Five Questions is a weekly series that highlights faculty involved with the Center for the Study of Sports in Society.
Jadrian Wooten is an Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State University within the Department of Economics. Wooten received his Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University in 2014 and his research interests include managerial and labor related issues in sports as well as teaching pedagogy.
Why did you get involved with the Center for Sports in Society at Penn State?
I have known Steve Ross for a few years because he is an avid reader of sports economics research. Shortly after I joined the faculty at Penn State, Steve reached out and invited me to be part of the Center. I work off-and-on with Honors students completing their thesis in sports economics and I publish occasionally in sports economics as well. It’s a great opportunity to hear speakers from fields share their research and experience with sports.
Why do you think it’s important sports in society are studied?
The sports industry is incredibly small (profit wise), but plays an incredibly prominent role in our day-to-day lives. There are few other aspects of our culture that consume such a large portion of our time and energy. One of the things I always try to emphasize in my classrooms is how important interdisciplinary work is, and that’s true in sports as well. No financial company runs completely on finance majors. They hire lawyers, accountants, managers, public relations, advertising, and copy-editors for all of their daily work. The Center takes the same interdisciplinary approach to studying sports and it makes for a more engaging experience.
You recently announced your book on Parks & Rec and economics is in production. Where did you get this idea and what kind of impact do you hope it makes?
A few years ago I started a website that highlighted scenes from the show and how they applied to economic concepts. I use a lot of media in the classroom to enhance student engagement and I found Parks & Rec to be a great show to demonstrate particular concepts. I wrote the book in such a way that it closely mirrors my principles course, with a few additional chapters. My hope is that anyone interested in an introduction to economics will find it an accessible way to learn the material.
You just started a weekly newsletter about economics education. How did that come about and what can people expect from it?
A lot of that stems from that same principles course. I teach about 1,000 students in the Fall each semester and a big component of the course is current events and how they demonstrate economics. I don’t teach that course in the Spring because I teach upper-level field courses. I was finding a lot of great content that I would normally share in class, but didn’t have an outlet to share it. I figured a once-weekly newsletter was the easiest way to share what I was finding online and teaching it though a principles of economics lens.
Lastly, after teaching for almost a year now virtually, what is the biggest advice for educators and students as we continue to navigate this strange time?
Organization is absolutely critical, more than it’s ever been in person. I think that’s true for students and faculty alike. It’s easy to schedule your walks between classes, but it’s actually more frustrating to keep track of Zoom URLs for class, office hours, and clubs. Just about everything is on Canvas, so having due dates that are clearly outlined saves people a lot of headaches. We could get away with being a little unorganized in person, but that doesn’t work online.
Wooten can be emailed here.