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Marriott Marquis, Vista
Hosted By:
National Association of Economic Educators
Economic Education: Practices and Evidence
Paper Session
Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (PDT)
- Chair: Paul Grimes, Pittsburg State University
Giving Feedback to Students in a Large Lecture
Abstract
In this paper, I investigate the impact of giving personalized feedback to students via email over the course of the semester. A feedback email typically explains to students exactly how they are doing in the class, and what they can be doing to improve on their performance. All student performance data is collected from Principles of Microeconomics courses at a large state university. First, I give a method for how personalized feedback can be given in a large lecture. Second, I analyze the performance of students in classes where personalized feedback is given after exams and compare it with classes where it is not. I find that students receiving the lowest and highest scores after a first exam are most helped by personalized feedback. Lastly, I discuss the results and give some anecdotal evidence that personalized feedback positively impact student performance.Promoting Meaningful Interaction and Community Development Through Discussion Board Activities in the Online Economics Classroom
Abstract
This study explores community development in the online economics classroom via the presence of meaningful interaction within discussion board activities. In particular, we investigate the impact of restructuring discussion board activities on the presence of meaningful interactions within the discussion threads of three separate sections of one upper-level, online undergraduate economics course. Two sections were subject to what we term a “sub-optimal” discussion board structure, while one section was subject to a new, “more optimal” discussion board structure—where optimality is defined in relation to a structure’s ability to promote meaningful interaction among group members. Through a coding of discussion threads, we find that the observed restructuring of discussion board activities led to improved student-to-student interactions as evidenced by an increase in the share of posts having (1) social and/or personal content, (2) at least one internal reference, and (3) a personable/casual tone. We then explore the effect of the restructuring on student perceptions of community. The survey data provide some evidence that students who were subject to the restructuring of discussion board activities were more likely to express higher levels of agreement with pro-community statements over the course of the semester. This work provides further support that the formulation of discussion board structure is crucial in the promotion of meaningful interaction, community development, and, therefore, improved outcomes in the online economics classroom.Revealed Confidence, Self-Efficacy, and Stress in the Introductory Economics Classroom
Abstract
This paper examines the relationships between college students’ revealed confidence on test performance in an introductory economics course, their measured degrees of academic self-efficacy, and personal stress. One hundred and five students enrolled in a freshman-level introductory economics course were asked to predict their score on a regularly scheduled exam. Each student’s revealed confidence was measured as the difference between the student’s predicted score and the student’s actual performance. All students were also administered a standardized psychometric instrument to measure their individual levels of personal self-efficacy and stress across several academic perceptual domains. A regression model was estimated to examine the moderating effects of confidence and stress on predictive calibration – the degree to which a student accurately predicted their test performance. The results indicated that high levels of stress from in-class academic experiences resulted in more accurate predictive calibration scores while measured self-efficacy had no significant effect, ceteris paribus. The estimated effect of personal in-class stress on predictive calibration is consistent with the implications of active inference theory.Discussant(s)
Paul Grimes
,
Pittsburg State University
Jane S. Lopus
,
California State University East Bay
Kelvin Wong
,
Arizona State University
Karen Gebhardt
,
University of Colorado Boulder
JEL Classifications
- A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics