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...for Fall 2009
and Winter 2010
Thinking Like Global Partners
On Thursday, September 10, 2009, a gathering of more than 60 business and education leaders attended the Stavros Center’s Critical Issues seminar featuring Brigadier General Maqsood Ahmad Abbasi, Pakistan’s national liaison to MacDill’s Central Command. General Abbasi candidly discussed the various political, economic and cultural aspects of the U.S./Pakistani alliance in combating the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. A Q&A session followed the General’s remarks.
A comment from one of the educators declared, “ I am excited that your center realizes that economics goes beyond money and banking. Opportunities such as General Maqsood's presentation last night facilitate our understanding and do SO MUCH MORE than reading a newspaper or magazine article! When people of different countries interact face to face we realize what we already know; all people desire the same things - security for family and respect of one's culture.” A business leader who attended the seminar observed, “ it was a thrill and an honor to meet Brigadier General Maqsood Ahmad Abbasi on Thursday night at the Stavros Center. These opportunities are not only rare but truly mind-expanding. I consider myself informed about geopolitics and also can generally follow complex ideas with no trouble. However, the complexity of the tribal, environmental, political and cultural issues revealed in General Maqsood’s presentation was daunting.
The Stavros Center will continue offering its Critical Issues Seminar in the months ahead to underscore the fact that the decisions we make as individuals or as nations have economic consequences for us all.
Free Web-based Tutorial
Work at your own pace - Complete at home or at your school
Everything you need to teach Economics and/or integrate economic literacy with every subject area and grade level on one CD-ROM
The web site tutorial will provide an overview and introduction to the various features of the Virtual Economics 3.0 CD-ROM. Produced by the Council on Economic Education and sponsored by a generous grant from State Farm, this is one of the most powerful instructional resources you can use to teach the Economics course, or to integrate economics with reading, communication, mathematics, science, and social studies in grades K-12. The lessons effectively challenge students to participate in critical thinking activities demonstrating rigor of thought and relevance to real-world issues. The CD-ROM makes it possible for you to choose from 1,200 lessons in economics and personal finance and search for them by key economics concept, key word, national economics standard, grade level, and Florida economics standards. All lessons may be printed for classroom use. In addition, there are 51 economics and personal finance concept presentations organized into five categories. Each concept contains an overview, featured lessons organized by grade level, teaching tips, and a multimedia demonstration of the concept. A glossary containing over 500 terms is linked to the concept overviews.
For: All teachers, Grades K through 12 who would like lesson plans to teach economic topics more effectively
Each teacher who completes the tutorial and passes a simple assessment will receive a free copy of the Virtual Economics 3.0 CD-ROM. The list price for this item is $99. Space in this program is limited limited—Act Now!!
Email the Stavros Center or Fred Dorsett to register or to obtain additional information.
Web-based Tutorial for High School Econ. Teachers using the Capstone Curriculum
· Work at your own pace
· Complete at home, at your school, or on any computer with internet access
Turn Theoretical Principles Into Action with Activity-based Lesson Plans
This on-line training module gives all teachers of the high school economics course as well as curriculum planners, department chairs or other interested educators, the skills, confidence and proven lesson plans to teach the economics principles your students need to succeed in the global economy. You will view on-line videos of teachers in action demonstrating lessons in key topics. Have access to the electronic version of all 45 print lessons in the Capstone curriculum guide. The module is flexible, easy to navigate, and fun! The program generally takes 4-6 hours total time but may be broken into shorter time segments at your convenience . Upon completion you will receive a certificate and a free copy of the print edition of the Capstone teacher guides and student guides, a $60 value. For information or to register contact: Fred Dorsett, Instructor & Program Coordinator FDorsett@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Bringing the Global Market into Focus
Just as we did last year, this academic year we'll continue to have guests from the global business community speak to the educators in our courses, institutes, and seminars. Hearing their presentations, the need is clear - our students must be aware of their role in the global market place and know how the global economy affects the jobs available to them, their wages, and their futures. In short, our students must be globally literate. We'll be recording these wonderful presentations and turning them into video enhanced podcasts, available on our iTunesU site.
You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunesU. To take advantage of this you will need to install iTunes, free from Apple (click here). Then you can easily access our podcasts from iTunesU by clicking here!
Stavros Center Advocacy Board Member Hosts Show on WEDU
Geoff Simon, Advocacy Board member of the Stavros Center is Senior Vice President with Simon Johnson Stanger Wealth Advisors of Raymond James & Associates. Mr. Simon is also Chairman of the Florida Council on Economic Education. On his show, Geoff meets our area’s best businessmen and women and interviews them about the triumphs and inspirations that shaped them into the successes they are today. To view past episodes of Suncoast Business Forum with Geoff Simon, click here.
McCartney Makes a Federal Case of Lesson Plans!
Sabrina McCartney, a teacher at Carrollwood Day School in Tampa received recognition for earning first place in the 2009 Lesson Plan of the Year Competition sponsored by the Jacksonville Branch of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. She was awarded a $1,000 bond and becomes a finalist in the regional competition. Pictured at the awards luncheon held on March 20, 2009 are Chris Oakley, Vice President and Manager of the Jacksonville Branch, Sabrina McCartney, Sara Messina, FED Education Specialist, and Fred Dorsett, USF Stavros Center, a member of the FED Education Advisory Group.
Map & Directions to the Stavros Center
Here's a map, to make sure you can find your way to the USF Stavros Center in the quickest, most stress-free manner possible. Click here for our printable map. For written directions with information on where to park with a Daily Permit, click here.
If you have a VIP Parking Permit, click here.
