Teaching Portfolio Dimitrios Nikolaou * The Ohio State University Contents Page Description of Teaching Responsibilities 1 Teaching Statement 3 Teaching Artifacts Rationale 5 Teaching Effectiveness 6 Professional Development 9 Appendix A – Teaching Material Examples 10 Appendix B – Student Evaluations 32 * Email: [email protected]; Department of Economics, The Ohio State University, Arps Hall 410, 1945 N. High St., Columbus, OH, 43210-1172.
Transcript
Teaching Portfolio
Dimitrios Nikolaou∗
The Ohio State University
Contents
Page
Description of Teaching Responsibilities 1
Teaching Statement 3
Teaching Artifacts Rationale 5
Teaching Effectiveness 6
Professional Development 9
Appendix A – Teaching Material Examples 10
Appendix B – Student Evaluations 32
∗Email: [email protected]; Department of Economics, The Ohio State University, Arps Hall 410, 1945 N. HighSt., Columbus, OH, 43210-1172.
Part I – Description of Teaching Responsibilities
Economics 201–Principles of MacroeconomicsAutumn 2009 : The Principles of Macroeconomics is a course that students take to fulfill theirgeneral education requirement with an average of 40-50 students per session. For this course I wasthe recitation leader for two sessions each taking place once a week for 48 minutes. I attended themain lecture twice a week and was responsible for reviewing the material covered during the lecture.I also facilitated the course instructor with administrative tasks, including creating problem setsand exam questions, reviewing the midterm and final exams before they were distributed to thestudents, proctoring the exams and grading. I was also in charge of assigning the final grade tothe students within my recitation sections based on their performance in the problem sets and theexams. I also held office hours to help students with their course-related questions. This coursewas my first experience at The Ohio State University as an instructor that greatly contributed todeveloping my presentation skills and making me more comfortable teaching in front of students.
Economics 367.02–Current Economic Issues in the United States Economics 515–World Economic Development in Historical PerspectiveWinter 2010 : The Current Economic Issues in the United States course is a general requirementwriting course attended by students from both economics and non-economics related departments,while the World Economic Development in Historical Perspective is an intermediate level coursefor students that major or minor in economics. The average enrollment for each of these courses isaround 40 students. In these two courses I was the teaching associate for the course instructor andI was responsible for grading the assignments and exams of the students. I was assigned to evaluateessay-type questions based on their structure, accuracy, completeness, and relevance to the coursematerial. I also facilitated the instructor with administrative tasks including proctoring the examsand assigning grades. This experience helped me develop into a fair grader as I would correct eachquestion across all students and apply exactly the same criteria when assigning a grade.
Economics 537–Middle Eastern Economic DevelopmentSpring 2010 : This course is jointly offered to the economics and the international studies depart-ment for students that pursue a major or a minor in economics. In each term approximately 40students register for it. In this course I assisted the course instructor with creating a test bank forthe course, grading the problem sets and exams, proctoring the exams and keeping track of thestudents’ attendance. I went over all the course material the instructor assigned to the student—including lecture notes, articles and textbook—and for each topic I created a number of multiplechoice, true or false statements, matching questions, short answer, definition and essay-type ques-tions. I also graded all the assignments and extracted the final grade to be assigned to each student.The most valuable aspect of this assignment was that it improved my homework, quiz and testcreation skills which were useful for my future role as an independent instructor.
Economics 200–Principles of MicroeconomicsSummer 2010, Summer 2011 : The Principles of Microeconomics is a course that most of mystudents (50 students for each summer quarter) took in order to fulfill their general educationrequirement and were mainly from non-economics related departments. Course content focuses onproviding an introduction to microeconomic issues and theory, and acquainting the students withthe main concepts of economics. In this course I served as an independent instructor teaching anhour and 48 minutes lecture section twice a week. I was responsible for all aspects of the coursefrom selecting the textbook and creating the syllabus, to constructing the problem sets and theexams, grading their assignments and assigning their final grades. I also held office hours (both
1
predetermined time slots and office hours after appointments), conducted review sessions outsidethe regular class time and proctored the exams. Because the majority of my students during thesesummer quarters were from non-economics department, teaching these courses helped me to developnew skills on how to address students with different academic backgrounds and on how to adjustmy teaching to the needs of the average and the higher achieving student.
Economics 580–Labor Economics and Industrial RelationsAutumn 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012 : The LaborEconomics course is an upper-level course for students who major primarily in economics and,secondarily, in business, finance, or math. The course content focuses on labor economics-relatedissues with the topics ranging from labor demand and labor supply to human capital models,efficiency wages and compensating wage differentials. In this course I served as an independentinstructor teaching an hour and 48 minutes lecture / discussion section twice a week. Across thetime period I have been teaching the course I have chosen different textbooks in an attempt tobetter serve the type of students enrolled in the course. I created biweekly assigned problem setsand short answer quizzes to ensure that my students had a good grasp of the material covered inclass and created my own exams. Though a grader was available for my course, I did all the gradingof the course assignments so as to keep track of how well my students understood the material. Iwas available to my students for any questions they may have had in the form of regularly scheduledoffice hours, appointments and e-mail communication. Apart from the lecture sessions, I also heldadditional review sessions before the exams to help my students with their exam preparation. Themajority of my students were economics majors or minors as this is an upper-level elective course.
