Helping Students to Learn to Identify and Set Up Economic Problems: An Evaluated Experiment

Abstract

Although the experiment reported in this article was conducted in Israel, the techniques could be adopted in American colleges as well. The author asserts that many economics courses teach students how to use analytical tools and perhaps even how to solve problems but few show them how to identify and set up problems for analysis. He then describes a course taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for undergraduates in their final year. The means by which students helped to determine the subjects of his seminar are set forth, possible problems with his approach are noted, and the results in terms of student performance on examinations are revealed. Many economics instructors may wish to try similar methods in their own classes, and this article can provide useful guidance.