This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
– Which teaching program would you like to highlight for your colleagues at the faculty right now?
– This semester, I am lecturing the ECON2610 course, an undergraduate programme in economics where students learn applied economic theory, and more specifically, general equilibrium models. The central focus of the course is understanding how scarce resources should be allocated among various purposes.
– This topic is highly relevant to many political issues, whether it concerns the scarcity of labour, energy, raw materials, natural resources, or capital such as machinery. Furthermore, students learn about the value for a small, open economy—like Norway—from trading internationally. Key questions include what occurs both in the short and long term when we face international shocks like changes in the prices of goods we trade or experience immigration. What are the aggregate effects, and what are the implications for the economic distribution? In the course, students learn a workhorse model that enables them to comprehend consequences and solutions in a structured manner.
– In seminars, students actively use these models to discuss current political debates by reading op-eds, excerpts from public studies, and research on topics such as industry support, the Norway price on electricity, and the effects of globalisation and immigration.
– Who are you collaborating with?
– I am very fortunate to have received a tremendous amount of help in designing the course. There are many skilled and more experienced lecturers at the department who have taken the time to discuss with me and share materials.
– In particular, I would like to mention Professor Emeritus Jon Vislie, who has taught for many years at the Department of Economics, written several textbooks, and created countless assignments and solution proposals. Jon has assisted me greatly and has worked hard to create curriculum and materials suitable for the course I have assembled. I have sifted through old subject pages, and there is an incredible amount of material that has been used in previous teaching.
– There is great value in using old assignments and reading from textbooks that are unfortunately no longer in print. Additionally, I have skilled seminar leaders supporting my teaching!
– In your opinion, what are the three most important factors for achieving good teaching in this field?
– Firstly, I am by no means a fully-fledged lecturer, and I have much to learn to become an even better teacher. For students, I believe effective learning comes from hard work, a sense of achievement, and clear visibility of the relevance of what they are learning. Therefore, I strive for students to develop a solid toolkit to understand economic issues. It is not enough to be told the results; students must also grasp how to arrive at them. This requires more effort, but I believe it also leads to greater mastery.
– Furthermore, I have been particularly focused on bridging the gap between economic theory and its application in the real world. Students must understand how the models they learn can be used to think systematically about real-world issues that society faces.
– Lastly, I use the blackboard with chalk in the traditional way. I believe this provides good teaching at a steady pace, and I feel as though I am solving the models alongside the students during lectures.
– If you were to give one piece of advice to new teachers at the faculty, what would it be?
– Speak with those who have taught at the department before you. They have a wealth of experience and lots of useful advice.