According to the generative theory of learning, people understand new concepts by idiosyncratically relating them to prior experiences and prior stored information. In the case of economics, students’ prior experiences can interfere with their correct understanding of the material. Although...

The effect of absenteeism on students’ exam performance during an introductory microeconomics course was examined. The focus was on the impact of absenteeism in the prior exam period on current exam performance. Results showed a negative and significant correlation – one additional class...

This paper analyzes to what degree 25 undergraduate microeconomics textbooks incorporate contributions from behavioral economics and experimental economics. We find that ten of the 25 textbooks examined make no reference at all to behavioral economics; six dedicate less than 1% of total pages to...

The present study brings together two research streams in the extant literature that examine separately the effectiveness of using experiments in the principles classroom and the relationship between different personality types and student achievement. Using a sample of 255 principles of...

The purpose of this study is to examine a controversial debate whether students who spend more time on completing the assignments perform better. More specifically, the study investigates the relationship between the time spent (as a measure of students' efforts) on an assignment and students'...

This paper presents an in-class experiment used as a teaching tool in an introductory microeconomics class at the undergraduate college level. It is directed at a critical but challenging concept for principles students — constrained utility maximization and a methodology to intuit...

Classroom experiments as a teaching tool increase understanding and especially motivation. Traditionally, experiments have been run using pen-and-paper or in a computer lab. Pen-and-paper is time and resource consuming. Experiments in the lab require appropriate installations and impede the...

I present a classroom experiment designed to help students learn (1) decision-making using marginal analysis; (2) the prediction of the price; (3) the decentralized determination of a price by the market; (4) specialization; (5) the gains from trade; and (6) the ability of a competitive market to...

The article presents an experience developed with upper undergraduate microeconomics students which consists of reading selected classical articles on key microeconomics topics rather than attending typical lectures. The paper has two main goals. First, to give a detailed account of the...