Autumn 2012 : I redesigned the structure of the course this autumn to meet the needs of transition-ing from the quarter to the semester system. The content is similar to the one under the quartersystem. The main difference is that it is a 55-minute class taught three times a week. I adjustedthe structure of the course so that during the third meeting in every week we have a discussionabout application of the theory to current economic issues. Also, we spend more time for in-classactivities such as problem solving and group discussions. The Labor Economics course has beenmy most rewarding experience as an instructor as I have been able to adjust it to my own teachingstyle, apply all the tools I have learned during my previous teaching quarters and ultimately seemyself evolving into a better instructor.
Graduate Teaching FellowSummer 2011-Spring 2013 : As the Economic Department’s Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) mygoal is to improve upon the teaching quality of fellow graduate students and serve as a source ofinformation on teaching-related issues. Towards this end, I have organized several workshops toinform new and experienced TAs about strategies to enhance their teaching and reflect on theirexperiences in the classroom. For example, I organized a workshop on active learning so as tointroduce strategies to my fellow TAs on how to be more engaging teachers. I also facilitateda workshop on course design that covered anything from creating the syllabus and choosing thereadings for a brand new course to structuring the lectures and adopting activities to meet theinstructor’s learning objectives. Other workshops covered the quarter-to-semester conversion andhow to create an effective teaching portfolio. I also contributed to organizing the departmentalorientation program for the new second-year graduate students who would teach for the first timeand I trained them on using Carmen—the online system for posting assignments, course material,and grades—and on posting the official grades to the central system of the university. Finally,I conduct in-class observations for TAs who are interested in getting feedback on their teaching.
2
Typically, I will first meet with the instructor to find out more about his learning objectives andthe areas he is most concerned about, and then I attend the lecture paying particular attentionto the aspects of the teaching he is mostly interested in. I offer constructive criticism and suggeststrategies he could follow to improve upon these issues in a private environment and under completeconfidentiality. Overall, I serve as a less formal figure that helps TAs with any teaching issues (i.e.,creating a syllabus, ordering course textbooks, plagiarism, etc) they may come across the firsttime they are assigned to teach. This was one of the most valuable experiences I had as it helpedme realize that I should reflect upon my teaching and always seek new strategies to promote mystudents’ learning process.
Part II – Teaching Statement
My favorite classes as a student were the ones where the professor would not lecture all the time,but would take time to encourage critical thinking of the students. It turns out I benefited morefrom such classes that mingle different teaching methods and involve active participation of thestudents. Now that I am the one standing in front of students I want to offer similar opportunitiesto my students. My teaching philosophy is that students need to learn about economic conceptsnot in the form of memorization but in the form of understanding the course material; that I shouldfacilitate independent thinking by providing many opportunities for practicing and assimilating thecourse material using real-world examples; and that I should create a learning community withinthe classroom to motivate my students take responsibility for their own learning with out-of-classpreparation.
From my experience as a student, just plain exposition of theories and economic concepts is noteffective as the students tend to forget material that does not directly relate to their everydaylives. In order to facilitate a better understanding of how theory and real-world situations arelinked, before I proceed with the formal discussion of the underlying theory I try to open each classwith such questions that require my students to draw from personal experiences. For example,in my Labor Economics course before we discuss the human capital and the signaling models asexplanations for why different individuals pursue different educational levels, I ask them why theydecided to pursue a B.A. in economics; some mention that they are curious about economics andwant to learn more about it; others say that they continue in college to acquire more skills so asto have a better chance of finding a good job; others just say that they only want the degree toget higher wages. These responses are a good start for me to clarify the main difference betweenviewing education as an investment that leads to skill accumulation and viewing education as ameans of signaling to potential employers that they are the higher ability workers. At the end ofthe lecture I will occasionally hear them whispering “I guess I am the human capital model guy”or “I am definitely the signaling type”.
I am aware that economics can be a challenging field for some of my students because it calls fora combination of complex theoretical concepts and use of math. Because I genuinely care abouttheir progress I work patiently towards helping my students with their potential struggles, and Ialways encourage them to visit me during my office hours or by appointment to go over parts ofthe material that they have concerns about. And my students have acknowledged my patience andmy willingness to clarify their questions as I consistently get the comment that I go “above andbeyond to help them without being condescending”.
Because of these challenges, I structure my courses to provide plenty of opportunities for practicingand assimilating the course material. The first classes during the week focus on presenting new
3
theoretical concepts. During these classes I seek for their active participation by asking themquestions on recurring concepts that we have covered in previous classes or asking for their intuitionon new concepts. It is characteristic that, in each semester, the first time I ask a question onlya few students will respond, if any. In order to make clear my intention to promote independentthinking I will not proceed with the next part of the lecture until someone responds. Even thoughthere can be a moment of silence, by repeating the question, rephrasing it and giving clues on howto start thinking about it gradually more and more students start engaging in the process. I alwaystell them that they should try to answer a question even if the answer is not completely right asmaking mistakes is part of the learning process. With this strategy I endeavor to make my studentsrealize that I am there to help them with their learning, and that thinking independently is crucialto learning and expanding their horizons.
