Learning in a Principles of Economics Course - The ARA Approach

There are three critical steps in gaining proficiency in economic principles:

1) Acquisition of the basic principles of economics.
2) Retention of those basic principles.
3) Application of those basic principles.

It is incumbent upon me to provide you with a well-organized and well-presented foundation. In other words, it is my responsibility to provide you with the Acquisition of the basic principles of economics. I do this through the lecture, class discussions, homework, exams, assigned readings and CD-Rom courseware. I embrace and accept that responsibility. Now comes the ringer - the remaining two critical steps are required for this course and they are largely your responsibility. I can assist you in #2 and #3 - but only slightly. Retention is highly dependent upon your approach to, and skills in, studying more generally. Please watch this series of videos as part of the assignment in this course. It requires time, some recall abilities and some memorization. If you truly understand the economic concept then retention will come.

But wait! Now you will be expected to apply what you have retained. Application requires that you transfer the basic principles to other situations and circumstances. This requires practice. Once again it is almost entirely incumbent upon you and your study practices to attain application skills. How can I assist you in the retention and application? I can provide examples of correct ways to apply the principles, opportunities for you to apply them (examinations, quizzes and homework) and I can help you to learn how to study economics.

Obviously, it is my belief that study habits will affect your performance in this course. Perhaps not so obvious yet is that it is my belief that the study of economics is quite different than the study of many of the subjects with which you are familiar. Therefore, it is only fair that I provide a guide for study practices in economics. I hope that you will read it, refer to it, and benefit from it.

Remember the ARA Approach!

© FGCU 1997. The framework and images are those of an official FGCU web page.

© Bradley K. Hobbs, Ph.D. 2001. All written portions of this work are those of Bradley K. Hobbs and his alone.
Intellectual property rights are claimed over my intellectual product (Read "Capitalism" by Ayn Rand.)