Teaching Tools: How Is Introductory Economics Taught in America?

Abstract

We describe the faculty, students, teaching methods, and assessment instruments used in 180 introductory economics classes taught by 122 different instructors at 53 different colleges and universities. Despite variation in class size and types of institution, both introductory macroeconomics and introductory microeconomics are taught predominantly as lecture courses, with the largest part of students' course grades determined by performance on multiple‐choice question tests. There seems to be little experimentation with alternative pedagogies or assessment techniques despite an in‐creasing amount of attention to these issues in recent years.

Appealing to Good Students in Introductory Economics

“…Becker and Watts (2001) found that the median principles instructor spends 83 percent of class time lecturing and uses multiple-choice exams about half of the time. Siegfried et al (1996) corroborated this finding using a different sample, and Benzing and Christ (1997) reached a similar conclusion, with 86 percent of their respondents reporting that they lectured all the time or very often.3 Goldin (1991) suggested that a heavy emphasis on publications in tenure and promotion decisions is one of the reasons why economics instructors have been unwilling to abandon the less-engaging lecture format. However, our data show that teaching methods do not vary substantially from these norms even at liberal arts colleges where teaching quality is often an important determinant of tenure and pr~motion.~ Researchers on educational practices in general suggest that a passive classroom experience is likely to discourage good students, leaving economics classrooms populated with disinterested, poor-performing students.…”

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

“…The weighting of MC items was especially heavy in larger classes, and in some courses MC items accounted for more than half of the course marks. Thus, MC items are not only widely used, but in many cases they are also a substantial determinant of students' course grades (Ross, Anderson, & Gaulton, 1987;Siegfried, Saunders, Stinar, & Zhang, 1996).…”

Teaching Economics: A Cooperative Learning Model

“…Becker and Watts (1996) profiled the American undergraduate economics professor as a "male, who lectures to a class of students as he writes text, equations, and graphs on the chalkboard, and who assigns student readings from a standard textbook" (450). Surveys by Becker and Watts (1996), Benzinger and Christ (1997), and Siegfried, Saunders et al (1996) consistently found that introductory economics professors lectured for approximately 80 percent of their class time. The remainder was filled with recitation, showing overheads, video, movies, or questions and answers.…”