The use of popular music to teach introductory economics in a live and online environment

Abstract

This paper represents a very preliminary analysis of how the incorporation of a music project influences learning and student perceptions in a pre-principles economics course. Consumer Economics is a course taught at Clarion University that caters to students who are non-economics and non-business majors; primarily students majoring in elementary education. While the literature in economic education has discussed using music to teach undergraduate students, nothing has been done to see how the use of this nontraditional approach influences students learning economics at a lower level. By looking at average scores on final examinations, attendance records, and student evaluations for sections of Consumer Economics that both include and exclude a music project to teach economics, this paper fills that void in the literature. This paper shows that there is evidence to suggest that the incorporation of a music project that links musical lyrics to economic concepts has a positive influence on course attendance and important student evaluation results. Changing the music project to include a segment where students write their own song lyrics initially appears to have a positive influence on final examination scores. Future analysis will need to determine whether this is a persistent result and not influenced by other individual student characteristics.

An Exploratory Study in Using Music Videos among Pre-service Teachers: Sing Along with Economics Concepts

“…Lessons would become meaningful with their participation (Governor, Hall & Jackson, 2013). However, how the lesson was conducted is always the key factor to enhance pre-service teachers' learning outcome rather than the fun they gained from the song (Raehsler, 2013). The use of songs in the learning process may bring the pre-service teachers closer to the lecturers (Ferrarese & Shaik Abdul Malik, 2013).…”

What Would Adam Smith Have on His iPod? Uses of Music in Teaching the History of Economic Thought

“…Tinari and Khandke received encouraging feedback from students; most students "enjoyed the fact that they could connect what they were learning with something familiar and likable to them-their music" (2000,259). Raehsler (2009) found that attendance, final exam scores, and student course evaluations were higher in semesters when music was part of his instruction. Through survey data, Medcalfe found that students enjoyed the use of music and lyrics as an introduction to concepts being studied, yet they also acknowledged that music use should not dominate the course.…”

“…Their students also worked collaboratively to compile a list of songs that included economic concepts. Rod Raehsler (2009) used the approach of Tinari and Khandke and added a collaborative assignment requiring groups of students to write their own song lyrics reflecting course concepts. Cynthia Lay Harter (2003) gave her students a choice in writing assignments, one of which was to write short essays that identified and explained economics concepts in songs.…”

“…Incorporating music benefits those who process information best through auditory means, which is important in an HET course that can typically be dominated by visual instruction and assignments that depend on reading and writing. Furthermore, music has the potential to enhance cognitive abilities, such as memory of content knowledge (Smolinski 2011); improve reading ability and conceptual understanding (Carlson 2010); and create a sense of community that improves student engagement (Raehsler 2009). …”

Music Then and Now: Using Technology to Build a Lyric Animation Module

“…Research into the use of music as a teaching tool generally, and its impact on learning economics specifically, provides support for the efficacy of the medium. Raeshler (2010) found that linking lyrics to economic concepts has a positive influence on course attendance and student evaluations for courses taught in both face-to-face and online formats, whereas McClough and Heinfeldt (2012) showed that music can help improve student understanding (although they warn that the choice of song is particularly important). Others, such as Tinari and Khandke (2000), Krasnozhon (2013), Van Horn and Van Horn (2013), and O’Roark et al (2018), have contributed lists of songs that illustrate economic concepts.…”