Standards for So, You Want to Build a Nuclear Power Plant?

Standard: 2

Name: Decision Making

People usually respond predictably to positive and negative incentives. Effective decision-making requires comparing the additional costs of alternatives with the additional benefits.

• K-5: In elementary school, students learn about the benefits and costs of making choices. They learn how positive and negative incentives influence their choices and behaviors, and how different people can make different choices given the same circumstances.
• 6-8: In middle school, the presentation of decision-making is refined by adding the ideas of marginal cost and marginal benefit. Students learn that decisions are made by comparing the marginal cost and the marginal benefit of doing something. Finally, they learn that monetary and non- monetary incentives exist and that decisions may have long- term consequences.
• 9-12: In high school, the scope of decision-making is expanded to include the various roles that individuals play in the economy as well as other decision-makers such as firms and governments. Caveats to decision-making such as unintended consequences, the costs and benefits of an allocation system, and sunk costs are covered. Finally, basic behavioral economics findings are introduced to illustrate examples where individuals may not make the best decisions.Benchmark Students will know that: Students will use this knowledge to: 2.E.1 Because of scarcity, something is given up whenever a choice is made.From a list of three toys, rank order their preferences, state their first choice, and identify the second toy as what is given up. 2.E.2 A cost is what you give up when you decide to do something. A benefit is the gain a person receives when they decide to do something.List the costs (what you give up) and benefits (what you gain) of buying a pet. 2.E.3 The opportunity cost of an activity is the value of the best alternative that would have been chosen instead. It includes what would have been done with the money spent, the time, and other resources used in undertaking the activity.Describe a situation that requires a choice among several alternatives. Decide which they would choose and then identify the opportunity cost of that decision. 2.E.4 The evaluation of choices and opportunity costs is subjective; such evaluations vary depending on individual preferences, cultural backgrounds, and societal norms.Compare solutions to a common problem, such as where to go on a class trip, and explain why solutions and opportunity costs differ among students. 2.E.5 Many choices involve doing a little more or a little less of something; few choices are “all-or-nothing” decisions.Decide how the school should spend $4,800 to buy new playground equipment. Their class voted and would like to buy four swing sets ($1,200 each), three slides ($1,200 each), and three jungle gyms ($600 each). Explain what they must give up to get more of some and less of other equipment.E: ELEMENTARY STUDENTS National Content Standards in K–12 Economics | 12 Standard 2: Decision-Making

Standard: 16

Name: Growth and Fluctuations

Investment in factories, machinery, and technology, and in the health, education, and training of people can encourage economic growth and increase the standard of living in a country. Economic fluctuations, such as recessions, result in a temporary worsening of economic conditions as people have a harder time finding jobs and companies cut back or shut down production.

• 6-8: At the middle school level, students learn the importance of labor productivity in stimulating economic growth. Students learn what can improve labor productivity.
• 9-12: At the high school level, students learn about policies and institutions that could improve economic growth. They also learn about short-run fluctuations in the economy such as recessions and expansions.Benchmark Students will know that: Students will use this knowledge to: 16.M.1 Economic growth is a sustained increase in the quantity of the goods and services produced in a country.Research the real GDP of various countries and draw conclusions about the differences in economic growth between those countries. 16.M.2 Labor productivity is output per worker.Calculate the class’s average labor productivity after completing an activity (i.e., paper airplane production, solving calculations, jumping jacks, etc.). 16.M.3 One way an economy can grow over time is by increasing the number of workers. Another important way for an economy to grow over time is by increasing the output per worker.Perform a simple task such as making paper airplanes and then determine if more students engaged in the task will increase the production of the good or the workers’ productivity. 16.M.4 Workers can improve their labor productivity by using physical capital such as tools and machinery.Provide examples where using tools (an excavator to dig a hole, AI to write a summary of information) can increase the productivity of a worker. 16.M.5 Workers can improve their productivity when they learn new ideas or use better tools that help them perform more efficiently.Estimate the time required to complete tasks (solving a Rubik’s Cube, making an origami animal, or assembling a piece of furniture) with and without instructions. Analyze the differences and draw conclusions on how learning new methods and using tools can enhance workers’ productivity.M: MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS National Content Standards in K–12 Economics | 56 Standard 16: Growth and Fluctuations