Building on this strategy I usually devote the last class every week for in-class solving of practiceproblems. These are problems that are directly related to the theoretical concepts we have cov-ered during the lectures and the goal is to provide some practice for understanding how theoryand real world situations are related. Because I want to motivate my students to start thinkingindependently, I give these practice problems ahead of time and ask them to think how they wouldapproach each problem. When we come in class, I am just a facilitator as I will stand in frontof the blackboard and write down different ideas the students have come up with. From time totime we will have two contradictory views about solving a problem. Instead of just giving the rightanswer we vote as a class which one is the best approach and then I proceed with explaining withwhy this is the case. The rationale for allowing my students to take charge of the classroom is thatit will create a sense of community which will, in turn, create an environment more conducive tolearning. At the same time, by not feeding them with answers I try to demonstrate that learningis on their own hands. These practice problems contribute to the assimilation of complex economicconcepts in a more relaxed classroom environment. Because of my belief that only if my studentsspend time on the material solving problems on the topics we have covered they will get a bettergrasp of the material, I design the homework questions to further challenge them to think about theunderlying theories and develop their intuition. Although my students mention that the problemsets are difficult, they also acknowledge that they “are fair and appreciate the challenge”.
I am able to assess the success of these teaching methods through one-on-one interactions with mystudents and more formal feedback in the form of mid- and end-of-term evaluations. I use everypiece of information from this feedback to reflect on my teaching, adjust my teaching methods andenhance my effectiveness from one term to the next. For example, some of my students asked formore examples that would clarify the necessity of using math. After these meetings, I adjusted mylecture notes to include extra practice problems that specifically addressed the theory-math skillsrelationship and asked them to solve them on their own before we go over their solutions in class.This change helped my students realize how theory goes hand-in-hand with mathematical skillsand it also complemented my teaching objective of instilling on my students that learning is ontheir own hands as learning happens both inside and outside the classroom.
One of the most rewarding moments as an instructor is when my students give me updates abouttheir progress after they are done with my course. I will always remember my Labor Economicsstudent who ran out of a restaurant she was dining with her mother to come and talk to me. Shewanted to thank me because the course she took with me was one of the most helpful and interestingones during her undergraduate studies. I was surprised, yet excited, to hear her positive commentsbecause she was not one of my best performing students. I get the same excitement when students
4
stop by my office or e-mail me to inform me about their intentions to continue into graduate studiesor that they have already been accepted to a university to further their education. These are theinstances when I know that I have contributed to some extent to my students’ success. It is thecombination of the interpersonal relationships I develop as a teacher with my students and thesatisfaction I derive from having successful students that motivate me to put the maximum effortin my teaching and keep constantly improving and educating my students.
Part III – Teaching Artifacts Rationale
The syllabus is always the first piece of teaching material the students will get from me. Thisis what they will use to get a general idea about what this class is about and form expectationsabout the semester we will be together. For example, when I redesigned the Labor Economics tomatch my own teaching style, I kept in mind my former students’ feedback from when I was arecitation leader as well as my personal experiences during my undergraduate studies. Some of theaspects I wanted to incorporate in my course directly relate to my teaching philosophy: facilitateindependent thinking, provide many opportunities for comprehension of the course material insteadof regurgitation and provide real-world examples. Everything I include in my syllabus aims ataddressing each of these goals. Having a comprehensive syllabus is pivotal to a smooth semesterwithout any misunderstandings about the responsibilities of the students and my duties as aninstructor. I try to be as straightforward about all the course requirements as possible during thefirst day of class since the syllabus is the contract between my students and me that we are bothbound to honor. By explicitly stating the due dates of the problem sets, the days of the exams andthe requirements to claim any bonus points I guarantee that all students will be treated equallyand no exceptions will be made on personal basis.
A second piece of teaching materials are the homework problems. I design these problems in anattempt to examine both basic concepts my students have been taught during the lecture andmore complicated concepts that require the use of their analytical skills. I always create homeworkquestions that are more challenging compared to what the students will encounter in an actualin-class exam because this gives them a great opportunity to explore more in-depth the materialwithout worrying about the time constraints imposed by an official course examination. Due tothe fact that different students will think about a problem in a different way, I encourage mystudents to form study groups where they can discuss their ideas about each problem and evensolve them jointly, but I request that each student will submit his own work to ensure that thereis no free-riding. Although some students initially complain that the homeworks are too difficultthey appreciate the challenge and they also “value the importance of developing problem solvingskills”, especially when they encounter an exam question that requires some of the skills they usedduring their homework solving process. I assign homeworks biweekly to encourage my studentsto start working on the problems as soon as possible. After each lecture I mention which of thequestions they can tackle on their own allowing them to apply what we learned in class. This is agood practice for them and relates to my attempt to make them realize that learning takes placenot only in class but also outside the classroom as they need to take responsibility for their ownlearning.
A third part of my teaching materials are pop-quizzes. I design the pop-quizzes both for mystudents to get a sense of the material they should review and for me to pinpoint the material theyare struggling with as soon as possible. These quizzes are assigned approximately every two or threeclasses and include short answer questions covering the material we have covered in the previousclasses. Because the rationale behind these quizzes is to assess their understanding of the course
5
material their performance does not negatively affect their final course grade. However, because Iwant to induce them to exert some effort, keep on track with the material we cover in class, andalso reward the students who attend class I use these pop-quizzes as bonus assignments that willonly improve their final grade. And this practice is valued by my students as every time I teacha course one of the comments I receive is that they “like the quizzes as a means of self-assessingtheir standing” during the semester.
