“It's for Teaching, not Believing”: Comments on Teaching, Learning, and Problem Solving Through Economic Experiments

Abstract

This series of papers is an excellent opportunity to reacquaint agricultural economists in the Southern region with the exciting field of experimental economics and is indeed opportune in light of the recent awarding of the Nobel Prize in Economics to Vernon Smith, considered by many to be the father of experimental economics. Rather than try to share the limelight with the authors on their far-reaching and comprehensive topics, we plan to take this opportunity to share some of our views of the role of experimental economics in the research laboratory and classroom.

Demand for Multimedia in the Classroom

“…In fact, 83% of the time, economics instructors use chalkboards in class instead of small group discussion, overheads, or PowerPoint slides. Nonetheless, a large body of literature exists on the efficacy of using experiments, with and without computers, to enhance economics instruction Beil, 1994, 1995;Nelson and Wilson, 2003). A survey by Barnett and Kriesel (2003) indicated 50% of agricultural economics instructors used experiments in class, but that increased use could be facilitated by giving instructors time and financial resources for teaching enhancement.…”