Teaching the Economic Way of Thinking Through Op-Eds

Abstract

There are many goals an instructor may wish to accomplish in a course on economic principles. For us one goal should be the education of a generation of sensible and active members of civil society. This is an ambitious goal: it requires that students internalize the economic way of thinking and learn to exercise active citizenry. After experimenting with a variety of methods, we have concluded that requiring students to write an op-ed is the most conducive to the development of the economic way of thinking.Here we share what we have learned in the process, hoping that the pedagogical capability of writing an op-ed will encourage others to adopt the assignment into their classrooms.

Speaking to a General Audience: Activities for an Economics Capstone Course

“…Cohen and Spencer (1993) trained their students for the demands of cross-disciplinary writing, yet the endeavor was not aimed at the general public. Hall and Podemska-Mikluch (2015) tried various written assignments before arriving at opinionated editorials or "op-eds" (something directed at a general audience). The goal, as expressed by the authors, was mentally training the students to think in terms of economic principles.…”

“…These written communication assignments were employed as a form of mental training to get the students to evaluate through the lens of economics. But in contrast to Hall and Podemska-Mikluch (2015), the authors coupled this mental training goal with an increased emphasis on active listening skills by utilizing pre-recorded 3-to-5-minute videos. The activities discussed above are beneficial for refining communication skills, but the focus is generally on writing.…”