M1: Microeconomics in Action (Case Transcript)

In this activity, you assume the role of superintendent of a rural school district. The small geographic area you superintend has low average wages and property values. Transportation and facilities costs for isolated schools are high. With a small student population, average salary costs for teachers are also high, because your state funds schools on the basis of the numbers of students they serve. Revenues have been insufficient to allow your district to invest heavily in technology in the past.

As superintendent, you have considered plans for future growth carefully, keeping the interests of both your students and other members of the community, including teachers, in mind. You are considering the adoption of a digital learning initiative meeting the needs of the surrounding community. You have noticed that workers producing more highly valued outputs are paid relatively better than most professions in your area. For instance, an agricultural engineer (who solves problems concerning power supplies, machine efficiency, the use of structures and facilities, pollution and environmental issues, and the storage and processing of agricultural products) is paid more per hour than an agricultural worker maintaining crops and tending to livestock. In researching the issue of wages and employment, you found that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded the median wage across all occupations in the US as being $19.14 in 2019. You also found that a radiation therapist with an Associate's Degree typically earns above $40 per hour and a software developer with a Bachelor's degree typically earns above $50 per hour. On an hourly basis, it appears to be clear that individuals with highly valued skills will command a higher wage than those typical of your community.

You look ahead at these forces:

1. Preparation of graduates for existing employment opportunities and a future in which technological ability is increasingly in demand by employers.
2. Ability of the local community to produce highly valued outputs attracting a more diverse range of employers, potentially in industries where workers are paid more.
3. Work-at-home initiatives allowing workers more locational flexibility.

This digital learning initiative requires a large, long-term investment in facility upgrades. Aging electrical systems must accommodate expanded computer labs. You will adopt a one-to-one device plan using technology compatible with instruction in advanced computer programming, web design, 3D modeling, multimedia production, etc., to complete the course projects. You plan to adopt curriculums allowing students to complete career-specific pathways, such as agricultural technology and building and construction trades available in the surrounding economy. You also hope to utilize digital resources in areas where you struggle to find qualified educators locally, such as foreign languages.

Your Task

You plan to trade one ingredient (teachers using traditional instructional methods without student access to computers, except for testing and special projects) for another (personal computers for each child in a classroom, reducing reliance on teachers alone, and expanding individual teacher productivity), and you want to illustrate the benefits students and the community will experience over time as students access an expanded range of curriculum. Adopting digital curriculum will also alleviate difficulties attracting qualified teachers in subjects with low enrollment, including key scientific, math, and technical subjects. Teachers can more effectively support students once the curriculum is enhanced with digital assets, including science and language labs. Qualified teachers are sometimes "packaged" with digital curriculum.

In preparing to present your plan to community members, you are unsure how to communicate the economic logic of your plan. Luckily, you have just reviewed the reading in this module. The application-based activity ("Production Possibilities") frames cupcake versus cookie production in terms of ingredient combinations. You find this is an effective way to illustrate decisions made by firms to alter combinations of inputs in a production process. You recall that the other activity assigned in this module ("Inputs and Choices") explains that economic models are simplifications, like a map that does not include every blade of grass. You realize a similar analogy might illustrate your plan.

Particularly because many older teachers feel threatened by the adoption of new technology, you would like to frame your plan in simple terms based on choice, given scarce resources. You would like to emphasize that resources, in combination, can expand your district's capabilities and enhance the productivity of individuals, including students and teachers.

Responsive Posts

• A major example of a decision that has been of similar benefit to you and/or your family or community.
• A major or minor example of how a corporation or other firm, governmental or non-profit institution (or employees or officers of this entity), has demonstrated an ability to arrive at a decision using marginal analysis, where you can identify a clear benefit to you and/or your family or community.