A note to teachers and students
The approach taken when writing this text has been to provide a resource that can engage and stimulate students of Economics as well as make the job of teaching the course relatively straightforward. We have written each chapter to closely reflect the requirements of the VCE Economics Unit 1 and 2 course as outlined in the VCAA VCE Economics Study Design (2017-2021). The text is packed with colourful exercises, case studies, review questions and crosswords that are supported by a stand-alone website (www.ecogroundup.com.au) dedicated solely to users of the text.
The richness and breadth of the activities enables teachers to ‘pick and choose’ activities based on the interests of their class or the direction of their lessons. for example, teachers might like to deliver particular components of the course through the provision of activities, such as Application exercise 3b: Black markets, Application exercise 2o: price discrimination at cinemas or Application exercise 21:Gender inequality. There are hundreds of like activities through the text, carefully placed to add life and relevance to each of the key knowledge points from the Study Design. They also assist students to develop the key skills outlined in the Study Design, through the collection, interpretation and analysis of economic data.
It has been our goal as both teachers and textbook writers to provide as many varied and engaging activities as possible for students. It is not our expectation that teachers would use all of the activities (or even all of the sections) in each chapter. Some sections contain multiple examples from each key knowledge or key skill area of the Study Design. We hope that by including a broad array of activities this book will promote the enjoyment of studying Economics to students of all abilities, all interest areas and many different geographic locations. We encourage teachers to construct their course with attention to the required key knowledge and skills content of the subject, along with the interests of their students.
In some respects, the structure of the text enables it to be used as a series of ‘lesson plans, and the compact layout facilitates ‘self-paced learning’. Students can be directed to work through a section of the text, completing the review questions at the end of each section and attempting some or all of the exercises that are specifically designed for applied learning. This approach helps students to develop the key knowledge and skills for each of the five areas of study. In many instances, particularly in the chapters related to Global Economic Issues, teachers also have the option to the downloading an additional range ot case studies and other activities that approach the content in greater depth. Accordingly, the range of activities in the text and on the website will provide hours of extension work for the keen student of Economics.
We hope that the breadth and depth of content in this textbook will enhance both student and teacher enjoyment of this terrific subject.