High school students gain insight into life at Bryant through the Precollege Economics Program

It's Thursday morning in an Academic Innovation Center classroom, and Aziz Berdiev, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, can barely catch his breath as he answers the many questions high school students have about macroeconomics. With each answer he gives, two more arms shoot across the room. It's Day 4 of Bryant's Precollege Summer Economics Program, and the group is learning about gross domestic product (GDP). As Berdiev explains how GDP measures the market value of all final goods and services produced in a country for a year, he calls out one of the raised hands in the back of the room.

“Let’s say a car is manufactured in 2020 but not sold until 2021. Would you measure GDP in 2020 or the following year?” asks the high school student.

Berdiev says that the vehicle will count towards 2020 GDP and begins a lengthy statement on inventory investment.

“When the clock strikes midnight and the new year begins, car companies will have to buy the cars they produced but did not sell,” says Berdiev, pointing out that in the macroeconomy there must be a balance between production and spending.

Twenty-eight pairs of eyes are absorbed in what he is saying. When something catches their eye, they immediately grab their pencils, lean over their desks and scribble in their notebooks. Berdiev goes to the whiteboard, takes a pen and begins to teach the group how to calculate nominal and real GDP.

Introduction to college life

Now in its fifth year, Bryant's Precollege Summer Economics Program welcomes high school students to a five-day intensive on-campus camp where youth learn basic and advanced economics, develop data analysis skills, analyze current policy issues, and work with Bryant faculty for six hours each day. Students accepted into the program are eligible for full and partial scholarships and receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program. This year — under the direction of Berdiev, Associate Professor of Economics Laura Beaudin, Ph.D., and Lecturer in Economics Allison Kaminaga, Ph.D. — youth will study opportunity cost, supply and demand, data analysis, macroeconomics, and regression analysis.

“Pre-college programs allow students to get a taste of college life. They meet professors and engage in challenging college-level academic material, which expands their knowledge in an area of ​​interest,” Beaudin says. “They also have the opportunity to use campus facilities – including the library, study rooms, gym and dining hall. These experiences can help students feel more comfortable making the transition from high school to college.”

In addition to learning basic economic principles, students tour the campus and hear from various guest speakers. This year, the group heard from Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President for Student Life Jana Valentine, Director of Career Services Veronica Stewart, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Denise Horn, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Business Todd Alessandri, Ph.D., and Vice President for Strategy and Institutional Effectiveness Edinaldo Tebaldi, Ph.D.

Process numbers, analyze data

After their group discussion on GDP, Berdiev moves on to inflation and the labor market. Berdiev prepares the students for their next project by displaying the World Bank database on the room's projector and explains that they will work in groups to select two countries and calculate eight variables, which could be anything from the country's unemployment rate to labor force participation. He sends them into breakout rooms, where they have half an hour to work on their calculations and create a PowerPoint presentation of their data, which they will present to their classmates.

“Group projects give students the opportunity to develop social skills needed for college and the workplace, while also allowing students to meet new people and make friends,” says Beaudin. “By the end of the week, students will have learned how to use both theory and data analysis to propose solutions to problems of economic inequality, while building important quantitative, qualitative, collaborative and communication skills.”

The time frame may be tight, but the teens are up to the challenge. All week, they've gone back and forth between learning in the classroom and applying what they've learned. Just this morning, they presented their work analyzing data related to housing, health, and gender inequality in sports. Over the next 30 minutes, teachers come into break rooms to answer questions while students sit together to calculate and compare data across countries. When they finally return to the classroom, the high school students exude a level of confidence they didn't have at the start of the week. Their confidence comes in part from accurately calculating variables like nominal and real GDP, but mostly it's the result of their budding passion for economics.