Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Simulation Tips 2013

Economic Forces in American History

Teaching Tips - 1

Separate borrowing and depositing in round 1. Because banks can only lend 80% of their new deposits, you don’t want them lending until they know how many new deposits they’ll have.Reward all borrowers who achieve the goal. This is not really a competition for borrowers.

Economic Forces in American History

Teaching Tips - 2

Allow banks to compete for new deposits - this mirrors the real economy.Encourage bankers to have and use a calculator.Stay focused on the main point of the exercise - the growth in deposits over three rounds. Interest rates make the game hopelessly complex.

Economic Forces in American History

Contents

These are the final slides for all my presentations this summer. The slides go in order of our activities:– Jamestown, Indentured Servitude, OK land rush, Currency game, Fractional Reserve Banking, Question of Trust, Depression and Opp Cost of Staying home

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Teaching TipsJamestown Simulation

This is about a 35 minute simulation in class time, with maybe 15 - 20 minutes for de-briefing.Don’t tell kids how they’ll be paid at first - they signed a contract to get them to the New World so they’ve already been paid.DON’T skip the debriefing - as with most simulations it’s the most important part.A certain amount of frustration is needed in the early rounds of the game - don’t let this bother you.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Teaching Tips, Jamestown continued

The central concept is deceptively simple: people work harder when they own what they produce.DON’T include prizes for the most productive workers/managers.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Teaching Tips – Indentured Svts

This game works best with one deal per student per round. It can work with multiple deals, but your scoring will get out of balance.One emigrant role includes an instruction that a worker is a 1, but might convince others that he’s a 2. ELIMINATE THIS ROLE. If you give prizes, do not make them too desirable - kids can collude in this game.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Teaching Tips Indentured Svts - 2

Remember your focus - the 4 years 8 months figure came from market forces. It represents a market clearing price for this labor market.

Economic Forces in American History

Teaching Tips for Land Rush Lesson

Start with a general discussion of property – of what it means to own something.Spend time on the roles & rules of the game.The simulation itself is very short, so be sure to spend time on the debrief.This is a very simple lesson – once there is a “race” for resources people will lose track of even the things they need to survive.Markets allow for orderly and efficient transfer of property – this is one of their strongest points.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Tips for Currency Game

Not Worth a ContinentalThe setup of this game takes some time, so plan an hour beforehand to bundle the money.The kids will get frustrated playing this game – that’s the point. Don’t let their frustration get to you. Stay positive and keep the game moving from round to round.Select your banker carefully – it needs to be someone who’s careful and SLOW. A secondary currency market will develop among the kids and that’s okay.The idea behind this game is very simple: multiple currencies are a hassle. Hassles impose transaction costs and slow down the economy.

Economic Forces in American History

Fractional Reserve Banking Simulation Tips

- 1Separate borrowing and depositing in round 1. Because banks can only lend 80% of their new deposits, you don’t want them lending until they know how many new deposits they’ll have.Reward all borrowers who achieve the goal. This is not really a competition for borrowers.

Economic Forces in American History

Fractional Reserve Banking Tips - 2

Allow banks to compete for new deposits - this mirrors the real economy.Encourage bankers to have and use a calculator.Stay focused on the main point of the exercise - the growth in deposits over three rounds. Interest rates make the game hopelessly complex.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Tips for the Question of Trust

simulationHave the kids make names for their companies.Don’t use the extra demand schedules, the forecast is all you need.Do make the profits public knowledge – the formula is very easy: (# bbl)x(profit/loss per bbl)=Pr/loss

Keep the game moving, never give more than 3 minutes to make a production decision.As with all our simulations, take time to debrief it fully. You may even want to create a short writing assignment as a follow up.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Tips for Depression Simulation

1. This activity requires very little set up and kids generally like it.2. Provide a calculator to families if none of the kids have them.3. Keep the families separated as they discuss their budgets – we don’t want them overhearing each other.4. In classes larger than 30, double up on families but keep them far apart in the room.5. Color code the copies if you can – it just makes things a whole lot easier.6. Tie the activity to the current global economy.

Economic Forces in American History

Dave’s Tips for Opp Cost of Staying Home

Pick sharp kids to be your employers.Have rewards for all the winners:– Winning employer– Winning spouse A (score must be > 75)– Winning spouse B (score must be > 60)– Winning spouse C (score must be > 45)Emphasize that jobs are negotiated for one round only – not hourly, not monthly, just by the round.Bundle all three rounds together when you hand out the paperwork to kids.

Economic Forces in American History

Opp Cost of Styaing Home tips (continued) Beware collusion in this game– An extra sharp employer can “game the game” by making a deal with an employee who agrees to work for $.10 per round.

– The employer will win and then share the prize with the colluding employee

– To avoid this, be vague about prizes and how they’ll be allocated.