Teaching Economics To Undergraduates: Alternatives To Chalk And Talk

Teaching Economics to Undergraduates: Alternatives to Chalk and Talk

This book demonstrates alternatives to the lecture and chalkboard approach that dominates the teaching of economics, providing a range of innovative teaching techniques and examples aimed at engaging undergraduates in the learning of economics. The editors provide a brief history of the teaching of economics in higher education, as well as a review of current undergraduate teaching practices. Some of the field's leading educators then demonstrate alternative practices in three main sections: `Active and Cooperative Learning', `Writing, the Internet, and Discovery Through Sampling', and `Examples from the World Around Us'. The topics in the twelve chapters of the book have been carefully selected based on their high potential for adoption by other instructors. Detailed, `hands-on' examples are included within each chapter, illustrating how suggested approaches can be used in different courses and classroom situations at the undergraduate level. Also included are lists of `Dos' and `Dont's' to guide instructors through the successful implementation of activities. This book will be of great practical value to teachers of economics as well as administrators responsible for undergraduate instruction.