Economics is a very useful tool for our daily life decisions and public policies. We want to teach students to understand the economic concepts and reasoning to make decision and to solve real world problems. In writing assessments, we often include questions that requires students to use the concepts and reasoning to solve some hypothetical problems.
To reduce student’s anxiety of exams, we provide past exam papers for students to practice. Such practice supposedly serves to strengthen student’s learning. That is our good intention.
Unfortunately, some students use such past exam papers to develop templates and make it available to others (often through some social media or trading platform). Supposedly, templates can help shorten the time to solve a problem. Templates are not bad, supposedly. The problem is that some "hardly working" students who have weak or no understanding of the course materials want to use such templates to do well in the course. That is definitely not our intention.
Assessments are designed to tell whether students understand the concepts and are able to apply the concepts to solve the problems – i.e., whether students achieve our intended learning outcome. Such templates defeat the purpose of such assessment activities.
The only way to restore the validity of such assessment activities is to write questions that will make such templates useless for students who know little about the concepts and reasoning.
Thus, we have to write questions such that such templates will become useless, unless students really have a good understand of the concepts and reasoning. Here is just one small example.
--- A typical question that had appeared many times before 2022 Spring final exam ---
The equations below show Calvin's estimated per-month benefit of watching n movies on an online movie platform. (Assume that n can take only integer values.)
Marginal benefit (dollars): MB(n) = 425 - 14n
Suppose Calvin face a fixed price of P dollars per movie. If Calvin decides to watch 28 movies per month, then we can infer that the price per movie (P) is less than or equal to [ Answer02A ] dollars and more than [ Answer02B ] dollars.
------
This question tests the simple cost and benefit analysis covered in Chapter 1.
To solve this question, we need to know the cost and benefit principle. The cost and benefit principle says we should do an activity if and only if MB is larger than or equal to MC. MC is P here. MB is speficied as an equation. Thus, we have the two conditions: (1) MB(n=28) must be larger than or equal to P, and (2) MB(n=29) must be less than P. Knowing these two conditions, obtaining answers should be straightforward.
If we have a pre-developed template, we just enter 425, 14 and 28 into the template, we will be able to obtain the required answers in seconds -- without knowing the concepts.
--- A slight revised version of the question by including an irrelevant number (2022 Spring Final) ---
The equations below show Calvin's estimated per-month benefit of watching n movies on an online movie platform. (Assume that n can take only integer values.)
Marginal benefit (dollars): MB(n) = 425 - 14n
Upon paying a monthly subscription fee of 45 dollars, Calvin will be eligible to watch any movie at P dollars per movie. If Calvin decides to watch 28 movies per month under the scheme, then we can infer that the price per movie (P) is less than or equal to [ Answer02A ] dollars and more than [ Answer02B ] dollars.
------
This question differs from the earlier version only by the monthly subscription fee. If we understand the cost and benefit principle, we know that the decision is really about MB and MC comparison. Thus, the subscription fee is really irrelevant. So, we should just use the two conditions: (1) MB(n=28) must be larger than or equal to P, and (2) MB(n=29) must be less than P. Obtaining the answers would be just as easy.
However, if we know nothing about such concepts, and we rely only on the template, we would be very confused. The template allows me to enter three numbers but the question provides four numbers. We would consider the template is useless. But, if we really understand the concept, we then know which three numbers to enter and the template would be just as useful.
As we (teachers) know that some "hardly working" students want to use template to pass the course, we continue to modify the questions such that such templates will become useless to such students. Therefore, students should really learn how to solve the problems using concepts and reasoning covered in the course, not to rely on templates.
Next time, when someone wants to sell you a template, say NO!
Focus on learning! Do not take short-cut!
Worry about passing this course? You should! But, you should have no difficulty passing the course if you really understand the concepts and reasoning, and practice enough. Taking the short-cut of templates for the exam without a good understanding of the concepts is like suicide!