A fourth component of my teaching materials are the course exams. My exams consist of shortopen-ended questions to cover a variety of topics we discuss in class. They are of varying difficultyto assess the understanding of basic economics concepts and more challenging questions to screenthe high ability students. I choose not to use long problems during the exam because I know thatstudents are worried that if they mess up a whole problem their chances of performing well in a classis in jeopardy. Short-answer questions allow me to both evaluate their understanding for a largernumber of topics and not penalize them significantly for failing to respond correctly to a question.Also, I do not use multiple-choice questions—particularly for my intermediate courses—because Iwant to evaluate the analytical skills of my students and avoid the possibility of plain guessing. Thisexam format has met my goals up to date and has been well-received by my students. They likethat they can demonstrate that they have “studied all the material”, that they will be rewarded themore effort they have put into their studying by answering correctly the more difficult questions,and that they will “not be greatly penalized” in case they cannot recall some of the material duringan exam. In order to facilitate their best preparation for these exams, apart from all my assistancethroughout the semester with lectures, extra review sessions and one-on-one meetings, I providedifferent sources of studying. For example, I give them copies of the lecture notes before each classso as to keep notes using their own words. I also complement the main textbook with other laboreconomics textbooks so that they can have alternative sources to read about a concept they maybe confused or even familiarize themselves with other topics not covered in class but which may beof interest to them.
As a fifth teaching material I use group presentation or class participation (depending on classsize). The group presentation aims at promoting independent thinking and exploring the interestsof the students. I randomly assign my students in groups of three or four, I help them choose alabor economics-related topic, and then they give a 20-minute presentation in class. The rationalebehind the presentation is that this is an opportunity for them to do a simplified form of research bygathering all the necessary information and then practicing their presentation skills. During theirpresentation preparation I request that each group meets with me in person to discuss their topicand ensure that they are on the right track. In other quarters, I interchange the presentation withclass participation that involves answering questions during the lecture, solving practice problems,or participating in class discussions. However, the goal is again to encourage students to thinkintuitively and understand that if just memorizing the material will not help them apply what theylearned in class to real-world settings.
I include examples of each of these teaching materials in appendix A.
Part IV – Teaching Effectiveness
Although as instructors we are judged everyday during our class from our students, at The OhioState University there is a formal process for gathering evaluations on the performance of GraduateTeaching Associates (GTAs). During the last week of classes the students have the option to fillonline the Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) that includes both a numerical ranking of the
6
instructors’ ability and qualitative assessment through students’ comments. The scale is from oneto five with five being the highest. Though I am interested in all the categories I particularly focuson four areas: overall rating, instructor promoted independent thinking, instructor interested inteaching and instructor interested in helping students. I am interested in my overall rating as thisgives me a more robust idea about my successes and pitfalls as an instructor (average score: 4.0).I am interested in the other three categories because I want to see if my enthusiasm for teaching(average score: 4.4) and for helping students (average score: 4.5) are noticed by my students andif I was able to helped them think independently and not regurgitate (average score: 4.3). Theaverage scores on these four areas are evidence that I am on the right track for accomplishing myteaching goals.
Moreover, because these evaluations are optional and take place at the end of the quarter / semester,I also gather feedback from my students at the middle of each term. I ask my students to anony-mously write down the aspects of the course they find most helpful, what they do not like fromthe way the class is being taught, what changes they would like to see and any other commentsthey want to make. I find that these comments are the most helpful as they are filled by studentswho attend regularly the class and, hence, have a more complete idea about my teaching style.I take these comments seriously and try to implement changes to the next time I teach a class.For example, the first time I taught independently during the 2010 summer quarter many studentsmentioned that because of my accent it was hard to understand me. This was reflected in mylower SEIs for these summer courses. However, I tried to improve on this aspect by both askingmy students to let me know if I am going too fast or too slow as well as repeating and rephrasingkey parts of the lecture. This strategy greatly helped me as the students in subsequent quarterswere more satisfied with my overall quality as an instructor. I have matured since the first time Itaught the principles courses and based on the experience I have gained from teaching the LaborEconomics course I am ready to take the challenge of teaching a new principles course.
As an additional strategy I encourage my students to visit me during the office hours, stay afterclass, e-mail me or just stop by my office whenever they have concerns about the topics we cover inclass. My students really appreciate my availability at any time and it is really rewarding when Iget comments that I am very patient, and willing to go above and beyond the regular office hours toensure that they understand the material. As an example, several students have commented thatthey strongly encourage their classmates to visit me on a one-on-one basis because I will clarify theirquestions even if they were not clear during the lecture. And this dedication of mine to my studentsis reflected on my SEIs as on the section “instructor is interested in helping students” I score anaverage of 4.5. Some excerpts from my students’ end-of-quarter comments are the following:
• “Dimitrios was an excellent recitation instructor. He was detailed in his lessons and clarifieddifficult ideas from the textbook. The homework assignments and sample multiple choicequestions were also helpful. I would highly recommend Dimitrios as a recitation instructorto other students.” (Principles of Macroeconomics, Autumn 2009)
• “Went above and beyond when I needed help without exception; never condescending intone and always professional in manner; excellent instructor, very dedicated. It would be aprivilege to take another course from this instructor.” (Principles of Microeconomics, Summer2010)
• “Dimitrios asked for our feedback mid-quarter and did an excellent job of incorporating oursuggestions (for instance, writing bigger on the board).” (Labor Economics, Autumn 2010)
7
• “I enjoy the teaching style and the amount of time allocated towards students asking ques-tions. It enables the heart of the subject matter to sink in very well.” (Principles of Microe-conomics, Summer 2011)
• “Dimitris is very eager to teach and is willing to always stay as long as asked to give assis-tance.” (Principles of Microeconomics, Summer 2011)
• “Your attitude towards teaching is honest and caring.” (Labor Economics, Autumn 2011)
• “Instructor encourages a lot of participation and gives everyone a very fair shot and doingwell. Really nice guy who obviously cares about his students’ success.” (Labor Economics,Spring 2012)
I strongly believe that only if my students spend time on the material solving problems on thetopics we have covered they will get a better grasp of the material. My problem sets are meant totest basic skills they should have but also challenge them to think more about the underlying ideasand develop their intuition about the material. Although my students mention that the problemsets are difficult, they also classify them as fair and appreciate the challenge. I also encourage theiractive participation by expecting them to respond to my questions, always telling them that thereis no point not trying to answer a question even if the answer is not completely right. This is partof the learning process. And once again this is valued by my students as I score high on the item“the instructor encourages independent thinking” with 4.5 on my intermediate courses. Here is asample of the comments I have received across different quarters for my Labor Economics course:
• “I think that the course is very challenging and very good for any student pursuing Economicsas their major.”
