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Improving Student Motivation and Learning through Classroom Experiments and Games
John Sloman
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Tell me and I will forget Show me and I will remember Involve me and I will understand Step back and I will act (Chinese proverb)
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Potential weaknesses
over-simplification
not taken seriously
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Game 1: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk (Link to paper) (Link to handout) Students get considerable insight into the working of pit markets Equilibrium prices rapidly emerge
Can vary the cards to see the effects on equilibrium
Easy to demonstrate producer and consumer surplus Can discuss information issues Can introduce a tax of x on suppliers
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Game 2: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk Virtually all students will be familiar with the game Easy to set up:
It can be played online Or with envelopes and the sums of money on the whiteboard
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Equipment:
About 30 balls (e.g. tennis balls)
Game 3: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk (Link to paper) (Link to handout) Easy to set up and fun to play
Can bring alive a potentially dry subject area Flexible: can be played with 1, 2 or more teams
Can demonstrate
Diminishing returns TP, AP and MP Can derive TC, AC, MC, TR, AR, MR and Profit Shifts and movements along product and cost curves from technological change Effects of changing fixed and variable costs
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Activity
Each person (or pair) is given four cards of the same value (e.g. four threes or four queens) Each person plays two cards each round
Scoring
Black cards have no value Red cards are worth 1 for everyone if played and 4 just to the individual if not played.
Game 4: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk (Link to paper) (Link to handout) Very easy to set up and fun to play
Can easily be played in a seminar Flexible: can be played with up to 13 individuals or pairs
Can demonstrate
Public goods and external benefits
Prisoners dilemma and Nash equilibrium Collusion versus competition
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
At the end
The money earned can be returned to students (but dont tell them this at the start). A discussion can then take place about the issues raised
Game 5: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk (Link to paper) (Link to handout) Simple and flexible
Simple equipment: a pile of pound coins and a sheet for recording results Can be played in a seminar group
Can demonstrate
Sunk costs and marginal costs
Risk attitudes Collusive bidding
Concepts of equity
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Simple to play
No equipment required other than:
a calculator for the tutor a whiteboard/flipchart for recording results
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Game 6: Reflections
Link1 Link 2
At the end
Students can be asked to explain their decisions
Can demonstrate:
Expectations formation
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Round 1
Establishes cost of abatement with no trading
Round 2
Teams can now trade allocations Price is adjusted by tutor until demand equals supply Establishes the cost with trading at market clearing price
Game 7: Reflections
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
(Link to handouts and worksheets) Uses MC = MR analysis in a different context Demonstrates how emissions trading can achieve any given pollution reduction at minimum cost
References
www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk
Classroom Expernomics
http://www.marietta.edu/%7Edelemeeg/games
Charles A. Holt, Markets, Games and Strategic Behaviour, Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2006 Bringing Economic Experiments into the Classroom (FDTL5 project: Univ. of Exeter)
http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/projects/fdtl5/experiments.htm