International Review of Economics Education最新文献

The paper adds to the literature on the costs of higher education by estimating an individualised valuation of time spent studying. This valuation, in addition to the direct costs and the forgone earnings, allows us to assess the overall costs of undertaking higher studies, which is crucial for accurately estimating the rate of return to education and understanding the mechanisms of human capital accumulation. We use a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to evaluate the disutility of time spent studying by a group of students of economics in a leading Central European university. We investigate the heterogeneity of preferences towards time allocation across genders. We estimate the parameters of the students’ utility function assuming a random utility model using multinomial logit (MNL) and random parameter logit (RPL). We found that for students of economics studying for an additional hour resulted in a disutility worth around EUR 2.95, which is a rough equivalent of the minimum net hourly wage rate in Poland. This value is however higher than the value attributed to the disutility related to an hour spent at work. The estimated value was strongly heterogeneous, depending on students’ personal characteristics.

Writing-intensive economics courses are courses that use writing as a central feature of instruction and evaluation of students’ work. This study presents and evaluates teaching improvements on these basic structures. Using teaching evaluations data from eight public finance sections taught between Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2019, an ordered probit model estimates the value, as rated by students, of the following improvements to enhance the writing quality of student papers: (1) explicit grading rubrics; (2) funding a dedicated course specialist consultant (CSC) from the writing center; (3) engaging librarians in creating a literature review guide; (4) instructor blogging. The empirical model estimates the contribution of the improvements to the overall instructor and course evaluation ratings as well as to the writing component student ratings. Empirical results show that grading rubrics had a statistically significant positive effect on student assessments of writing component design and writing skills development. Engaging a dedicated CSC improves writing skills ratings. Instructor blogging had a statistically significant positive effect on instructor ratings while literature review guide improved course ratings. Only an expected grade had a significant positive effect on all student rated course outcomes. The goal of this paper is to provide ideas for enhancing economics content through writing.

A mid-sized advanced undergraduate economics module has undergone an assessment reform, where a typical 60% final exam was replaced by four scaffolded coursework assignments, each carrying a 15% weight in the final grade. As a result, student satisfaction with assessment and feedback went up at the expense of higher staff workload. In addition, the reform raised the final grades over and above the increase typically associated with an improvement in learning and engagement, effectively triggering grade inflation. The paper identifies the coursework assignment that inflated the grades. It then proceeds with grade simulations, whose purpose is to formulate an assessment reform agenda aiming to maintain high student satisfaction, disinflate grades, and stabilise staff workload. Finally, the paper evaluates the scalability of assessment reforms where final exams are targeted for replacement by coursework assessments. The evaluation suggests caution with such reforms, if they are necessary in the first place. They may both be feasible and desirable in small classes, but compelling arguments caution against a premature wholesale rollout.

While assigning homework in college courses is supported by both psychological research on memory and studies of economics classes, research examining the marginal effect of homework scores on exam performance generally shows insignificant results. These weak marginal effects may be due to the number of times students repeat the work and how spread out they are; the few studies that show positive marginal effects of homework performance use at least three spaced repetitions. This study evaluates a spaced repetition model of short homework assignments repeated at increasing intervals in intermediate microeconomics. Results show a positive significant marginal effect; students who did better on the homework assignments scored higher on both in class exams and a cumulative final. The implication is that the simple change of structuring homework assignments with additional spaced repetitions may significantly improve learning.

Does teaching the theory of consumer choice in Introduction to Microeconomics enhance student learning in upper-level economics courses? In this study, a Public Finance course was selected as an example of an upper-level economics course. Results suggest that: (1) it can significantly benefit students in learning Public Finance when students learned about the topic (i.e., theory of consumer choice) in the Introduction to Microeconomics class within one year of enrolling in the Public Finance class; and (2) when the Public Finance instructor reviewed/taught the topic at the beginning of the semester, students who learned about the topic in the Introduction to Microeconomics class within one year of enrolling in the Public Finance class significantly performed better than other students who learned about the topic over one year before enrolling in the Public Finance class or never learned about the topic in the introduction class. Another interesting question emerged: who is responsible for teaching the topic — instructors who teach Introduction to Microeconomics or other faculty? While it seems reasonable to expect those who teach the Introduction to Microeconomics class to do so, some may not agree. We encourage further discussion of this topic among readers.

This study investigates the perspectives of Economics academics regarding the impact of using text-generative AI (GAI) on teaching and assessment in the UK higher education (UKHE) sector, with a specific focus on essays. The survey of academics’ perceptions encompasses considerations of academic integrity, transferrable skills, and ethical GAI use. The responses unveiled a range of significant findings regarding the present condition of essay-based assessment in Economics education. The most prominent of which is that, while GAI development has introduced a new conflict between integrity concerns and essay-writing, Economics academics confirm that the latter continues to be important to their graduates. However, there is an emphasis on reshaping the format of conventional essays and refining traditional marking criteria. Elevating assessment questions along Bloom’s taxonomy is deemed vital for critical thinking and producing future-ready graduates. Respondents also recognise the need to impart ethical awareness among students when using GAI while exploring innovative pedagogies to develop and assess the new GAI skill set. Thus, our study challenges the dichotomy of pulling the plug on conventional essays and, instead, prompts a critical re-evaluation—resuscitation through reimagination. Finally, most express interest in learning more about GAI and its educational applications, either through self-experimentation or structured events and GAI training. Overall, the study reveals a complex topography of perspectives, highlighting the need for subtle, collaborative approaches as academics carefully evaluate strategies to leverage GAI’s potential while evolving assessments and pedagogies.

The modern-day classroom is characterized by academic diversity, with students from varied backgrounds and with different levels of prior knowledge. To cater to the diverse abilities of students, this paper explored the use of flipped learning as a teaching approach in an introductory economics course. We investigated the effectiveness of 40 pre-lecture videos covering basic concepts and 27 post-lecture tutorial videos focusing on practice in improving students' exam outcomes, especially for beginners in economics who may require more support from instructors than other students. We collected data about video engagement and students' grades in progress assessments. Surveys were conducted to gather students’ feedback regarding the usefulness of the videos on their learning. The findings showed that beginners engaged more with those videos, spent more time watching them compared to non-beginners. Furthermore, the study observed an improvement in beginners' exam performance, with their average grade increasing as a percentage of the average of non-beginners. These findings hold significance for instructors aiming to offer personalized assistance to students with varying levels of prior knowledge, thereby advancing educational practices in the field of economics.

In this paper, we discuss the differences between online and in-person students (“cohorts”) in an intermediate econometrics course taught in Summer 2021 using a hybrid (online and in-person) educational format. We designed this course as an experimental pilot which used a combination of lectures, labs, and hands-on activities to study whether hybrid instruction necessarily advantages one group of students (e.g., in-person) over another (e.g., online). We were particularly interested to know if differences could be reduced through course design choices and the use of interactive learning activities. We found that our design led to generally highly positive experiences for students – and there were no differences in affective experiences between the online and in-person cohorts. We did find some small differences in participation and peer-evaluation, favouring in-person students, but no differences in overall academic achievement. We conclude that this case study shows how certain forms of hybrid learning do not necessarily disadvantage online students, if properly supported with course and curriculum design. We also provide examples and guidance for educators seeking to adapt, replicate, or extend our approach.

This meta-analysis considers the use of technology to facilitate learning in undergraduate economics courses. We ask what technologies have been adopted, who did the adopting, and how effectiveness was evaluated. A survey of 277 articles published between 2000 and 2022 demonstrates that while many of the technologies adopted for teaching reflected contemporary trends, studies of online and hybrid courses and flipped classrooms are now staples of the literature. Pedagogical studies that explore novel applications without quantifiable evaluative outcomes have declined substantially, whereas the number of studies that empirically estimate learning gains have doubled. Increasingly, researchers leverage random control trials and quasi-experiments.

Using pop culture to illustrate economics concepts is a growing trend among economics instructors. This paper embraces this trend and contributes by exploring the opportunities that using video clips from Netflix Originals series provides to economics instructors. We created lecture plans based on 12 Netflix Originals series allowing instructors to illustrate more than 25 economics concepts presented in principles of economics courses. The shows listed in this paper are from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Therefore, this paper's lecture plans allow students to learn a wide range of concepts using series from various parts of the world. Besides geographical diversity, our resources enable instructors to expose students to multiple forms of diversity, such as languages, cultural, ethnic, and sexual identities.