Econ 136: Week 1 Tasks

Wednesday:  On Quantitative Reasoning:  Playing with Numbers and Computers

Preparing for class:  Before you retire Tuesday night (or by 3am Wednesday morning)

Register for the Sapling Learning Course by following the procedure described in the  Accessing Sapling Learning Course and e-Text handout below.

Under Introduction to Sapling Learning, watch the video and complete the Using the tools in Sapling Learning to get a sense of how the online homework engine works.

Now complete the Math Review problem set.   It’s really misnamed:  It’s not so much a review as an opportunity for me to assess strengths and areas  for attention going into class on Wednesday and going forward this semester.    Any reference to “grades” should be ignored (at least in terms of the factors I’ll use to evaluate your performance in this course).

If you are comfortable bringing your laptop or iPad with you to class, please do so.   If not, I'll have access to a computer available for you (but you'll need to be able to log in to your Bryn Mawr or Haverford accounts).

Friday:   Community Profiles:  Counting what we can Measure

Preparing for class:

Take a few minutes to brainstorm a list of the sort of facts you would want to know about a community you might be visiting or where a friend lives.  The rest of your preparation will consist of looking at what others think is important to note about communities.   Note on the sheet with your list those items you did not include and items others failed to include. 

Read this profile of Camden’s Water Front South neighborhood  

http://www.heartofcamden.org/publish/community_about.html

which our Eco-Literacy 360 group visited on Monday.

Read the attached profile of West Nottingham Township, where David Ross lives

Go to http://factfinder2.census.gov, enter West Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania in the search box and note the sort of community data collected by the US Census Bureau.

After Class:

Start thinking about the Profiling Your Community Assignment (attached) due February 3.