Knowledge Exchange Networks

This post was edited by Sarah Nakamoto on Jan, 2021
I've added a project to the Math page linking to the Knowledge Exchange Network. It is a wonderful initiative in developmental math now underway in California, Ontario, Canada and the Pacific Northwest. See for example www.tinyurl.com/lakedevmath .

Tom Carey, see http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/carnegieviews/developmental-mathematics-com... is eager to talk with us about ways in which the Knowledge Exchange Networks could be extended to other disciplines, including economics.

Bruce Yoshiwara, our math rep at the workshop, is involved in the Los Angeles Knowledge Exchange Network and can help us learn more about this effort.

The work that Tom Carey has done in this area (and over the last decade) is first-rate. Tom is incredibly knowledgeable and energetic in developing ways to bring together instructors to share and learn from one another, both within and across disciplines. I encourage you to take a look at his current Knowledge Exchange Network project linked above.

In the video clip on the Carnegie Foundation web page, Tom Carey makes an interesting point about what faculty gain from participating in these professional development intitiatives - content and energy. The content is the focus, but re-energizing teaching is also an explicit goal.

I also appreciated the realistic assessment of the type of evidence that needs to be provided to make the case for an unfamiliar teaching technique. I'd like to hear more about how they've used video as part of the evidence and the type of time and resources it takes to make it an effective part of the effort.

This post was edited by Sarah Nakamoto on Apr, 2021
James makes an excellent point regarding evidence based curriculum design and evaluation and evaluation of instructional strategies. Becker makes this point through his research and includes not only "unfamiliar" or new forms of pedagogy but also to the prevelant and long standing methods of instruction used in economics.

A representative example of his work is

Teaching Economics: More Alternatives to Chalk and Talk

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Economics-More-Alternatives-Chalk/dp/1847200397

The syllabus he uses at UofI to teach how to teach economics makes for interesting reading
indiana.edu/~e502/syllabus.html

Robert Frank talks about the success or lack of success from current economic instruction. His book The Economic Naturalist is provides a qualitative documentation of a rather simple approach to economics instruction.

The Book
https://www.amazon.com/Economic-Naturalist-Economics-Explains-Everything/dp/0...

Frank's excellent interview with Russ Roberts on EconTalk
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/10/robert_frank_on.html