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Students` perceptions of workshop based introductory macro-economics tutorials: a survey

journal contribution
posted on 2006-09-01, 00:00 authored by Ameeta JainAmeeta Jain
The declining popularity of Economics courses, evident in the last decade, has fuelled a debate on the nature of Economics units and the way in which they are taught in tertiary institutions. The effectiveness of traditional teaching methods has been questioned as lecturers search for alternative ways of presenting material and engaging students. In recent times, workshop-based/cooperative tutorials have become more popular in promoting deeper learning. This paper assesses the application of such an approach at a large tertiary institution. It evaluates student perceptions of this tutorial method in an Introductory Macroeconomics first-year unit. An anonymous questionnaire was used. Whilst the sample size is small (n = 56), the results are important in that this is the first such study in Macroeconomics. Students found workshop-based tutorials useful, preferred them over lecture style tutorials, and found that they fostered inclusivity. The importance of tutorials per se, is reiterated. Students state that tutorials are an important adjunct to lectures. This study also looks at students' study habits: finding that on average they spend less than one hour per week studying Economics and most prepare only occasionally for tutorials. The sample studied indicates that there are notable differences in the perceptions of tutorials and teaching methods between the genders and between local and international students. This may impact on the way in which tutorials are conducted effectively.

History

Journal

Economic papers

Volume

25

Issue

3

Pagination

235 - 252

Publisher

Economic Society of Australia

Location

Sydney, N.S.W.

ISSN

0812-0439

eISSN

1759-3441

Language

eng

Notes

JEL code: A22

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2006, The Economic Society of Australia

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