It has been said that desperate times call for desperate measures. How about desperate times call for innovative measures? Such is the case in various realms of higher education. For a number of reasons, there is no better time to experiment with various teaching and learning strategies in the classroom. First, as the recent recession has created problems in many sectors of the economy, it has created opportunities for others. Facets of education are included as such benefactors as budget constraints have forced educators to look at alternative strategies of teaching and learning so as to increase the return on investment. Second, vested parties are clamoring for alternatives to lecture in seeking productivity in the classroom. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded a number of projects for the AEA with the goal of creating innovation in the teaching of economics. Third, students of this generation show that there are many ways to learn in lieu of the traditional lecture. Attention spans have decreased while the use of technology has increased. Finally, pressure is mounting with the hope that educators improve graduation rates while decreasing the time it takes to earn a degree.
These items lead to a number of classroom alternatives to the traditional lecture. One such method is cooperative learning where students learn via individual and group work in an interdependent format. Such a tool has been used for over a century and is making resurgence because of the aforementioned ideas. Students tend to enjoy the interdependence of the work while appreciating alternatives to lecture. In economics, cooperative learning can be used in a myriad of ways. A number of examples and results will be shared in order to gain a better understanding of how cooperative learning can be successful in various topics within the economics class. The goal is to promote effective strategies of cooperative learning in teaching economics.