Econ-tent Creators: Using Videos in the Econ Classroom
Are you looking for ways to engage your students in discussions about economic concepts? Using videos in the classroom can be a great way to get students thinking and talking about a particular topic.
Extensive research has shown that using videos in the classroom has positive effects. Presenting information using multiple forms of media provides opportunities for all students to engage with the content. Videos help students grasp and retain information they learn. They are also a useful extension option for challenging lessons. Students who find a topic challenging can use videos to learn from different speakers and hear topics presented in different ways at their own pace. Videos also provide practice for finding real world concepts and connections to the academic discussions taking place in the classroom.
While there are a ton of content creators and video options out there, below are three examples of high quality & engaging videos and ways you could use them in your class today!
Marginal Revolution University
MRU was founded in 2012 by George Mason University economics professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok and is working to build the world’s largest online library of free economics education videos! Videos are sorted into a variety of topics, and there is something for everyone. Explore how economists apply their work to real-world questions in the field through the Economists in the Wild series. Learn about the work and lives of female economists like Janet Yellen, the first female Chair of the Federal Reserve, or Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win a Nobel prize in Economics, in the Women in Economics series. Learn how economists make numbers, charts, and data understandable for everyone in the Mastering Econometrics course led by Nobel prize winning economist Josh Angrist. Incorporating these series in the classroom will give your students a variety of new content to explore.
How to Make Everything
Do you think you could make a T-shirt from scratch? What about a sandwich? Or a cup of coffee? Host Andy thinks he can, and attempts to make a variety of objects on his How to Make Everything channel. Turns out, all of these things are expensive and time consuming to make from scratch! Are the end results worth it? Watch his videos to find out! These videos can be used to guide students through questions about globalization, trade, supply chains, and human capital.
Jacob Clifford's Econ Movies
Looking for a way to make economics topics more relevant? Show your students how they apply in a variety of their favorite films using Jacob Clifford’s Econ Movies video series. Jacob Clifford is an economics educator who makes videos to help people understand economics. He is a co-host of Crash Course Economics as well as running his own channel. The Econ Movies series explores the economic concepts present in a variety of great films. How does the movie Home Alone also relate to elasticity and price discrimination? How is the role of government explored in The Terminator? Does Indiana Jones have something to teach about supply and demand? Have your students explore these connections, then have them look for their own econ connections in their favorite films!
Videos can be a valuable tool for educators, and can be embedded into other academic strategies. Encourage students to engage with the videos you provide for them by using other strategies like note taking and Socratic discussion. Whether you are looking for fresh ways to introduce students to new topics or extension options for independent student exploration, incorporating videos in the classroom can keep students engaged while also meeting their individual learning needs.
