Teaching as
Research
Jose J. Vazquez - Economics
Say I gave you $1000.
Which of the following two options
would you prefer:
a)
gaining $1,000 more with probability 0.5
b)
gaining $500 more with probability 1
Say I gave you $2000.
Which of the following two options
would you prefer:
a)
loosing $1,000 with probability 0.5
b)
loosing $500 with probability 1
Say I gave you $1000.
Which of the following two options would you prefer:
a)
gaining $1,000 with probability 0.5
b)
gaining $500 with probability 1
(16%)
(84%)
Say I gave you $2000.
Which of the following two options would you prefer:
a)
loosing $1,000 with probability 0.5
b)
loosing $500 with probability 1
(69%)
(31%)
1) Students Do
NOT read
textbooks before
coming to class.
How often do you read the text before attending
class?
Never
48%
Rarely
23%
Occasionally
17%
Regularly
Always
10%
2%
2) Lectures are the
best way to
transfer information
to novices.
Working
Memory
Visual
message
(pictures)
Verbal
message
(Words)
STUDY # 1
multimedia
Are
modules better than traditional
textbooks for learning
introductory microeconomics?
Are you an
undergraduate
student who has
never taken an
economics class?
Give three hours of
your time and earn
a $50 Amazon Gift
Card!
CALLING
ALL
STUDENTS
CONTACT:
econlearninglab@gmail.com
for more information
Base
Session 1
Base
Session 2
Retention
Session
Study
30 minutes
Study
30 minutes
2 weeks after
Base Session
2
Assessment
30 minutes
(24 MC
questions)
Assessment
30 minutes
(24 MC
questions)
Assessment
30 minutes
(28 MC
questions)
Post-Assessment Scores – ECON
73%
Video
70%
Text
66%
61%
Immediate Test
Retention Test
Regression
models
Post-Test =
β0 + β1videoij + β2ACTij
+ β3Xj + εij
RetentionTest =
β0 + β1videoij + β2ACTij +
β3Xj + εij
Regression
results
VARIABLE
MODEL 1
MODEL 2
Video
7.01* (2.84)
9.02* (3.26)
ACT
2.64*** (0.39)
1.70*** (0.45)
Male
-4.62* (2.90)
-3.47* (3.32)
Age
2.89** (1.37)
2.22 (1.57)
Adjusted R2
0.56
0.31
n = 59
*** p < 0.01 ** p < 0.05 * p < 0.1
STUDY # 2
What is the best way to offer
feedback to
students?
Percentage of correct responses.
No Feedback
80%
Text
Video
Professionally
Recorded
Videos
60%
40%
20%
0%
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
150+ countries
100,000+ registered
1 million quiz submissions
More than 2 million
video viewed
Why a new
Sandbox?
1. Field
Experiments
A
B
1I. Large Dataset
Enrolled
(167,000)
Watched a lecture
(67,000)
40%
36%
Took one quiz
(24,000)
28%
Earned quiz badge
(7,000)
STUDY # 3
Loss Aversion
Could
Theory Be Used to Motivate
MOOC students?
% of Students Completing Course
All students
Paid attention (1 question)
Paid attention (5 questions)
5%
20%
31%
% of Students Completing Course.
40.0%
Grade Notification
NO Grade Notification
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
all students
students who paid attention
% of Students Completing Course.
40.0%
Grade Notification
NO Grade Notification
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
all students
students who paid attention
% of Students Completing Course.
40.0%
points lost group
points gained group
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
all students
students who paid attention
% of Students Completing Course.
40.0%
points lost group
points gained group
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
all students
students who paid attention
Regression
n = 59
results
VARIABLE
MODEL 1
Loss
1.46** (.159)
Gain
1.30 (.167)
No Grade
1.03 (.163)
Male
1.52*** (.116)
Risk Taker
1.31 ** (.125)
*** p < 0.01 ** p < 0.05 * p < 0.1
Do you need
IRB?
YES
Where do I get
the data?
Where do I get
the time?
Thanks!
Jose J. Vazquez - Economics
vazquezj@illinois.edu