Drive safely!
It's ALWAYS About Economics!
Using this simple list will help students understand the thought processes behind many "mysterious" decisions (e.g. why selling more artificial Christmas trees means fewer evergreens survive).
Sometimes called the Handy Dandy Guide, this list presents the key to why economics is an everyday skill and also why it integrates easily into so many subject areas.
1. People economize. People choose the alternative that seems best to them because it involves the least cost and the greatest benefit.
2. All choices involve cost. Cost is the second best choice. It is what people give up when they make their first choice.
3. People respond to incentives. Incentives are actions or rewards that encourage people to act. When incentives change, people's behaviors change in predictable ways.
4. Economics systems influence individual choices and incentives. How people cooperate is governed by written and unwritten rules. As rules change, incentives change and behavior changes.
5. Voluntary trade creates wealth. People can produce more in less time by concentrating on what they do best. The surplus goods or services they produce can be traded to obtain other valuable goods or services.
6. The consequences of a choice lie in the future. The important costs and benefits in economic decision making are those which will appear in the future. Economics stresses making decisions about the future because it is only the future that we can influence. We cannot influence things that have already happened, i.e. the past.
Using YouTube as a teaching tool
Stavros Center on iTunesU - Great Ideas - Useful Resources
Knowing that time is a very scarce resource for all teachers, we've put some lessons/activities at your fingertips (or should we say in your ears?) by formatting quick, pertinent economics lessons as podcasts. Here's just one example: the quintessential economics lesson - Get What You Want! In addition to the podcast lessons, we film the wonderful guest speakers who graciously make presentations in our seminars and classes and we're making the video available to you as video enhanced podcasts.
You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunesU. The benefit of subscribing to a podcast is that, like a magazine subscription, when there is a new episode it will automatically come to you. In this case, it will download to iTunes on your computer. To take advantage of this you will need to install iTunes, free from Apple (click here). Then you can easily access our podcasts from iTunesU by clicking here!
Applications forms
Here are 3 real-world employment application forms that go with our new curricula guide: Handy Skills You'll REALLY Need Out There: Soft and Hard Skill-Sets for the Global Workplace. State of Florida application, City of Gulfport application, City of Winston-Salem application.
Timely Seminar Series
The USF Stavros Center, with sponsorship from The Coca Cola Foundation, The Polk Education Foundation, and The South Tampa Chamber of Commerce, invited 40 K-12 educators to participate in a series of 5 seminars featuring critical issues discussed in the 2009 presidential election. The series was extremely well attended!
Dr. Scott Brown discussed Subprime fiasco, mortgage foreclosures, awash in red ink, rising unemployment and historic price points for gas! It’s the Economy Stupid (AGAIN)! Mr. Eric Man (seen in center of photo at left) presented his views on China as a Growing Economic Power in the Global Economy: Implications for the United States. Mr. Jerry Cionci discussed Competitive Globalization: What the United States Needs to Do to Prosper in a Changing Economic World. Mr. Jeff Knott discussed Navigating the Healthcare Maze and What You Need to Know. Dr. Reza Razavi presented his views on The Future Relationship of Iran and the United States. To download podcasts of these and other Stavros Center presentations go to iTunesU by clicking here! Be sure to choose the "Stavros Center" tab under Description!
You can easily obtain the video of Dr. Reza Razavi's presentation. To download this and other Stavros Center presentations go to iTunesU by clicking here! Be sure to choose the "Stavros Center" tab under "Description"!
The United States in a Global Economy
Recently, the USF Stavros Center and the Jacksonville branch of the Federal Reserve Bank co-hosted An Evening with the Fed. 46 educators and administrators enjoyed a delicious, catered dinner which was followed by an exploration of current economic and financial topics designed to assist them in helping students translate theory into real-world lessons. The program featured Dr. Tom Cunningham, vice president and associate director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Cunningham discussed labor movements, trade, and financial flows. Click here for the video podcast of his presentation, as well as theQ & A session that followed. The PowerPoint presentation he used that evening may be accessed by clicking here.
Bank Of America Support
Entrepreneurial Self-Evaluation
If you've imagined that Entrepreneurial Thinking is only about being "business-minded" we'd ask you to think again! Entrepreneurial Thinking is about recognizing opportunities and understanding how and when to capitalize on them; thinking about the same old stuff in brand new ways.
When students think entrepreneurially, they likely have a forward focus, they can be more easily motivated, and they are often quick to make connections. What educator doesn't value students with those qualitites? Here's a quick, easy, and fun way to introduce your class to entrepreneurial thinking. Taking this self-evaluation quiz from the National Council on Economic Education will help each student assess their own entrepreneurial qualities: Entrepreneurial Self-Evaluation Activity.
Economic Concepts from Gus A. Stavros 
Dr. Stavros, successful Florida businessman and noted philanthropist, is a very popular guest speaker in our seminars, institutes, and courses. Embeded in his presentations are wonderful examples of economic concepts. We've pulled out some of those special anecdotes and present them here in audio clips.
An American Entrepreneur: A Global Background
Dr. Stavros gives a great example of Opportunity Cost
Gus Stavros provides a real-world example of Entrepreneurship
Rational Decision Making
The PACED Decision Making Model is often employed in our economic lesson plans and activities. To view the PACED Decision Making Model, click here:
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An affiliate of the National Council on Economic Education and the Florida Council on Economic Education College of Education at the University of South Florida 4202 East Fowler Avenue, CEE 101, Tampa, FL 33620 StavrosCenter@tempest.coedu.usf.edu (813) 974-2175 |
