About Activity Examples
Activities are examples for each of the Starting Point modules. Some were created by the module authors; most were submitted by instructors using the module. Each activity is a stand-alone example demonstrating one way in which the pedagogy teaches an important economic concept. The examples range from short activities requiring only a few minutes of in-class time to activities that run over several class meetings. All include a full description with teaching notes and materials attached, recommendations for assessment of student learning, and links to related resources.
When to submit an activity
Instructors who have developed a new way to use one of the Starting Point module pedagogies are encouraged to submit an activity for posting on the Starting Point site. The innovation can be an application to an economic concept not yet covered in currently available examples, or an application that uses the pedagogy in a manner not yet described in the currently available examples.
How to submit an activity
Activites are submitted via the Activity Submission Form The form is easy to use with boxes that the author fills in for: contact information, teaching method applied, goals, teaching method, teaching notes, assessment and resources. Photos and other illustrations are encouraged as are attachments for handouts or instructions.
Activity review
The activity will be peer-reviewed by a team of economic educators who will offer suggestions for improving the activity. Once accepted, the activity will be will be formatted and posted as a web page.
Copyright
Authors retain copyright over the materials they submit. However, materials posted on the SERC site are sharable under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license that allows others to reuse materials for non-commerical purposes as long as they give attribution and share any derivative work similarly. Read more about copyright.
Suggestions
- Provide all of the information a faculty member needs to successfully implement an activity
- Enable faculty at a glance to determine if they want to learn more about this example
- Writing for the web isn't the same as writing for print. Avoid lengthy paragraph. Put long instructions on attachments. Use bullets to highlight key points.
- Don't overlook the assessment section. How can an instructor deterimine whether or not students have achieved the learning goals outlined for the activity? Consider innovative assignments or projects in addition to traditional tests.
- Attach one or more photos or graphics. These will improve the page's visual impact.
- If you use photos of students or examples of their work, obtain permission to do so.
Editing your activity
After an activity has been accepted and posted on Starting Point, you may choose to edit this page through a web-based interface at any time.
Create an account
The first step to gaining access is to create an account for yourself using the same email address you provided when submitting the activity. You can create an account for yourself on the Account Creation Page. If you've already created an account with SERC you can skip this step.
Visit the My Account page
The My Account page provides a gateway to all the activities you've submitted. You can get there by choosing the My Account tab if you've already logged in; or by visiting the SERC account page at any time. You should see all the activities you've submitted with options to view the web pages as they currently exists as well as to edit these activities directly.
Verify your email address
The first time you work with one of your submitted activities the system will walk you through a process to verify that you really are the person who's email address is associated with the activity. As part of this process (which is necessary to ensure random folks don't wander in and modify your activity) you'll need to follow a url sent to your email address. You need only go through this process once when you first create your account. In subsequent visits you can simply go to the My Account address above, log in and start editing.
Edit your activity
The editing link for each activity takes you into a web-based editing interface which is described in more detail within the interface itself. You can make changes and view the resulting changed web page through this interface.
When you are finished make it publicly viewable
When working in the editing interface you will be modifying a development version of your activity which isn't visible through the public site. The editing interface provides a button where you can request (after you've finished a series of edits and are happy with the result) that the page be made live so that it is visible on the public site. A member of the SERC staff or other party responsible for that area of the site will push the button to make that happen. You may return at any time, make further edits to the development version of the activity (the only version you can edit directly) and request they be made live.