| 2023-05-23 | Who is to blame? The Observatory? Or yourself? |
| 2023-05-20 | I hope all students would be just as willing to learn and reach out for help from us! |
| 2023-05-05 | Can students late-drop their worst performing course? |
| 2023-01-16 | We shall overcome! We shall overcome the GPA killer's challenge! |
| 2022-12-30 | Rules! We follow rigid rules! |
| 2022-12-30 | I am honest. Why don't you trust me? |
| 2022-12-17 | How many times do I have to repeat before you listen and follow my instructions? |
| 2022-12-06 | Teaching Innovation Award |
| 2022-11-07 | Our expectation: 10 hours per week for 12 weeks! |
| 2022-09-28 | Is it possible to late drop? |
| 2022-06-21 | Why not implement zoom invigilation on top of personalized exam papers? |
| 2022-03-21 | DO NOT PANIC. YOU CAN DO IT. WE CAN HELP YOU, ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! |
| 2022-01-27 | Can you help supervise my project? |
| 2022-01-19 | Please help me to enroll in Introductory Microeconomics NOW! |
| 2022-01-15 | Thank you, for putting in your best effort, thus letting me achieve what I wanted to achieve. |
| 2022-01-06 | It is never easy to face failure, but it can be an important learning experience. |
| 2021-12-30 | University life is not just about getting good grades, but also exploring your limit and understanding yourself. |
| 2021-10-04 | Reasons for disapproving late drop requests |
| 2021-08-04 | It takes two to tango! |
| 2021-08-02 | ECON1210 a killer course? KF Wong a killer? |
| 2021-07-20 | Shock and sad to see student's poor performance in 2021 Spring |
| 2021-07-14 | Cooling-off period |
| 2021-03-17 | Online data are cheap and easy to find, but they have limitations! |
| 2021-02-08 | Mini-projects to build up research ability (1) |
| 2021-01-11 | Be our advisor, please! |
| 2020-12-21 | Why do we need this transparency? For fairness! For learning! |
| 2020-11-23 | You want to build some muscle but do not want to use your time exercising? I can help by exercising for you! |
| 2020-11-18 | Feedback to feedback |
| 2020-11-15 | General comments on participant's performance in a competition |
| 2020-11-04 | Yes, 1200+ personalized versions of the test paper! |
| 2020-02-18 | Let students focus on learning, teachers on teaching, and thus together achieve the intended learning outcomes. |
| 2020-02-10 | Online learning requires Discipline, DISCIpline, DISCIPLINE! |
| 2019-01-15 | Supposedly not difficult to get a B grade. |
| 2018-12-11 | This quality is more important than grades. |
| 2018-11-15 | Late dropping |
| 2018-11-15 | Unreliability of average SETL scores due to the high non-response rate |
| 2018-11-13 | Let go! |
| 2018-10-24 | No, please do not use my lecture time for your society's announcement. |
| 2018-09-26 | Scheduling an appointment |
| 2018-08-27 | None of my business |
| 2018-08-21 | Course evaluation bounds and response rate |
| 2018-08-09 | Be a responsible job applicant |
| 2018-02-10 | No calories browsing.... |
| 2018-01-24 | Would "uncertain" help your postgraduate study application? I would say, CERTAINLY NOT! |
| 2017-09-14 | When helping your friend is NOT HELPING YOUR FRIEND! |
| 2017-09-13 | My life as a student -- AGAIN |
| 2017-09-05 | You like easy grade, easy honor, easy graduation? |
| 2017-07-18 | My Facebook friends, please protect me just as I protect you. |
| 2017-07-12 | An internship |
| 2016-03-01 | You know me. But, do I know you? |
| 2015-12-17 | Why learning fails to happen despite the great design of the course and the great teacher? |
| 2015-10-20 | Can I trust you, my friend? |
| 2015-10-17 | If we have the second chance to "retake", failing or getting a low grade would not be so stressful. |
| 2015-09-18 | My first-hand experience on why learning is not taking place in lectures! |
| 2015-08-20 | Are you sure Econometrics is useless? |
| 2015-05-04 | Eating 100 bowls of rice in a day |
| 2015-01-31 | You say you love me. How can I tell whether you truly love me? |
| 2014-10-24 | I would be happy to write recommendations letter for your PhD or Master application if .... |
| 2014-10-23 | Master of Finance at MIT |
| 2014-10-06 | Are you sure what you saw was black? |
| 2014-03-05 | GOLDEN opportunity -- only to the hard-working students. |
| 2014-03-01 | What to do when your teacher's teaching style does not fit your learning style? |
| 2013-11-28 | A negative experience? Not completely. It can be made into a positive one! |
| 2013-11-27 | Many thanks for your appreciation of my teaching (II) |
| 2013-07-23 | My next stop is Barcelona! |
| 2013-06-01 | Her decision to pursue Master of Finance after her undergradaute study at HKU |
| 2012-11-10 | What should I do at HKU (activities versus study and many other things)? |
| 2011-09-12 | Coach, can you teach me to swim? |
| 2010-02-18 | How government policy with good intention can create frustration and political instability? |
| 2009-12-01 | Cherish our beloved ones who are still around us -- when we still can! |
| 2009-11-27 | Trust your teachers, but don't trust them blindly! |
| 2009-11-26 | You can give me a low score but please write some comments to help me improve my teaching. |
| 2009-08-26 | The similarity in health care service provision and fire fighting service provision |
| 2009-03-23 | Be brave. Visit your teachers. Ask them questions. Your teachers are a lot nicer than you think. |
| 2009-03-14 | How can you verify this is really you -- Dr. Ka-fu Wong of HKU? |
| 2009-03-09 | I dream to work in the business sector. Should I pursue a master degree before I join the private sector? |
| 2009-02-19 | Any economist can predict this... Can you? |
| 2008-12-21 | My students performed poorly in the final exam.
Help me help them.... please. |
| 2008-12-20 | Learning should not end with the final exam! |
| 2008-11-19 | Exchange in Europe can be very rewarding! |
| 2008-11-18 | UC Berkeley is my top choice for exchange! |
| 2008-11-02 | Why did we not have fresh mushrooms twenty years ago? |
| 2008-02-23 | Dialogue is preferred to monologue. |
| 2008-02-13 | If I were a single unemployed old man who lives on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) |
| 2007-12-17 | Is forecasting a pure guessing game? |
| 2007-12-16 | I want zero emission of CO2! |
| 2007-11-30 | How would I choose universities for exchange? |
| 2007-11-28 | Excuse me. Can you write a recommendation letter for me? |
| 2007-11-12 | No pain, no gain! |
| 2007-09-14 | Teaching is to be enjoyed, and so is studying. Grades should only be secondary. |