WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!

The purpose of this site is to disseminate my research, teaching, mentorship, and authorship objectives and accomplishments (with not insignificant references to basketball and pinball). The ‘About Me’ section contains some basic information about me, a gallery, and my updated CV. The ‘Teaching’ section describes classes I have taught, my approach in each, and provides sample syllabi. The ‘Research’ section describes my research projects, work with students, and past media appearances. The ‘Recent Posts’ section contains update posts about my current work, as well as some student-written work (with permission) to highlight their outstanding in-class efforts. For media inquiries, consulting requests, or general questions, feel free to get in touch using the ‘Contact’ section.

BLAKECONOMICS

What is “Blakeconomics?” A student once semi-jokingly used this term to describe my teaching style after they had a particularly challenging exam. When I asked them to clarify what this meant, they cited that my exams were tough for them because they relied on students applying course content rather than regurgitating definitions or recalling basic facts. It became a sort of running joke that semester as students used the term to express their simultaneous frustrations and acknowledgement of the value of application. Despite the term mostly being used by that cohort of students, it stuck with me as one of the first times I really considered my goals as a teacher-scholar.

Blakeconomics came to be a term I use to capture my focus on application. For teaching, economics is challenging to students for many reasons, especially because all too often it is difficult to see how theories we learn in principles are applicable to our lives. In class, theories may sound straightforward, but students sometimes struggle to convert that class knowledge to assignment, exam, or discussion success. I rely heavily on application and case studies as a means for understanding. Likewise, my research goals are infused with practicality in mind. I seek research topics that help inform policy or describe economic outcomes (e.g. income distribution) that meaningfully affect peoples’ lives. In all endeavors, I center my work approach around this concept of Blakeconomics because I think the best way for us as educators to make a difference is to teach students how to apply content and extend it into approachable research topics.