Teaching Forecasting and Prediction

Abstract

This paper aimed to materialize how to teach forecasting and predictions to undergraduate students. There are two modes of thinking, including the determination of forecasters and forecast errors. To determine the best forecast, we have to use the methodology of minimizing sums of forecast errors, which is further discussed in this paper. An example of this is single exponential smoothing, which is rather difficult when it comes to determining the smoothing constant alpha. In management and administrative situations, the need for planning is great because the lead time for decision-making ranges from several years to a few days or even a few hours. The ability to predict many types of events seems, as natural today as, to be the accurate forecasting of weather conditions in a few decades.