

I would like to see this question addressed:  roll calls.  I was wondering about the attendance, and if you had figured out how it is going to work and when or what day do you think that will start being taken?

Answer:

Throughout the semester we will take nine roll calls, i.e. not quite once weekly.  The first roll call is scheduled for Wednesday, February 2.  At that time you will be asked to fill out the form below, as distributed and collected in class.

       

Roll Call

Econ 102
Section 1 or 3

       
                   
     

Date

 

      
     
Month
Day
      
     

 

        
                   
                   
Last Name  
University ID
 

First letter
of last name

 
Registered in section
   
5 digits
4 digits
     
1
  
3
                   

             ↑
NO MISTAKES PLEASE

Results will be tabulated, recorded and posted by the T.A. distributing and collecting the roll call forms. One student, one filled out roll call.

Grades

Question:

I would like to see this question addressed in class:  Where and when are grades posted?

Answer:

Where:  click on the grades link on the class home page.

When:  the grades for the MC Quiz on Chapter 4 will be posted by Friday, January 28.  Subsequent grades will be posted usually within one week after having been submitted.  Accepted late submittals or make up grades will be posted off schedule; i.e. at no easily predictable date. The grades on the Aplia quizzes are immediately known to the student. They will subsequently be recorded and posted on the class homepage → grades → Aplia grades.

Question:

How do I calculate my grade?

Answer:

Question:

Should I try to get a good grade for all the 29 activities listed on the grade calculation worksheet?

Answer:

Yes.  We do not eliminate your lowest two grades.  We do not adjust your grade relative to that of your classmates.  We do not grade on the curve.  What you get out of this course, in terms of a good grade, is in your own hands.  Students that do not like economics may have to work a little harder to get a good grade.  Anybody who takes the course can get a good grade, if they want to do so.