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Multi-modal approaches to teaching Economics Vanessa Smith Methodist Ladies’ College, WA Motivation Increasing competition to attract students Syllabus changes Increasing awareness of the need for differentiated learning experiences that cater for a variety of intelligences New opportunities presented by technology in schools and at home A major problem ... it’s true, economics can come across as pretty boring. It is a singular achievement of the economics profession that it has managed to make the study of our daily lives and interactions about as exciting as a maths quiz. Jessica Irvine (2012), Zombies, Bananas and Why There are No Economists in Heaven, p. 1 Learning styles Explicit consideration of learning styles may help us engage both students and teachers, boosting the profile of economics even in the face of increasing competition Learning styles Visual Auditory Read/write Kinaesthetic All students and teachers can benefit from understanding their own preferred learning style Questionnaire at http://www.varklearn.com/english/index.asp is very useful My philosophy Economics is an exciting, relevant area Theories last a long time but the applications are always changing This sense of immediacy, excitement and relevance needs to permeate economics programs I have found that each of the following strategies can assist in developing student engagement and understanding – and they’re lots of fun! Simulation games Have several advantages: Make economics “real” Experiential learning Can be used either to introduce or consolidate materials Simulation games Free games ASX www.asx.com.au/resources/sharemarket-games.htm ECB sharemarket game games: €conomia and Inflation Island www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/educational/ Simulation games Commercial games SimCity Civilisation / Age of Empires / Empire Earth If you’re interested, you can even draw on MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 Board games such as Monopoly or Risk Simulation games Create your own games Multiplier Elasticity Market game: “I spend, you spend” emporium for lemons: market failure due to asymmetric information Simulation games Create your own games There are many ideas in the Economics education literature, but these generally need to be adapted for the school context: www.economicgames.org http://people.virginia.edu/~cah2k/teaching.html http://www.marietta.edu/~delemeeg/games/ http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/themes/games Journal of Economic Education is very useful Economics teaching blogs and Twitter Visual strategies Routines for drawing diagrams Summary tables Visual organisers Colour Different presentation media Visual strategies Dealing with diagrams Draw in the same order each time: Price S P1 D Q1 Quantity Visual strategies Dealing with diagrams Make effective use of colour to distinguish between “old” and “new” points: Price S P1 D2 D1 Q1 Quantity Visual strategies Summary tables Perfect Competition Number of firms Type of product Control over price Barriers to entry Nonprice competition Economic profit (long run) Examples Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly Monopoly Visual strategies Visual organisers Visual strategies Causes and effects summary • Successful advertising campaign • Increase in disposable income (if this is a normal good) • Demographic or seasonal changes Increase in demand • Shortage (refer to diagram) • Consumers bid up prices, leading to a contraction in demand • Profit-maximising firms revise production plans upwards, leading to an expansion in supply • New equilibrium (refer to diagram) Visual strategies Other visual tools A3 or A5 paper Mind maps Draw freehand or use software such as Inspiration Can be created on any mobile device and then shared One-page “FBI wall” summaries Kinaesthetic strategies Traditional approaches to teaching economics haven’t been friendly to those with a kinaesthetic preferences These They class techniques can benefit everyone also help build a sense of identity as a Kinaesthetic strategies Creating models Showing the general shape of price elastic and inelastic demand curves Sidewalk Sending chalk a hoop through the business cycle Keepad clickers Kinaesthetic strategies Clickers (classroom polling) A fabulous way to liven up multiple-choice questions Questions & alternatives are presented in PowerPoint Students select their preferred response using a keypad A graph showing the number of students selecting each option can be shown Could be used for assessment Kinaesthetic strategies Low-cost alternatives Depending on your school’s mobile phone policy, it may be possible to use Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere.com) Team-based approaches make it easy to find different sounds for each team Door bells are fun, but make sure there isn’t a test going on in the next classroom! Kinaesthetic strategies More multiple-choice ideas Can be used at any stage of the lesson Helps develop students’ metacognitive skills by encouraging them to reflect on their learning Try getting students to write the questions Set time limits for particular questions Helps students get used to the speed at which they need to work in assessments Auditory strategies Music Discussion Videos and movies Podcasts Auditory strategies Using music Demand and supply rap based on Mankiw’s 10 principles of economics www.educationalrap.com/song/demand-supply/ Illustrate Merle the phases of the business cycle Hazard “The first-and-only Nashville country artist to sing about derivatives, mortgage-backed securities and physics” www.merlehazard.com Auditory strategies Discussion Using the language of economics Students not always working with the same group Scenario-based activities drawing on students’ experience Economics paradoxes, such as: paradox of value paradox of prosperity Auditory strategies Videos and movies Clarke and Dawe, Alan Kohler Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fabulous illustration of structural unemployment, pressures of competition and applications of price elasticity of demand Create your own podcasts Read/write strategies Flashcard Incorrect Writing economic commentary questions & marking keys Examining Wikis creators sample responses and blogs Read/write strategies Flash cards Useful for definitions, diagrams and key points www.quizlet.com Free flashcard creator Computer, mobile device or print them out Can pay a small annual fee to allow you to upload diagrams Flashcards can be shared – wide range of settings Read/write strategies Incorrect commentary Take a written piece of economic commentary, e.g. a newspaper article, and insert a set number of mistakes into it Students need to find and correct the mistakes, fully explaining their work Can be time-consuming but is well worth it Try getting students to create the incorrect commentary then swap with their peers Alternatively, could get students to annotate commentary Read/write strategies Writing questions Encourage students to write their own data interpretation or extended response questions Also need to write a marking key! Need to consider which instruction word is most appropriate Think about the difference between discuss and evaluate Read/write strategies Sample responses As a class, examine anonymous student responses from earlier years Students can try marking them Identify areas of strength and strategies for improvement Several possible sources: Keep copies of work from earlier years Standards guides in WA Write your own! Read/write strategies Wikis and blogs www.wikispaces.com collaborative embeds or similar approach a cycle of writing, seeking feedback and reviewing Next steps Currently creating sets of quizlet flashcards for the entire Year 11 & 12 courses Electronic submission of work Developing a simulation game focusing on the effects of shifts in the exchange rate and the terms of trade A final thought... Economics is about one thing and one thing only: maximising society’s total stock of wellbeing, and well, what could be more important than that? Jessica Irvine (2012), Zombies, Bananas and Why There are No Economists in Heaven, p. 2 Questions or comments? I love discussing strategies for teaching Economics! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] twitter: buglegs
