Economics is a difficult subject to learn. Undergraduates often fail to grasp the fundamental concepts and relationships of the discipline and seldom develop the basic skills of economic anaalysis. The three major reasons for this are the mathematical nature of the discipline, the perceived abstract nature of the subject and the level of statistical sophistication necessary to perform even fairly simple analysis. This project exploits the educational capabilities of the microcomputer to minimize these obstacles. Software and data bases tailored to the level of sophistication of the students are used in a twenty one workstation laboratory purchased by this award for the introductory courses, four specialized upper division courses, and, in the future the bulk of the remaining upper division coursers. In addition an entirely new course has been developed using the work stations. Drill and practice are avoided, economics skills are developed throughout the entire undergraduate economics curriculum. The award will be matched by an equal sum from the grantee.
