Evidence suggests that active engagement with material as it is being taught improves learning. In-class multiple choice questions are a common way to introduce active learning. Low-stakes writing is another. The author of this article provides evidence that using a content-based low-stakes writing prompt with immediate group feedback during the…

The authors of this article estimate the learning effects of the flipped classroom format using data from 16 sections of principles of microeconomics over a 4-year period. The experimental design is unique in that two treatment and two control sections were taught during the fall semester in four consecutive years. Further, the instructor switched…

Millennial students, shaped by the rapid change in technology and connectivity, pose a challenge in devising new teaching and learning pedagogies. The team-based learning (TBL) approach has been used in several disciplines and is indicated as an effective way to use active learning techniques to help students improve their academic performance.…

Contemporary pedagogy encourages instructors to move away from memorization to teaching the ability to "do economics." In such an environment, students are taught to apply knowledge of economic measurement, the economic model, and economic policy to analyze current events and policies. In this article, the authors build on existing…

In this article, the authors describe an innovative charades-based educational game, HeadsUp! Econ, and its use for effective economics instruction. Results of a self-assessment survey of students demonstrate that implementing HeadsUp! Econ as an active learning game provides students opportunities to: (1) practice identifying which concepts are…

In this article, the authors examine two ways that they use music (i.e., popular song lyrics) as an active learning technique in an undergraduate history of economic thought course. First, they use music to help students grasp the ideas of the great thinkers in economics and see their relevance today. Second, because they require students to read…

Answers the what, why, how, and for whom questions concerning a collaborative-learning-lab component of the introductory economics course at Occidental College (California). Reports on the program's effectiveness based on a student questionnaire: they overwhelmingly report that the lab is worthwhile and that group work is both enjoyable and…