Foundations of Economics

Research shows the best way to learn is to put concepts to work with repeated practice. For this reason, frequent, quality practice is the cornerstone of the tightly-knit Foundations of Economics learning system, building student success in economics by doing economics. First, student attention is focused on what to study through a Checklist of clearly defined core concepts in each chapter. Section by section, Checkpoints demonstrate how to study by stepping through a Practice Problem and then engaging students with a parallel Exercise. In addition, the Third Edition addresses why we study economics through a new feature, Reality Check. With Foundations of Economics, students are taught to view economics as a skill to be honed rather than a collection of topics to be memorized. Learning by doing: The hallmark of the Bade/Parkin approach is learning by doing. Studies have shown that students retain 90% of what they apply immediately in real-life situations and 75% of what they practice, but only 10% of what they read or hear.[1] The unique Checklist/Checkpoint system in Foundations of Economics ensures that students are constantly practicing the multi-step thought process that characterizes the economic way of thinking.Checklists at the beginning of each chapter preview the key ideas of each chapter, so students know where they're heading.Checkpoints follow each chapter section (which develops one core concept) and present a Practice Problem with solution and a parallel Exercise. These Practice Problems and Exercises aren't simple recall/review problems-they're multi-step economic problems that require the kind of careful thought that ensures real learning takes place. The Checkpoints are a central component of the Foundations of Economics learning program and complement, rather than replace, the end-of-chapter problems and exercises instructors may assign for homework.Quality over quantity: Each chapter of Foundations of Economics concentrates on three or four core concepts that are called out in the beginning-of-chapter Checklists. Students remember more of what's important and are better able to use their knowledge to approach and solve problems.Diagrams that tell the whole story: Since understanding graphs is so important to students' understanding of economics, Foundations of Economics uses gradated color to show the direction of shifts in graphs, and detailed, numbered captions that walk students step-by-step through the action. Available in a variety of different formats to accommodate different budgets:SafariX Textbooks Online-an online, unabridged version of the textbook at approximately half the price of the standard textbook.[1] National Training Laboratories, Norfolk, Virginia