Abstract:
Economics remains an abstract subject to many undergraduate students. New approaches to teaching suggest that student-centered learning activities, in contrast to traditional lecture methods, can increase student interest and enhance their success. The author has developed and used several such activities in an introductory economics course to complement the traditional lecture material. The activities include guest speakers from the community area, videos that depict historical economic events, a stock market tracking assignment, and some practical cost, revenue, and profit simulations. Results of student surveys and written class comments on these student-centered learning activities are reported for two classes. They are generally positive, but student responses indicate they want such activities to count significantly in the course grade.
Keywords:
economics course, student-centered learning