Travis Roach
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Real Fake News!

7/21/2017

 
Here are the "slides" used in the Real Fake News breakout session at the 2017 Social Studies Teacher's Conference.
- slides

And here is a link to the Excel workbook we used in the session
​- Excel Demo

Excel Workshop

9/27/2016

 

UCO Econ Club's Excel Workshop

Resources for the Excel workshop can be seen below.

​As always, Google is your friend if you're having any issues.... for example


​
excel_workshop.docx
File Size: 13 kb
File Type: docx
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excel_workshop_demonstration.xlsx
File Size: 1834 kb
File Type: xlsx
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"The Bet"

8/25/2016

 
I recently started what I thought would be a small skirmish on Twitter with an old friend and fellow PhD econ student from my Texas Tech days. This is by no means the first, nor last, time we'll do this; It's a funny way for us to catch up. The topic at hand was whether or not CO2 should be taxed. The spat then escalated into a 140 character at a time debate on whether or not CO2 is actually a pollutant leading to global climate change. 

One of the most useful subtweets in this debate was the so-called libertarian bet proposal by Kaz (@chris78701). After a crazy start to teaching this Fall semester I am finally putting together my `bet' as well as addressing some other ideas that came up in the Twitter conversation.
  • I am 100% certain that CO2 is a chemical compound that leads to the `greenhouse effect'. We've actually known this since 1903 when Svante Arrhenius won the Nobel prize in chemistry.
  • I am 98% sure that the recent warming is mostly due to the dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 levels that are a result of increased energy consumption. I say mostly because there are of course other anthropogenic factors at play including deforestation which has the same warming effect but is not caused by more energy consumption per se (by the way, we've been causing climate change through deforestation for a lot longer than we've burned fossil fuels)
    • Related: I dogged other people for not providing peer reviewed support for their arguments (and haven't received one yet). Here are two that I find useful for both sides of the argument. 1) Here is a rigorous paper that takes the (very) few papers that do exist in the literature that reject human-induced climate change and tests them on their merit. Spoiler alert, they don't hold up. 2) Richard Tol has been one of my favorite economists for some time because he approaches the issue of climate change with the level of skepticism I hope to maintain. Here is his 2014 paper outlining the literature and the incorrect `97% consensus' among climate scientists. He finds that the true consensus is closer to 91%. 
  •  I am 55% sure that global warming will be net-positive for some communities due to the "greening" effect. This was a weird argument that popped up in opposition of a CO2 tax. Still, though, it is true that some areas (especially in the American southeast) will benefit from global climate change because they will have longer growing seasons, more rain, or both. However, just because local production increases doesn't mean that worldwide impacts are not felt locally. As Michael Webber thoroughly explains in his book, access to water has caused wars, ended empires, you name it. So, will a longer growing season in the midst of (even worse) fighting in the middle east or a war with China be net-positive? Maybe.

That's all for now as I have to prep for class. Cheers.

Resources for UNNC

6/8/2014

 
Resources used in the Interactive Teaching workshop held at University of Nottingham Business School in Ningbo China.
interactive_teaching_handout.docx
File Size: 15 kb
File Type: docx
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blooms_taxonomy_original_pyramid.pdf
File Size: 34 kb
File Type: pdf
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blooms_taxonomy_action_verbs_clemson_university.pdf
File Size: 113 kb
File Type: pdf
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active_learning_for_the_college_classroom.docx
File Size: 38 kb
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some_basic_active_learning_techniques.pdf
File Size: 103 kb
File Type: pdf
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Should you go to the k-state game?

2/24/2014

 
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A back-of-the-envelope "economic analysis" of why you should go to the K-State Game

By now you've heard that they are practically giving you the keys to the stadium to go to the Tuesday night game against K-State. Well, they're giving away about $100,000. The question remains, though, is it worth it? Here's a (very) quick look at why you should check out tomorrow night's game. For the more rigorous statisticians out there here are some assumptions I'm making: 1) you get a new draw at winning a prize every time one is handed out. 2) 10,000 students will be in attendance and eligible for a prize 3) I'm not treating hot dogs as a prize. I don't care how hungry of a student you are that's not what is prying you away from the new Torchy's and to the game.

On to the fun stuff, here is what you can expect to win if you go to the game
: $6.52.

Yep.

Here's how I calculated that: Assume you have a 1 in 10,000 chance at winning each prize. Thus, you have a 1/10,000 probability of winning, say, the big prize of $10,000. Multiply that out and you can "expect to win" $1. Or in other words, you would be indifferent about spending a dollar to go to the game if you have a 1/10,000 chance at $10,000 (expected cost = expected benefit). Using this type of logic you can add the expected payoff from each prize and voila you arrive at $6.52.

So, for you to be indifferent between going to the game and pretending to do homework while you watch a livestream  of the action it has to be that it costs $6.52
to attend. Here's the kicker, the athletic fee is currently $75 for a semester. Assuming you average the fee across all of the sporting events you go to then you need to attend 11 and a half games for it to be worth your money. So, if you've already been to a few of games then you are well on your way to making this game pay for itself. If not, then make sure to attend this game and a few soccer, tennis, or baseball games. Either way, have a great time breaking a student record. Wreck'em.

P.S. my prediction TTU - 67, K-State - 59



TEACH Talk: Motivating Students

2/6/2014

 
Picture
Here is the worksheet from the TEACH Talk Discussion Series session on motivating students. Additionally, here is a neat video by RSA animate (and TED) about motivation. Enjoy!

30 Minute Miracles: Active Learning in Large Classrooms

11/4/2013

 
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I hope you enjoyed the session this afternoon. Here is the handout from Cal State Los Angeles, "Active Learning for the College Classroom" that was used for the group activities in today's TLPDC session.

NETA Conference Resources

10/25/2013

 
Here are links to some of the resources used in my presentation to the National Economics Teaching Association conference.

PowerPoint Slides
Sample TEDEd lesson

Know Thyself...

9/30/2013

 
Do you know what your learning style is? Here's a great little test (5 mins) to help you learn what type of learner you are. The test also gives you examples and strategies for all of the learning styles

My top three: Interpersonal,  Logical-Mathematical, and Bodily-Kinesthetic.

Healthcare

7/9/2013

 
Here is a great interactive video from the WSJ that explains some of the finer details of the new healthcare law.

Based on this video could you: write a normative and a positive economic statement? Distinguish the implications this video has in terms of efficiency and equity? 

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