Beyond the Flipped Class: The Impact of Research-Based Teaching Methods in a Macroeconomics Principles Class

Abstract

Cognitive scientists have identified fundamental principles influencing learning: deliberate practice, interleaving, retrieval practice, spacing, metacognition, desirable difficulties, limited working memory, curse of knowledge, schema generation, and constructivism. STEM education researchers have repeatedly shown improved learning when instruction employs these principles. Particularly, teaching methods like flipping and clickers work best when implemented using them. These “research-based teaching methods” are becoming the norm in STEM teaching. A macro principles course was redesigned using these principles. Five hundred and eight students in this course achieved 0.77 standard deviations more learning than principles students normally do on the macroeconomic Test of Understanding of College Economics (TUCE).