Discussion Board Instructions: Please read the instructions for the discussion posts. Also, review the Discussion Board rubric linked in the ?My Grades? area. Each discussion is worth 100 points. Each module contains a discussion activity that will help sharpen your critical thinking and written communication skills as you study Macroeconomic topics. From time to time, as current events unfold, additional discussion questions may be posted directly to the Discussion Board that relate to the course material. These questions should be answered as well. 15% of your course grade will come from your contributions to these discussions, submitted on time and as directed in the appropriate Discussion Board forum. A portion of this grade will come from replying to the posts of your classmates. At a minimum, two comments are required as responses to your classmates and a response to any comments I make. Please address the student to whom your comment is intended by name and sign your comment. Plan to post your initial discussion by the 4th day of the module week. I will respond during the 5th and 6th day of the module week. Superior participation grades will be given to active students, those who exchange ideas in a thoughtful manner that reflect preparation as well as personal opinion, while exercising the courtesies due others. Your active participation is absolutely essential to the learning process. You will be evaluated on criteria such as the following: a. Evidence of having read/understood the material b. Clear, concise, and relevant application of theory as relevant to the initial prompt question asked as well as replies to classmates’ postings c. Attempts to relate text or lecture ideas on a personal level Specific Guidance 1. Read the discussion question, short assignment, exercise, etc., read what the text has to say about the topic, and then provide an answer based on the text, other sources you might use, and your opinion. You are encouraged to add your opinion, but the overriding emphasis should be on what the text or other professional sources (if you use them) states. Keep in mind that many of the questions have no absolute right or wrong answer, but you do need to explain your position in such a way as to convince readers that your position is valid using the appropriate economic theory. Your initial answer (post) to the discussion question should be in length equivalent to a couple of short paragraphs. 2. The online discussion is judged both on quality and quantity as outlined above. Completing the assignment, activity, or discussion question for each week happens only in the module week it is listed. No late assignments will be accepted. Please avoid one or two line comments. Again, the purpose of this assignment is to advance the learning of the theory covered in the module week. 3. Since this is a subjective evaluation, the quantity of postings and length are not pinned down per week. However, just answering the weekly discussion question and not interacting substantively will not earn you full credit for this portion of your course grade. 4. All posts should be grammatically sound. Discussion Board Assignment: Go to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (Links to an external (http://www.bea.gov/) (BEA.gov should the link not work) website and look at quarterly data from the last five years of the National Accounts. You will need to click on the ?modify? tab to change the dates for the data. What part of the business cycle is the U.S. economy currently in? Why? What factors lead you to this conclusion – please include an analysis of the 4 categories of the expenditures side of the GDP equation. What are the dates for single quarter downturns in GDP over the past 5 years? Why did these downturns not last long enough to be called a recession? Also, make sure to comment on 2 classmates’ posts and include their names. Include comments on the other videos and include your Economics IQ score.
Discussion Board Instructions:
Please read the instructions for the discussion posts. Also, review the Discussion Board rubric linked in the “My Grades” area. Each discussion is worth 100 points.
Each module contains a discussion activity that will help sharpen your critical thinking and written communication skills as you study Macroeconomic topics. From time to time, as current events unfold, additional discussion questions may be posted directly to the Discussion Board that relate to the course material. These questions should be answered as well. 15% of your course grade will come from your contributions to these discussions, submitted on time and as directed in the appropriate Discussion Board forum. A portion of this grade will come from replying to the posts of your classmates. At a minimum, two comments are required as responses to your classmates and a response to any comments I make. Please address the student to whom your comment is intended by name and sign your comment. Plan to post your initial discussion by the 4th day of the module week. I will respond during the 5th and 6th day of the module week.
Superior participation grades will be given to active students, those who exchange ideas in a thoughtful manner that reflect preparation as well as personal opinion, while exercising the courtesies due others. Your active participation is absolutely essential to the learning process. You will be evaluated on criteria such as the following:
a. Evidence of having read/understood the material
b. Clear, concise, and relevant application of theory as relevant to the initial prompt question asked as well as replies to classmates’ postings
c. Attempts to relate text or lecture ideas on a personal level
Specific Guidance
1. Read the discussion question, short assignment, exercise, etc., read what the text has to say about the topic, and then provide an answer based on the text, other sources you might use, and your opinion. You are encouraged to add your opinion, but the overriding emphasis should be on what the text or other professional sources (if you use them) states. Keep in mind that many of the questions have no absolute right or wrong answer, but you do need to explain your position in such a way as to convince readers that your position is valid using the appropriate economic theory. Your initial answer (post) to the discussion question should be in length equivalent to a couple of short paragraphs.
2. The online discussion is judged both on quality and quantity as outlined above. Completing the assignment, activity, or discussion question for each week happens only in the module week it is listed. No late assignments will be accepted. Please avoid one or two line comments. Again, the purpose of this assignment is to advance the learning of the theory covered in the module week.
3. Since this is a subjective evaluation, the quantity of postings and length are not pinned down per week. However, just answering the weekly discussion question and not interacting substantively will not earn you full credit for this portion of your course grade.
4. All posts should be grammatically sound.
Discussion Board Assignment:
Go to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (Links to an external (http://www.bea.gov/) (BEA.gov should the link not work) website and look at quarterly data from the last five years of the National Accounts. You will need to click on the “modify” tab to change the dates for the data. What part of the business cycle is the U.S. economy currently in? Why? What factors lead you to this conclusion – please include an analysis of the 4 categories of the expenditures side of the GDP equation. What are the dates for single quarter downturns in GDP over the past 5 years? Why did these downturns not last long enough to be called a recession? Also, make sure to comment on 2 classmates’ posts and include their names.
Include comments on the other videos and include your Economics IQ score.
