Wall Street Journal Tips for the Beginning of the Semester

 

Well, the Fall semester is about to begin (or perhaps it already has at your school). In any event, here are some tips for bringing the real world into the classroom and, as a result, making the introductory corpfin course much more memorable for the participants.

A recommendation to use The Wall Street Journal in class is not new; however, consider doing it in the following manner.

First, require students to subscribe to the Journal; semester subscription rates are low, and this obviates the need for students to run to the closest newstand on the day of class.

Second, tell the students that you will always be using the previous day's Journal on every class day. By using the previous day's paper, you eliminate problems attributable to the fact that some students' papers will be delivered to their homes in the morning, and others in the evening; some by mail, and some by carrier. (Apparently, the method of delivery is a function of the subscriber's zip code.
And, by pointing out that the paper will be used on every class day, you encourage students to bring the paper to class regularly.

In using the paper in class, try one or more of the following.

Take one full class period (I usually do it immediately following the chapters on security valuation) to go through the Journal page-by-page, describing the importance of relevant sections to financial decision-makers. Pay particular attention to (a) the layout of the front page (information dissemination and the formation of investor expectations), (b) relevant news items in the first section (pick an event that has resulted in a dramatic stock price change), (c) the "Corporate Focus" column in the second section sometimes work as "mini-case studies", and, of course, (d) the financial section. In the last section, there are, of course, many, many things to use. I generally focus on the stock and bond quotes to illustrate the security valuation models, and on the "Credit Markets" section to illustrate the yield curve and the Fisher Effect.

On an ongoing basis, don't assign the class to read large parts of the paper every day (they won't do it -- trust me on this); instead, pick one item and direct them to it at the beginning of each class and give them 3-4 minutes to read it. Then spend 10-15 minutes in class discussion of it.

Also, consider giving Journal-related extra credit and/or homework assignments. As always, these help motivate student interest, if done with a light touch.

Finally, don't forget to check the RWJ Website for suggestions of recent news items from the Journal (as well as other sources) to use in class! I've had tremendous luck with the WSJ over the years, and recommend its use highly If you have thoughts on this, contact me at c1803@umslvma.umsl.edu. Good luck!

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