• “I like how the class is difficult and stimulating. It requires thought and processing insteadof just regurgitating facts.”
• “I think the class is good, teacher focuses on details of every question and answers students’questions patiently. I can understand what he talks about totally. That’s pretty good.”
• “In class instruction and lecture is very helpful. Instructor is extremely helpful, knowledge-able, and effective in teaching. Instructor makes learning about economics interesting (Thisis not an easy task!).”
• “I enjoy the class. It is taught well and topics are related to real life situations to makegrasping concepts easier.”
• “You push to get students to participate even if we don’t. How do you know all of our namesjust by looking at us? Amazing.”
• “I really like how the class is set up with pop-quizzes and problem sets. I like that the exampulled questions from each and is well balanced. Although the problems sets can be difficult,if you seek help you can do well. The class is more interesting and more relatable than Iexpected.”
I also get direct feedback from my students anytime I can, when they stop by my office or staylater after class to discuss with me. I try to find out if the course topics are interesting, if there are
8
other topics they would like us to discuss in class and what other teaching strategies they wouldlike to see to improve their learning experience. For example, in my Labor Economics class afterwe discussed that the increased labor force participation of women is partly due to the inventionof the birth control pill, some students expressed interest in researching further this topic and hada presentation during the class. In one of the following quarters I taught this same class I actuallyincorporated group presentations as part of the course. This strategy helped my students to bothdig deeper on topics that were of particular interest to them and get a better grasp of how laboreconomics theories can be applied to the real world.
I have also benefited as an instructor from being the Economics Department’s Graduate TeachingFellow (GTF) in the last two years. The training I received and the workshops I organized duringthe period I served as the GTF opened new horizons on alternative methods I could adopt toenhance the learning of my students. For example, one of the workshops was on engaging studentsin the classroom where the TAs discussed about different methods they follow during their teaching.Moreover, I got feedback on my teaching from the economics department’s director of undergraduatestudies who attended one of my lectures. After we met he pointed out my ability to facilitate activeparticipation of a number of students and not only of just one or two students. In every opportunitythat is presented to me I try to find new ways of growing as an instructor as the ultimate goal isto be the best teacher I can for my students.
Although I believe I have been on the right track I am aware that there is plenty of space forimprovement. Teaching is an ongoing process that one should constantly invest in and try to findnew ways of engaging students and facilitating their learning experience. Within the classroomcommunity I know that I can teach my students develop analytical tools necessary for their futurestudies and careers, but that they can also help me blossom as an instructor.
My SEIs for each course I have taught are given in Appendix B.
Part V – Professional Development
My aspiration to become an accomplished university professor was clear to me since my undergrad-uate studies when I first assisted my fellow classmates who were struggling with difficult conceptsfrom our economics and econometrics courses. Because of my early interest in teaching, duringmy graduate studies back in Greece I served as an economics and econometrics tutor and assistedundergraduate students with conducting research. Despite my early exposure to helping other stu-dents with their learning process, it was not until I served as a Graduate Teaching Associate in theEconomics’ Department at The Ohio State University that the accumulation of my teaching skillsaccelerated.
The timing of the courses I was assigned to as a TA were structured so that in each quarter Iwould gradually acquire new skills necessary to transform into an effective instructor. Duringthe Principles of Macroeconomics course I was exposed for the first time to the U.S. educationalsystem as a recitation leader, helping me to develop my presentation skills, make me more confidentin my communication skills as well as break the ice of teaching in front of a classroom full ofstudents. My next two assignments complemented my teaching skills by targeting at the moreadministrative tasks of teaching; in the Current Economic Issues in the United States and theWorld Economic Development in Historical Perspective courses I served as a grader for essay-typequestions which helped me think more about fair and uniform-standards grading. Of course, theworkshop I attended on fair and efficient grading at the start of my second year as a graduate
9
student (organized by the University Center for Advancement of Teaching (UCAT)) was the firststep towards developing my grading skills. These skills were further enhanced during my assignmentas a TA in the Middle Eastern Economic Development course where I was asked to create a testbank of homework, quiz and exam questions of different formats (i.e., multiple choice, true or false,open-ended questions). These test creation skills turned out to be really useful in my future roleas an independent instructor. My first experience as an independent instructor being responsiblefor all aspects of a course was with the Principles of Microeconomics course. The non-economicbackground of my students during the summer quarter proved to be a challenging experience butmade me realize that I need to be able to adjust to the varying academic background of the studentsand to redesign my course to satisfy the needs of both the average and the high ability students. Ibelieve that all these experiences steadily prepared me for the main course I have been consistentlyteaching during the last years. The Labor Economics course has been my most rewarding experienceas an instructor as I have been able to adjust it to my own teaching style, apply all the tools Ihave learned during my previous teaching quarters and ultimately see myself evolving into a betterinstructor.
