TEACHING ECONOMICS TO UNDERGRADUATES WITH MINDS-ON EXERCISES

Jeffrey C. Bauer

Business Division

University of Cincinnati-Clermont

Batavia, Ohio

Teaching economics and economic theory to undergraduates presents many challenges for faculty. Perhaps the most significant challenge is to engage the students with material that can be abstract and does not lend itself well to kinesthetic learning styles. We will address these challenges through the use on “minds-on” exercises. The exercises provide the student with a hands-on, real-world view of the challenges of price competition for price takers in competitive markets. The students engage in the selling of commodities in an effort to teach them microeconomic principles including marginal cost, average cost, and pricing for profitability or competition.