The Development of Interactive Classroom Activities to Teach Economic Freedom to Students of Various Learning Styles

Abstract

I created eight lessons exploring economic freedom, designed with student-centered learning in mind. Seven of the eight lessons are interactive, and six of those seven involve students working together in collaborative groups. Multiple lessons involve physical activity, two of which (Lesson 2 and Lesson 6) involve students running around the classroom during the lesson. The interactive activities are perfectly suited for the flipped classroom or flipped learning. These lessons can also be implemented in a traditional style classroom, if an instructor wants to break up their lecture with an interactive activity. These lessons are designed for high school and undergraduate students, and provide an educator with ready-to-use activities to use within their classroom to teach their students about various aspects of economic freedom. Each lesson has a theme, description, learning outcomes, procedure, a final thought, and a glossary. The lessons also include any necessary handouts such as readings or signs, student directions, team answer sheets, answer keys, visuals, and any other resources needed for the activity. These thorough materials will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes an instructor to prepare and implement the lessons in their classroom. I have received positive verbal and written feedback from educators in the USA and Canada, as well as from my own Honors Principles of Macroeconomics and Honors Principles of Microeconomics students at Florida State University.