Abstract The purpose of the Online Economic Lessons cohort is to create and compile, for use by high school teachers, online economics lessons that specifically address the Kansas Standards and Assessments in Economics. The lessons would be easily accessible by Kansas teachers through a website that would also include a feedback mechanism, economic concept online dictionary, and annotated resources. In addition, the cohort would identify key agencies and resource partners and link them to the website for statewide visibility and access. Purpose/Vision/Need These lessons would address the needs of high school teachers as they prepare students for assessments in economics, a content area that is traditionally lacking in many high school curriculum programs. With the implementation of Kansas Standards for Social Studies and standards-based assessments, it is critical that Kansas teachers have access to high quality materials for teaching economic concepts and skills. Because assessment at the eleventh grade level occurs before most Kansas high schools offer a semester economics course, it is especially important that economics instruction be incorporated as a component of units currently being taught in subjects such as civics--government, geography, history, as well as language arts, math and science. The online economics lessons website created by this cohort will provide teachers with inter-disciplinary lessons that can be easily incorporated into the current curriculum, even when economics is not taught as a separate subject. At this time, Kansas Standards-based lessons in economics cannot be found at any other online resource. Additionally, the Online Economic Lessons website will provide teachers the opportunity to give feedback and communicate their experiences regarding use of the lessons in the classroom. Teachers will be able to organize and annotate Web site URLs applicable to the online lessons using an online interface such as Trackstar. Members Barbara Phipps - KU SOE Faculty and Director, KU Center for Economic Education Shala London - Assistant Director, KU Center for Economic Education 3-5 Secondary teachers from northeast Kansas school districts KU SOE preservice secondary social studies students Scope of Work During the initial stages of development (January through May 2001), the cohort will meet regularly (in person and online) to 1) determine the scope and number of lessons to be created, 2) establish guidelines for lesson development and share resources and 3) coordinate revisions of lessons written by individual members. Once the initial drafts of lessons have been compiled, the cohort will begin constructing the website and formulating the lessons online. Continuous improvements and enhancements will be made based on cohort and teacher feedback. Deliverables The product created by this cohort will be a website of online economic lessons with interactive features to enhance teacher usability and involvement. Timeline January - May 2001 Develop drafts of online economics lessons for use by high school teachers. Identify agency and resource partners to provide links to the site. June - December 2001 Construct the online lessons website, test the functionality of the site and the appropriateness of the lessons, and solicit feedback from area teachers. Resources The cohort will require technical assistance during the lesson development phase as well as technical assistance and materials to aid in the process of constructing the interactive website. Specific resource needs might include web development software, projection equipment for demonstrations of the website to Kansas teachers, and more sophisticated server software that will allow us to track visits more specifically and will integrate well with the KU CEE’s database. Institutionalization/Extension This cohort would provide Kansas secondary teachers and SOE preservice students with high quality economic resources. The website, lessons and resources would be continually updated and enhanced as a result of teacher interaction and feedback, and as new lessons and resource guides are developed by the Center for Economic Education and its affiliates. Evaluation The online economic lessons would continually be evaluated through teacher feedback and through measurement and tracking of visits to the site.

Learning Generation, University of Kansas, 2005.