However, this does not mean that I am not growing and developing as a teacher. Teaching is anongoing process and as such I always seek new methods to improve my skills and spice up thelearning experience of my students. Towards this end, I attended a training course to becomethe Economic Department’s Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF). During this course a new world ofteaching strategies opened up to me and made me realize that self-reflection upon my teaching isthe best way to keep constantly improving and becoming the best teacher I can for my students.As the GTF I organized several teaching-related workshops specifically aiming at improving theteaching quality of the department’s graduate students including myself. For example, I organizeda workshop on active learning that focused on introducing strategies on how to become moreengaging teachers. I have also attended workshops on how to effectively utilize the university’sonline learning management system and facilitated workshops in my department to spill-over theinformation I acquired. Every year during the departmental orientation new and experienced TAsmeet to exchange advice about their teaching. I always enjoy such learning communities as I canlearn something new and apply strategies that I have not thought about in my own courses.
As a means of continuously improving I seek feedback from various sources. First and foremost,I ask feedback from my students because they are the best judges. I tell them to be completelyhonest and I collect mid-term evaluations after we have our exam so as not to worry about anyrepercussions on their grades. I complement these anonymous evaluations with the university’sformal evaluations at the end of each academic term. Furthermore, I have informal discussionswith my students when they visit me in my office and after our classes. I also appreciate any advicefrom my fellow TAs and mentors; I asked the director of undergraduate studies to attend one ofmy classes and give me constructive criticism about my teaching. I take into serious considerationall this feedback and try to incorporate any comments I receive. For example, some of my firststudents mentioned that I was soft spoken and that I had the tendency to write small on the board.I have increased both the volume of my voice and the size of my writing which eliminated suchconcerns for classes I have taught since I received this feedback.
Every time a new semester begins I am filled with excitement about the course I am assigned toteach. Be a course of 20 students or a course of 100 students, a principles course or an advancedcourse, I always seize the opportunity to learn something new from my teaching assignment andexpand the horizons of my new students.
10
1
Econ 4800 Labor Economics and Industrial Relations
Autumn Semester 2012, Arps Hall 0384
Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 9:10 am – 10:05 am
Department of Economics, The Ohio State University
Week Date Topics Readings Week Date Topics Readings
1 08/22 Syllabus and General Information
08/24 Labor Demand and Labor Supply Ch. 1
2
08/27 Adjustments to the Market Ch. 1
10
10/22 General on Human Capital Models Ch. 5
08/29 Overview of the Labor Market Ch. 2 10/24 Pre-Market Investments in HC Ch. 5
08/31 Practice Problems / Discussion 10/26 Post-Market Investments in HC Ch. 6
3
09/03 Labor Day – No Classes
11
10/29 Signaling Notes
09/05 Indifference Curves I Ch. 4 10/31 Practice Problems / Discussion
09/07 Indifference Curves II Ch. 4, PS1 due 11/02 MIDTERM EXAM No.2
4
09/10 Budget Constraints Ch. 4
12
11/05 Basics of Game Theory Notes, PS4 due
09/12 Equilibrium under the Labor-Leisure Model Ch. 4 11/07 Efficiency Wages Ch. 7, 14
09/14 Practice Problems / Discussion 11/09 Tenure and Wages Ch. 22.3-4
5
09/17 Reservation Wages Ch. 4
13
11/12 Veteran’s Day – No Classes
09/19 Welfare and Equilibrium Ch. 9 11/14 Compensating Wage Differentials I Ch. 7.3
09/21 Practice Problems / Discussion 11/16 Compensating Wage Differentials II Ch. 10
6
09/24 Income and Substitution Effect Ch. 4
14
11/19 Compensating Wage Differentials III Ch. 10
09/26 Household Supply Model I Ch. 29, PS2 due 11/21 Thanksgiving Break – No Classes
09/28 Household Supply Model II Ch. 29 11/23 Columbus Day Observed – No Classes
7
10/01 MIDTERM EXAM No.1
15
11/26 Practice Problems / Discussion PS5 due
10/03 Exam Answers / Lifecycle and Labor Supply I Ch. 28 11/28 Labor Market Discrimination I Ch. 11
10/05 Lifecycle and Labor Supply II Ch. 28 11/30 Labor Market Discrimination II Ch. 12
8
10/08 Labor Demand I Ch. 3 16 12/03 Review Session for Final Exam
10/10 Labor Demand II Ch. 29 12/12 FINAL EXAM
10/12 Market Equilibrium I (Perfect Competition) Ch. 7, notes
9
10/15 Market Equilibrium II (Monopoly) Ch. 7, notes
10/17 Market Equilibrium III (Monopolistic Competition) Ch. 7, notes
10/19 Practice Problems / Discussion PS3 due
Econ 580, Autumn 2011
1
Problem Set 1 Due date: Thursday, October 6 (in class)
Question 1 (15 points)
In a small, rural community, the aggregate labor supply curve is given by:
Ls = −40 +10w and the aggregate labor demand by:
Ld = 160 −10w where w is the hourly wage rate.
a. Calculate the equilibrium level of employment and wage. What is the size of the labor force in equilibrium?
b. After a national story about the quality of life in the small town, migration shifts out the labor supply curve. The new aggregate labor supply curve is Ls' = −20 +10w. Calculate the new equilibrium wage.
