Active Learning
in the Economics Classroom
Tisha Emerson
Baylor University
October 2011
Overview
• Why does our choice of pedagogy matter?
• Some Active Learning Techniques
▫ Classroom Experiments
▫ Cooperative Learning
• Assessment
• Other active learning strategies
Why does our choice
of pedagogy matter?
Why does our pedagogy matter?
• Consider your experiences as
▫ Students
▫ Teachers
Our pedagogy affects …
•
•
•
•
•
Both Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Material Retention
Significant Learning
Pluralism
Engagement
Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning
(Kolb, 1984)
Material Retention
5% Lecture
10% Reading
20%
Audiovisual
30%
Demonstration
50%
Discussion
Practice doing
90%
Teach others
Significant Learning
(Fink, 2003)
How do Economists teach Economics?
• According to Watts and Becker (2008), in 2005 the
median economics instructor
▫ always or almost always used traditional
lecturers (i.e. chalk-and-talk),
▫ frequently used instructor-student
discussion, but
▫ rarely used any other, in-class
pedagogical techniques.
Classroom
Experiments
Classroom Experiments
• Classroom experiments place students in roles
where they make economic decisions.
• Their choices generate data for later analysis and
debriefing in the class.
• Through the interchange and subsequent
debriefing, students uncover economic concepts
for themselves.
Aplia Experiments …
Why use classroom experiments?
• Evidence suggests that experiments lead to
higher student achievement and learning.
▫ Gremmen & Potters (1997); Frank (1997)
▫
▫
▫
▫
Emerson & Taylor (2004, 2007)
Dickie (2006)
Ball et al. (2006)
Durham et al. (2007)
• Experiments increase student involvement and
discussion.
• Experiments can foster a sense of community in
the classroom.
• They are fun! Both students and instructors
enjoy them.
Best Practices with Experiments
• Experiments should be run prior to presentation of
concepts in class.
• Instructions should be distributed ahead of time when
possible and then reviewed by the instructor prior to the
start of the experiment.
• Motivation for students to participate in a rational
manner can come in a variety of forms, but should be
provided in some form.
• Active participation by all students (as opposed to a
small group) promotes greater insight and results in
more fun for all.
• The instructor is a facilitator and should not direct or
suggest student behavior in any way.
• Debriefing and follow-up exercises are necessary to
promote understanding.
Logistical Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hand-run or Computerized?
Class size constraints
Time constraints
How many experiments?
How to motivate students?
What data to collect and how to collect it?
Classroom Experiment Sources
• Hand-run, face-to-face
▫ Bergstrom and Miller’s Experiments with Economic
Principles (Mc-Graw Hill)
▫ Journal of Economic Education
▫ Charlie Holt
(http://people.virginia.edu/~cah2k/papers.html)
▫ Games Economists Play
(http://www.marietta.edu/~delemeeg/games/)
• Computerized and/or Online
▫ Holt’s VeconLab
(http://people.virginia.edu/~cah2k/programs.html)
▫ Aplia (www.aplia.com)
▫ EconPort (www.econport.org)
Cooperative
Learning
Cooperative Learning (CL)
• Cooperative learning is the use of small group
work where students work together to maximize
their own learning as well as that of their peers.
Why use Cooperative Learning?
• Students who engage in cooperative
learning learn significantly more, remember
it longer, and develop better critical-thinking skills
than their counterparts in traditional lecture classes.
• Students enjoy cooperative learning more than
traditional lecture classes, so they are more likely to
attend classes and finish the course.
• Students are going to go on to jobs that require
teamwork. Cooperative learning helps students
develop the skills necessary to work on projects too
difficult and complex for any one person to do in a
reasonable amount of time.
Key Elements for Successful CL - PIES
• Cooperative Learning Exercises should be
structured to include:
▫
▫
▫
▫
Positive interdependence
Individual accountability
Equal participation
Simultaneous interaction
Important Steps in Developing and
Implementing CL Exercises
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-instructional Planning
Introduce Activity to Students
Monitoring
Closure
Practical considerations
• Through careful development,
cooperative learning exercises can avoid free
riding problems.
Examples of CL Exercises
•
•
•
•
Think-Pair-Share
Note-taking Pairs
Send-a-Problem
Larger scale projects
▫ Example: International Trade Project
Is there a relationship between trade and quality of
life? If so, what?
Project Learning Goals
• Help students understand the research process
• Develop students’ research skills (including
hypothesis formation, data gathering and
analysis)
• Improve students’ evaluative skills by examining
trade theories in light of data
• Build students’ oral and written communication
skills through reporting their research findings
and working collectively on a project
The Project
• Individual Data Collection and Analysis
▫ Students collect and analyze the data for a specified set of
countries. They then write a short report summarizing the
data and identifying trends and possible correlations.
• Individual Country Report
▫ Each student writes a report on a country of their choice –
focusing on the trade participation of that country.
• Cooperative Learning – Group Research
▫ Student groups develop a hypothesis regarding the
relationship between the trade participation and quality of
life in a set of countries.
• Group Reports (written & oral)
▫ Each group presents their findings in written and oral
format.
Student Evaluation of the Project
Mean Mode
I feel that I learned a lot from the project as a whole (data
collection, country report, group report).
I enjoyed working in a group.
I would have preferred to have all of the parts of the
project assigned as individual work (i.e. no group work).
I would have preferred to create my own group rather than
having groups assigned.
I learned more working in a group than I would have
alone.
I would have preferred to have all of the parts of the
project assigned as group work (i.e. no individual work).
*Scale: (5) strongly agree, (3) neutral, (1) strongly disagree
4.46
5
4.15
4
1.92
1
2.54
3
4.00
4
2.23
2
Assessment
Grading Department & Discount Stores
Kohl's
Dollar General
J.C. Penney
Dillard's
Target
Macy's
Sears
Wal-Mart
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
80
80
79
80
79
81
78
75
79
80
78
78
77
78
79
80
76
75
76
75
78
78
78
77
77
77
80
78
74
71
75
74
71
76
73
73
72
72
74
75
72
72
68
70
71
73
Scores are on a 100-point scale.
Source: American Consumer Satisfaction Index, University of
Michigan, http://www.theacsi.org/index.php
How do you grade a
department/discount store?
• Performance/Quality Indicators
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Quality of products
Quality/speed of service
Price
Availability of products
Shopping experience
• Aggregating up: ranking importance of
indicators
What are some similar challenges
when grading a store and grading
students?
• Small sample problem
• Defining the characteristics over which you will
aggregate.
Summative Assessment
• Used to judge and grade student work for a level
of mastery or achievement.
Formative Assessment
• Provides continuous feedback to shape learning
and direct instruction.
Other Strategies
Other Active Learning Strategies
•
•
•
•
Discussion (Discussing Economics, Salemi & Hansen)
Cases
Personal Response Devices (“Clickers”)
Context Rich Problems
• For information on any of these strategies see Starting
Point at http://serc.carleton.edu/econ/index.html
Thank you!
If I can ever be of assistance, please let me know:
Tisha_Nakao@Baylor.edu
254-710-4180