A Primer for New Teachers of Economics

[Author Affiliation]Brandon J Sheridan, * Department of Economics and Finance, 30 N Brainard Street, North Central College, Naperville, IL 60540, USA; E-mail bsheridan@noctrl.eduGail Hoyt, [dagger] Department of Economics, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0034, USA; E-mail ghoyt@uky.edu ; corresponding authorJennifer Imazeki, [double dagger] Department of Economics, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, MC4485, San Diego, CA 92182-4485, USA; E-mail jimazeki@mail.sdsu.edu[Acknowledgment]We would like to thank Nicole Simpson, Bill Bosshardt, and our anonymous SEJ referees for their insightful comments and advice.1. IntroductionOften the first few teaching experiences encountered by new teachers can shape their attitudes about teaching as well as their effectiveness in the classroom. Yet in many economics departments, both graduate students and new assistant professors are thrown into the classroom with little or no guidance, with the potential for negative ramifications that can last throughout their careers as economic educators. McGoldrick, Hoyt, and Colander (2010) survey a large group of graduate students and find that of those with teaching assistant duties, approximately one-third of their sample are responsible for teaching their own sections. However, two-thirds of those reported teaching without the guidance of an experienced faculty member. Moreover, nearly half of those teaching without a supervisor say they received no training or preparation prior to teaching their course. When we add in those who do not teach at all until their first academic appointment (given that few departments provide any training to assistant professors), this translates into a large contingent of economics teachers who are teaching with no training at all. On the positive side, about one-third of economics graduate teaching assistants report that their department provides credit and/or noncredit courses tailored specifically to teaching. However, we have limited information on the content of these courses and no information on the quality.Being an effective teacher can be hard work, and it is no secret that economics as a discipline has not always valued teaching as highly as other activities (see Becker 1997), so many graduate students and new assistant professors may not consider the rewards to be worth the time and effort. But aside from the intrinsic value of knowing you have done a job well, Becker (2000) points out that teaching appears to be of increasing importance in tenure and promotion decisions, even at institutions that have traditionally focused much more on research. Also, when the teaching aspect of a new instructor's job suffers, there are often negative spillover effects into other activities such as research and service. With this in mind, this primer offers advice to improve teaching effectiveness with the additional goal of helping the new instructor to be more efficient in the teaching enterprise.Fortunately, economists who wish to improve their teaching have an increasing variety of resources available to them. For example, the Journal of Economic Education features both pedagogical research and articles that describe specific teaching innovations. Books such as those by Saunders, Welsh, and Hansen (1978), Saunders and Walstad (1990, 1998), Becker and Watts (2000), Becker, Watts, and Becker (2006), and Salemi and Walstad (2010) provide in-depth discussion of many interactive methods for teaching economics. Hoyt and McGoldrick (2012) also offer advice on interactive technique along with advice from individual economists who are well known in their fields on how to effectively teach specific courses. Additionally, Bowmaker (2011) and Colander (2006) give insights from the classrooms of individual economists. Starting Point: Teaching and Learning Economics Web site serves as a portal to a multitude of additional resources both on- and off-line. …