This article's authors describe both the advantages of a literacy-targeted introductory course and how it might be taught by employing evidence-based teaching practices developed by cognitive scientists to maximize learning. This pairing of literacy-focused content with evidence-based pedagogy is intended to enhance student learning while focusing…

The authors of this article address the challenges faced in implementing a literacy-targeted (LT) approach in economic education. Despite research demonstrating the benefits of the LT approach, there is resistance to its adoption in classrooms and the publication of supporting textbooks and materials. They identify four key input areas that serve…

In this article, the author describes the practice of active learning with Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). First, he outlines the broad intellectual context of learning with and about economic data, summarizing the recent scholarly contributions made to the topic. Next, the author presents several strategies for teaching with FRED in the…

Most courses are taught almost exclusively using lecture and, despite gaps in textbook coverage of empirical economics, do not incorporate academic readings. The authors of this article present a "jigsaw literature review" cooperative learning activity to address these shortfalls. The jigsaw guides students through formulating a position…

The authors of this article describe the design and implementation of a multi-site randomized controlled trial of team-based learning (TBL) application exercises (AE) in introductory economics courses that use TBL. For each of the four study modules that are common across sites, a site is assigned to either the treatment or control version of the…

Economics and business students are taught that sunk costs are irrelevant to their decisions. Yet, there is ample evidence that managers fail to integrate this simple rule and fall prey to what is known as the sunk-costs bias. To mitigate cognitive biases, such as the sunk-cost bias, educators must raise students' awareness of these common…

In this article, the author discusses how graphical simulation models created using STELLA software can be used to present natural resource systems in an intuitive way in undergraduate natural resource economics classes based on his experiences at a leading research university, a state university, and a leading liberal arts college in the United…

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…

Argues that standard methods of teaching Irving Fisher's theory of interest to undergraduates are generally difficult and unsuccessful. Presents a lesson in which students playing out roles in a story learn how the interest rate determines equilibrium in credit markets and sets prices of investment opportunities. (DSK)

Outlines how students develop a price index based on candy-purchasing decisions made by class members. Explains that students used the index to practice calculating inflation rates and to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the consumer price index (CPI). States that the exercise has been used in introductory and intermediate macroeconomics…

Cites advantages of using computers and the World Wide Web in classroom simulations. Provides a sample simulation that teaches the basic economic principles of trade, investment, and public goods in the context of U.S. economic history. (JEH)

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…

Asserts that a recent report suggests that students should have opportunities to become actively engaged in the application of economics. Finds that the case method approach was more useful than texts and lectures in learning about institutional arrangements, the use of economic data, and how to use economics to solve real problems. (CFR)