ECON 1012 - Principles of Economics I

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2018

This course provides an introduction to a broad range of economic concepts, theories and analytical techniques. It considers both microeconomics - the analysis of choices made by individual decision-making units (households and firms) - and macroeconomics - the analysis of the economy as a whole. The use of a market, supply and demand, model will be the fundamental model in which trade-offs and choices will be considered through comparison of costs and benefits of actions. Production and market structure will be analysed at the firm level. Macroeconomic issues regarding the interaction of goods and services markets, labour and money at an aggregate level will be modelled. The role of government policy to address microeconomic market failures and macroeconomic objectives will be examined.

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Course Details

Course Code	ECON 1012
Course	Principles of Economics I
Coordinating Unit	Economics
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week. Intensive in Summer Semester.
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Incompatible	ECON 1000, ECON 1004, WINEMKTG 1026EX
Assessment	Typically, tutorial assignments, online learning activity and final exam.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Stephanie McWhinnie

Contact information will be posted on MyUni

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Describe and explain how microeconomic models can be used to consider fundamental economic choices of households and firms.
Describe and explain how macroeconomic models can be used to analyse the economy as a whole.
Describe and explain how government policy influences microeconomic choices and macroeconomic outcomes.
Interpret and use economic models, diagrams and tables and use them to analyse economic situations.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1-4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1-4
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-4
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1-4
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	4

Learning Resources

Required Resources

"Playconomics: Principles of Economics" by Isabella Dobrescu and Alberto Motta with associated electronic textbook materials "Principles of Economics" by Isabella Dobrescu, Alberto Motta and Stephanie McWhinnie.

Playconomics is a computer-based interactive experience that plays like a videogame and teaches like a standard economics textbook. It combines gamification, personalized feedback and experiential learning in an innovative, yet accurate, way to make your Principles of Economics learning more engaging and fun. It is developed by Dr. Alberto Motta and Dr. Isabella Dobrescu (UNSW) in collaboration with Dr. Stephanie McWhinnie (成人大片).

Full information on how to access the game and textbook material will be provided on MyUni. No hard-copy textbook is required.

Online Learning

In addition to the Playconomics online, experiential learning resources, the course makes extensive use of MyUni for the posting of lecture notes, assignments and quizzes and important announcements.

It is expected that all students will regularly check the MyUni course website, and regularly check their university email accounts.

A discussion board has been set up on the MyUni website for this course. This will be monitored regularly. The discussion board will be the key electronic forum where students can clarify their understanding of any topics covered in lectures, tutorials or in the text. It might also be used by students to explore different ways of interpreting tutorial and assignment questions and various approaches to answering them. It will also be THE place where students will ask questions about the administrative requirements of the course; such things as attendance, assessment, due dates and so on. It might also be a place for students to provide timely critical feedback on aspects of the course they particularly like or dislike and discussion of contemporary economic issues is also encouraged.

Lecture recordings will typically be made available online. Students should be aware that there may be occasional instances where lecture recording fails due to technical issues.
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes

Each topic is divided into a lecture component and an associated Playconomics component with tutorials following. The lecture covers the key concepts of a particular topic. Using the Playconomics gamified learning tool and working through analytical problems in tutorials will consolidate your understanding of course material. You should use the relevant sections of the textbook material to enhance your understanding of topics covered in the lectures, tutorials and the game. The tutorials and weekly assessments follow after the lecture, so for example the lecture content covered in week 1 will be covered in the tutorial session in week 2 and the weekly assessments due in week 2.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This translates to 12 hours per week for a semester course.

Learning Activities Summary
Teaching & Learning Activities Related Learning Outcomes

Lectures 1-4

Tutorials - working through examples 1-4

Playconomics - gamified learning tool 4

Lecture Schedule

The Topics to Be Covered Include:
- Choices, Trade-offs & Comparative Advantage
- Production Costs & Supply
- Consumer Choice & Demand
- Supply & Demand in Equilibrium
- Government Policy
- Market Power & Imperfect Competition
- Aggregate Demand & Supply
- Labour & Unemployment
- Money & Inflation
- Monetary & Fiscal Policy
- International Trade & Exchange Rate
These topics are subject to change. Full details will be provided on MyUni.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Due Date/ Week	Weight	Length	Learning Outcomes
Weekly Tutorial Assignments (best 8 assignments) (individual work)	Weekly (from week 2)	25%	TBA	1-4
Playconomics Online Learning (individual work)	Week 13	10%	TBA	4
Final Exam	TBA	65%	3 hours	1-4
Total		100%

Assessment Related Requirements

Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process, and may affect marks.

It is expected that students will complete all weekly assignments and online learning activities. A “best of” system for tutorial assignments will be used to allow leeway in the event of technical failure or illness or compassionate issues. As such, there will not generally be any special consideration of these issues but please contact the Course Coordinator to discuss any concerns.

Assessment Detail

Weekly tutorial assignments 25%
Students will be asked to submit written answers to the indicated questions on the weekly tutorial exercises, which will be available to download from MyUni on a weekly basis. Only the best 8 weekly tutorial assignments will contribute to the grade for this component of assessment, which in total will be 25% of assessment. Instructions regarding the online submission and return of these weekly assignments will be provided on MyUni.

Online Learning 10%
Students are expected to engage in playing the Playconomics game. Every 10% of the game completed will count for 1 mark.
Further details on how and when to access Playconomics will be provided on MyUni.

Final exam 65%
The final exam will be a 3-hour exam, plus 10 minutes reading time. This exam may assess all topics covered in the course. Details regarding the structure will be posted on MyUni. Please note that this is a closed book exam. Dictionaries of any type will not be allowed in the exam. Calculators will be allowed in the exam, but calculators that can store text, are programmable, or have wireless functions will not be permitted. This means graphics calculators are not permitted, and some particular scientific calculators may not be permitted.

Submission

Refer to MyUni for detailed instructions regarding submission.
Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
Late submissions will not be accepted.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Additional Assessment

If a student receives 45-49 for their final mark for the course they will automatically be granted an additional assessment. This will most likely be in the form of a new exam (Additional Assessment) and will have the same weight as the original exam unless an alternative requirement (for example a hurdle requirement) is stated in this semester’s Course Outline. If, after replacing the original exam mark with the new exam mark, it is calculated that the student has passed the course, they will receive 50 Pass as their final result for the course (no higher) but if the calculation totals less than 50, their grade will be Fail and the higher of the original mark or the mark following the Additional Assessment will be recorded as the final result.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

A summary of, and response to, feedback will be provided at the end of the course on MyUni.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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