Now suppose a new firm decides to locate in the small town after the decrease in the equilibrium wage. As a result, the aggregate labor supply curve is:
Ls' = −20 +10w and the new aggregate labor demand curve is:
Ld ' = 180 −10w
c. Calculate the new equilibrium wage and the level of employment. d. If a worker in this market works an 8-hour day and plans to spend the entire day’s income to buy
DVDs at $20 each, what is the worker’s real wage (wR) in terms of DVDs? e. Give the graphical representation for parts a-c.
Econ 580, Autumn 2011
2
Question 2 (10 points)
Shelly’s preferences for consumption and leisure can be expressed as: U(C,L) = ( C – 200 ) × ( L – 80 ). This utility function implies that Shelly’s marginal utility of leisure is C – 200 and her marginal utility of consumption is L – 80. There are 168 hours in the week available to split between work and leisure. Shelly earns $5 per hour after taxes. She also receives $320 worth of welfare benefits each week regardless of how much she works.
a. Graph Shelly’s budget line. b. What is Shelly’s marginal rate of substitution when L = 100 and she is on her budget line? c. What is Shelly’s reservation wage? d. Find Shelly’s optimal amount of consumption and leisure.
Question 3 (10 points)
What is the effect of an increase in the price of market goods on a worker’s reservation wage, probability of entering the labor force, and hours of work? Explain (you need to use the necessary indifference curves and/or budget constraints).
Question 4 (10 points)
Using demand and supply, analyze the impact of the following changes on wages and employment in a given occupation:
a. An increase in product demand.
b. Increased wages in alternative occupations.
Question 5 (10 points)
Suppose that at a particular combination of income and leisure, the slope of budget line is steeper than the slope of the indifference curve it intersects. How should the worker adjust his work hours?
Question 6 (15 points)
Employ a diagram to show an individual’s leisure-income choices before and after a wage rate decrease. Isolate the income and substitution effects, indicate whether each increases or decreases hours of work, and use the two effects to explain the overall impact of the wage decline on hours of work. Is your worker on the upward-sloping or the backward-bending portion of the labor supply curve?
Question 7 (15 points)
Econ 580, Autumn 2011
3
In 2002, a French law went into effect that cut the standard work week from 39 to 35 hours (workers got paid for 39 hours even though working 35), while at the same time prohibiting overtime hours from being worked. Overtime in France is paid at 25% above the normal wage rate.
a. Draw the old budget constraint, showing the overtime premium after 39 hours of work. b. Draw the new budget constraint. c. Analyze which workers in France are better off under the 2002 law. Are any worse off? Explain.
Question 8 (15 points)
In economics it is common to assume that preferences are of the form � = ������ where α is a constant between zero and one. The marginal utilities of leisure and consumption for this utility function are �� = 1 − ��/�� and ��� = �/�� respectively. Suppose that there are no savings in the model so that �� = 0 and that the hourly wage is ��.
a. How is this utility function called? b. Determine the optimal level of consumption and leisure. (You will need to start from the
equilibrium condition and then utilize the information on the marginal utilities.) c. What happens to the choice of leisure as wage increases?
Econ 580, Winter 2012
Name: Quiz No.6
1. How are the human capital models related to the analysis of the labor market?
2. Show graphically the effect on the optimal years of schooling of an increase in the innate ability of an
individual.
3. Who pays for specific on-the-job training? Briefly explain.
Econ 580, Winter 2012
4. What is the meaning of “sheepshin” effects?
5. Describe a way we could potentially distinguish between the human capital model and the signaling
model.
October 25, 2010
Your Name:
Midterm Exam – Autumn 2010
Econ 580 – Labor Economics and Industrial Relations
There are twenty-five (25) questions in this exam. All questions are equally weighted but they are of
different difficulty level. Most of them are short answer questions. The space after each question is an
indicator about the approximate length of your answer. Please read each question carefully.
Good Luck!!!
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
2
1. What is the pattern in the labor force participation of men? What is the main reason for the observed
change in their participation rates in the period 1950-2008?
2. List three possible explanations, according to the literature, for the increased participation rates of
women.
3. Suppose that, at a particular combination of income and leisure, the slope of the budget line is flatter
than the slope of the indifference curve it intersects. How should the worker adjust his/her hours of
work? Explain.
4. Define Pareto optimality.
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
3
5. What is the relationship between the labor demand curve under monopoly and under perfect
competition? Explain (you may need to use formulas).
Assume you face a labor market described by the following relations:
and .
Please answer questions 6-9 using this information.
6. Find the equilibrium for this labor market.
7. Can be a market clearing wage? If not, what are the adjustments so as to achieve equilibrium?
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
4
8. What is the slope of the labor demand and labor supply curves? What is the interpretation of each
slope?
9. At any given labor price, is labor demand elastic? Inelastic? Illustrate.
10. What is the equilibrium condition for a:
i. Monopolistic output market
ii. Long-run labor market
iii. Short-run labor market
11. Which effect(s) can explain the slope of the labor demand curve in the short-run? Is there any
difference with the long-run?
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
5
12. List three characteristics of an indifference curve.
13. Why do economists prefer using real variables instead of nominal variables?
14. Given the data in the following table, calculate the unemployment rate.
15. What does the property of transitivity imply for the indifference curves?
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
6
16. We have seen that the labor supply curve is backward bending. Explain, in terms of income and
substitution effect, why this happens.
17. Who makes the decisions and what are these decisions in the labor demand model? Who makes the
decisions and which are these decisions under the labor supply model?
18. Let a utility function be described by the form . How is this utility function called? What
does each of the term stand for?
