Teaching the Economic Way of Thinking Through Op-Eds

Abstract

There are many goals an instructor may wish to accomplish in a course on economic principles. For us one goal should be the education of a generation of sensible and active members of civil society. This is an ambitious goal: it requires that students internalize the economic way of thinking and learn to exercise active citizenry. After experimenting with a variety of methods, we have concluded that requiring students to write an op-ed is the most conducive to the development of the economic way of thinking. Here we share what we have learned in the process, hoping that the pedagogical capability of writing an op-ed will encourage others to adopt the assignment into their classrooms.