Essential MOOC Courses In Business For June

Model Thinking

School: University of Michigan

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link:  Model Thinking

Start Date: June 1, 2015 (10 Weeks)

Workload: 4-8 Hours Per Week

Instructor: Scott Page

Credentials: Scott Page oversees the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan. Page, who holds a Ph.D. in managerial economics and decision sciences from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, has published three textbooks on the impact of diversity on thinking models and complex systems. He has won numerous teaching awards over his academic career, including the University of Michigan’s Distinguished Diversity Scholarship and Engagement Award in 2009.

Graded: Students will earn a signed certificate from the instructor for successfully completing the quizzes, assignments, and final exam.

Description: Model Thinking provides an overview of key social sciences models. During this course, students will learn models relating to tipping points, probabilities, network structures, randomness, replication, complexity, and diversity. In doing so, students will understand the designs and dynamics that can enhance their abilities to predict outcomes, make decisions, and formulate processes. The course is broken into 20 sections (two sections per week), with each section featuring an hour-long video, readings, assignment questions, and quizzes.

Review: “The video lectures are clear, no-nonsense presentations briefly covering the theory, logic and intended context of use of a couple dozen models. This is enough to provide a general understanding of the models and their uses. For any of the models where I wanted a deeper explanation, further treatments of most of the models are on the Internet. The quizzes and exams are used to extend the learning experience; they actually do require an understanding of the subject matter and bit of thought. On opportunities for improvement, complete, worked examples and practice problem sets would significantly boost the learning opportunities.” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Note: Students should be comfortable with basic algebra before taking this course. Subtitles are also available in Ukrainian and Chinese.