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
7
19. Assume that the individuals have a non-labor income given as the distance TN and they cannot
choose the amount of hours they work; that is, hours worked is a discrete choice. Under this scenario,
the alternatives are either not working or working a positive amount of hours (distance TD). For an
individual who decides to work, how do the required hours of work (TD) differ from the case where
hours of work are treated as continuous? Give the appropriate graph (hint: there are two cases).
20. In the same graph show the case of a corner solution for the labor supply model when non-labor
income is zero and when non-labor income is some positive amount.
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
8
21. Assume that your wage decreases. What is the effect of this change on your hours of work?
22. As you know, the budget constraint is characterized by an initial height and a slope. Write down the
mathematical expression of a budget constraint where there is labor income, non-labor income and
benefits so that we can clearly see the expression for the height and the slope.
23. “If a married woman’s husband gets a raise, she tends to work less, but if she gets a raise, she tends to
work more”. Evaluate the accuracy of the above statement using the appropriate economic theory.
Midterm Exam
Econ 580, AU10
9
In 2002, a French law went into effect that cut the standard work week from 39 to 35 hours (workers got
paid for 39 hours even though working 35), while at the same time prohibiting overtime hours from being
worked. Overtime in France is paid at 25% above the normal wage rate. Answer questions 24 and 25:
24. Show the old and the new budget constraint on the same graph.
25. Analyze which workers in France are better off under the 2002 law. Are any worse off? Explain.
Econ 580 – Autumn 2011
Group Presentation – Self and Peer Evaluation Form
Directions: This is your opportunity to rate the quality and quantity of contributions made by your
group. Rate each group member, including yourself, on a scale of 0 to 4 (4 being the highest possible) in
each area. Your grade will be based on both your feedback and the feedback of your teammates. Once you
have filled this form submit it online on Carmen’s Dropbox within three days from your presentation day.
Your Name:
1. Where on the scale below would you place your group’s presentation and why?
Crash and burn
OK on the day
Great job!
2. What have you learnt from the project?
3. Identify two or three things that you consistently did well in the project.
4. What are the difficulties encountered in doing the project? How are they overcome?
5. What could be improved if a similar project were to be organized in the future?
Econ 580 – Autumn 2011
6. Evaluate your group member’s participation. Do not forget to include yourself.
Member Name:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Unacceptable
Participation in presentation 4 3 2 1 0
Participation in meetings 4 3 2 1 0
Contributions to the project 4 3 2 1 0
Attitude 4 3 2 1 0
Commitment to group’s success 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Rating 4 3 2 1 0
Additional thoughts/comments:
Member Name:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Unacceptable
Participation in presentation 4 3 2 1 0
Participation in meetings 4 3 2 1 0
Contributions to the project 4 3 2 1 0
Attitude 4 3 2 1 0
Commitment to group’s success 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Rating 4 3 2 1 0
Additional thoughts/comments:
Member Name:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Unacceptable
Participation in presentation 4 3 2 1 0
Participation in meetings 4 3 2 1 0
Contributions to the project 4 3 2 1 0
Attitude 4 3 2 1 0
Commitment to group’s success 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Rating 4 3 2 1 0
Additional thoughts/comments:
Member Name:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Unacceptable
Participation in presentation 4 3 2 1 0
Participation in meetings 4 3 2 1 0
Contributions to the project 4 3 2 1 0
Attitude 4 3 2 1 0
Commitment to group’s success 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Rating 4 3 2 1 0
Additional thoughts/comments:
Dimitrios Nikolaou
Cumulative Student Evaluation of Instruction Summary
Report generated on 6/12/2012
NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Mark the "Multi Inst" box for course sections
that were team taught or had more than one instructor.
"Web" is "Y" if student ratings were collected electronically.
Comparison groups are based on class size (Small, Medium, Large) and
electivity (Required, Free, Choose). See individual reports for more details.
Your ratings are summarized below. When sufficient data exist, summaries are also provided for up to three reference groups.Your "comparison group" is based on the size of your class and the predominant reason students indicate they enrolled. Comparison group data are reported at both the college and university levels. Over the preceding 4 quarters,240 instructors and 350 course sections were in your Comparison Group by College, and 2590 instructors and 5616 course sections were in your Comparison Group by University. Across all the courses using the SEI instrument since 1994, 27.17% of them share the characteristics listed below. The Course-Offering Unit listing is not based on size or electivity; it is a summaryof the SEI data across the previous four quarters in your department or school.
Your comparison groups have the following qualities:Class size: 5 to 20Predominant reason given for enrolling in this course was that it was required in the student's major/minor or that it fulfills a GEC/BER requirement.
Comparison Group by University Distribution of Mean Scores on Overall Rating (Item 10)
Group mean on Overall Rating = 4.4
Instructor mean on Overall Rating = 4.7
Comparison Group Comparison Group Course-OfferingThis Instructor by College by University Unit
Mean Std.Dev Mean Std.Dev Mean Std.Dev Mean Std.Dev
Dimitrios NikolaouCourse: ECON 201Campus: COL College: SBS
Autumn 2009 Student Evaluation of Instruction Report Class Number: 8670____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Response rate: 42.9 % of 7 enrolled Were student ratings for this report collected on the web? Yes Date of Report: 12/18/2009
Response scale is Likert-type with "5" being high and "1" being low
Policies and procedures regarding SEI reports are addressed in the SEI handbook. See www.sei.osu.edu for more information.Report generated by the Office of the University Registrar. Questions may be e-mailed to <[email protected]>.
