Matthew S. Wilson

Courses taught as primary instructor

-Intermediate Macroeconomics (syllabus)

-Principles of Macroeconomics (syllabus)

-Principles of Microeconomics

-Intermediate Microeconomics

-Public Economics

-Game Theory

AIart

AI art of me teaching a class


Back in 2015, I was sick with pneumonia. I have always worked hard to serve my students, but I didn't expect them to care about me enough to visit me in the hospital and bring this:


sick

A few years later, a sorority honored me with this. I have received a number of other tokens of appreciation over my career.


apple

I have developed a number of ways to harness technology to improve student learning. Here are a few examples.



Two games I created where students can learn about monetary policy:

Federal Reserve Game (easier version)
Federal Reserve Game 2

I created this video with GapMinder to illustrate the role of resources. Surprising results - like the one in this video - stir up student curiosity. As a failed music major, my interdisciplinary background helps me spot unexpected connections between classical music and economic ideas; this makes lessons more memorable. Without further ado, here is how a Haydn symphony can teach students about resources and GDP:

USA: Green
Qatar: Crimson (they have a lot of oil!)
Real GDP per capita over time




And here Pachelbel's "Canon in D" teaches students about business cycles:




More often than not, I use a chalkboard or whiteboard when teaching. But sometimes the graphs can be messy when drawn by hand. In those cases, I make a short animation on the computer. This clip shows one of the steps in drawing the substitution and income effects.




The first time I taught Principles of Macro, some students struggled with calculating real GDP. I concluded that they weren't getting enough practice, so I designed a website for them. A random number generator creates the prices and quantities in each year, so they can try a nearly unlimited amount of exercises. Solutions are at the bottom of the page. After I set up the website, students started doing noticeably better on GDP questions.

GDP Practice (Principles of Macro)


I have similar websites for CPI Practice, Intermediate Macro GDP, and growth rates.

A few of my Public Finance students created similar websites for ad valorem taxes:

Caitlin's practice website
Alex's practice website
Ziqi's practice website

During the pandemic, I recorded a number of teaching videos. Here is one where I teach my principles students about behavioral economics