Collaborative Research: Introductory Course Material to Increase Participation in College Majors: A Randomized Curriculum Intervention in Economics

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving and testing curricula in economics education. Addressing student persistence in quantitative STEM disciplines and the limited number of rigorous randomized control trials (RCTs) investigating instructional practices in economics, this project will examine the effectiveness of a low-touch instructional intervention. A vital part of this project is the partnership among three institutions, Miami University, Texas Tech University, and Ohio State University. Building on a successful pilot study, the project aims to reshape introductory economics courses to emphasize social context. The project team intends to design an instructional intervention of curricular modules and to rigorously test their effectiveness by conducting a randomized control trial study across six public institutions in Ohio. This intervention applies core economics concepts and principles to real world contexts, as an instructional approach to relate economics to students' lives. Economics is well suited for this effort, as the economics curriculum is similar across institutions, which includes a two-semester introductory economics course sequence comprised of a Principles of Microeconomics course and a Principles of Macroeconomics course. These courses are required for students intending to major and minor in economics and are popular among non-majors seeking to fulfill distributional requirements. Courses are structured around a common teaching structure, in which core concepts and principles are taught and then illustrated through examples. Based on context-based learning theories, the instructional intervention will consist of curriculum modules that cover core concepts/principles and examples, which are relevant to the varied lives and interests of students. Each experimental module includes non-technical general news articles, class discussion questions, exam questions, and teaching resources. To support implementation, faculty professional development activities will be scheduled throughout the project, which will include the development, testing, and review of the modules. Based on its design and planned implementation, the project has the potential to significantly understand complex relationships that link instructional interventions with expected outcomes. The goals of the project are to scale-up the approach and assess the effectiveness of this promising curricular intervention, which exposes students in introductory economics courses to the principles and core concepts of economics through relatable, context-based material that connects course content to social relevance. In addition, the project intends to examine how exposure affects students' perceptions of economics and future academic and career choices, paying close attention to heterogeneous effects across population subgroups. Using survey and administrative data, the team will implement a robust plan that compares the outcomes of students randomly assigned to treatment course sections to students randomly assigned to control course sections. Additionally, by linking the state's Higher Education Information dataset with records from the Department of Jobs and Family Services, the team intends to estimate the predicted effect of the intervention not only on students' major choice, but also on their potential future income levels. The IUSE:EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the project supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.