LAWRENCE MCNEIL, PH.D.
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Game-Based Learning with Economics Taboo

12/1/2018

2 Comments

 
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Every semester in almost every class I utilize game-based learning to convey economic and statistical concepts.  I look for games that can improve and activate the learning environment.  There is no question at this point regarding the positive correlations between comprehension and game-based learning.  In fact, the implementation of games has occurred within not just academic settings, but also within the military and business (Deterding, Dixon, et al., 2011).  As the research evolves on how to pivot away from traditional, lecture-based teaching, the use of games becomes increasingly important in terms of the impact on problem-solving and improved critical thinking (Kapp, 2012).

As a result of a colleague's suggestion (thanks Shweta!), this semester I used the game of Taboo as a foundation for teaching various economic concepts.  Taboo is a game developed in 1989 which has the objective of requiring players to have partners guess a word or phrase on the player’s card without using the word or phrase itself.  Read more about the game of Taboo.

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Stop Having Boring Class Discussions: Try Active Reflection with Google Slides

9/2/2018

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How do you get students to reflect deeply, draw meaningful connections, and improve their understanding of assigned readings?  How do you create a learning environment in which students actively participate in class discussions? How do you curate those experiences for future reflection?

One solution is using Google Slides to create summaries of your reading assignments.  As ed tech tools, Google Slides, Sheets, and Docs were created in 2012.  Here’s how I employ them in the classroom to energize assigned readings.  

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Slack for Classroom Management

8/23/2018

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I love the first day of class and a new semester!  It represents a time to connect with new students, experiment with new ways to teach material, implement/refine active teaching strategies, and start a new Workspace in Slack.  Wait, what?  

For those who don’t know Slack, it is my pleasure to introduce you.  Slack is a self-contained communication tool that is ideal for managing messages, files, and almost all other forms of digital shareables.  If you are familiar with and enjoy GroupMe, then you already understand the basic functionality of Slack.  They both allow for streamlined communication among groups; however, Slack is a more business-friendly tool due to its advanced document capabilities, search functionality, professional user interface, and multitude of app integrations.

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Are Free Textbooks the Future? My Experience with Open Education Resources

8/16/2018

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Free and deeply discounted textbooks have been around for many years, but availability, licensing, and quality have been concerns.  In the spring 2018 semester, I used a free open educational resource (OER) textbook for the first time.  This post is a review of the textbook and additional thoughts on OER in general.  

The obvious benefit to using OER is that they are “free.”  As an economist, I do realize there is no such thing as free - think opportunity costs, social vs. private returns, and spillovers.

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Ed tech companies should not innovate in a vacuum

8/9/2018

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A recent article in the Tech Edvocate asked the question: How do you think EdTech companies can strive for better student outcomes?  This question, of course, invokes a multitude of additional questions about student performance outcomes and what educational behaviors correlate with them.  First, let’s take a look at some of  the latest research.  In a paper by Brown and Kurzweil (2017), they discuss proven determinants of positive student outcomes: 
  • improvement of teaching quality,
  • active and engaging pedagogical practices, 
  • participation in faculty development, 
  • remedial course redesign, 
  • increased student course-taking in the first year, and 
  • first year curricula reforms.

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Copyright 2020 Lawrence McNeil, Ph.D.
  • Home
  • About
  • BLOG
  • Resources
    • White Papers
    • Podcasts
    • Books
    • Curated Lists
  • Academy
    • Research
    • Courses >
      • Concepts of Economic Analysis
      • Principles of Macroeconomics
      • Fundamentals of Economics >
        • ECON 2003 Advice from Students
      • Economic Development
      • Economics of Innovation >
        • Peer Performance Review
      • Economics for Entrepreneurs
      • International Trade >
        • Trade Peer Performance Review
      • Quantitative Methods
      • Business Ethics and Law
      • Business Statistics
      • McGraw-Hill Connect
    • Travel >
      • Travel Blog
      • Australia >
        • Australia Images 2019
        • Australia Overview
      • South Africa >
        • South Africa Images 2018
        • South Africa Images 2017
  • Contact