A WebQuest for a Very Large Principles of Economics Class By Michael J. Hilmer Department of Economics

Goal → Introduce new technology to a 500-person class Expected Benefits (1) Provide a learning experience beyond the lecture → Force students to find information for themselves → Encourage use of the internet as a research tool (2) Add a more vigorous writing component to course → Previously included two essay questions on each exam → Now ask students to write a 7- to 8-paragraph paper

Assessment Strategy (1) Assign two different WebQuest assignments during semester (2) Randomly assign half of students to each WebQuest assignment → Students not assigned a given WebQuest will only be introduced to topic through lectures (3) Administer a 10 question quiz both before material is is covered in lecture and after WebQuest assignment is due (4) Compare quiz score improvement between WebQuest students and lecture-only students

WebQuest 1 → Students were asked to examine US monetary policy since May 2000 and analyze how the respective changes in the federal funds rate would have been expected to affect producers, consumers, and the overall state of the US economy WebQuest 2 → Students were asked to examine how the recent depreciation in the dollar has affected seven different stakeholders in the global economy

Statistical Approach → Students were randomly assigned into one of the two groups with 247 students being assigned to each group → Despite repeated reminders and a follow-up email after the final 10 students failed to complete all 4 quizzes → Computer glitches prevented scores from being accurately recorded for 45 other students → Final sample is 439 students who completed all 4 quizzes 219 completed WebQuest 1 220 completed WebQuest 2

Distribution of Score Improvements on 10-point Quiz WebQuest 1 WebQuest 2 Change Group 1 Group 2 < -3 8 14 -2 10 13 -1 9 15 27 35 +1 30 26 +2 22 +3 +4 24 +5 20 +6 17 +7 12 7 > +8 3 Change Group 1 Group 2 < -3 18 12 -2 11 15 -1 23 21 29 +1 34 35 +2 40 41 +3 31 19 +4 16 +5 +6 4 10 +7 1 5 > +8 2

Improvement Between Pre- and Post-Quiz Statistical Analysis Improvement Between Pre- and Post-Quiz WebQuest 1 WebQuest 2 Group 1 Group 2 % Who Gain .753 .650 Average Gain 2.680 1.823 (3.016) (3.011) Group 1 Group 2 % Who Gain .630 .650 Average Gain 1.192 1.486 (2.383) (2.675) Pr(WQ1 - WQ2 > 0) = .0015 Pr(WQ2 - WQ1 > 0) = .1119

Performance on Midterm Exams Statistical Analysis Performance on Midterm Exams Midterm 2 Midterm 3 Group 1 Group 2 Average Score 72.407 71.486 (1.112) (1.200) Group 1 Group 2 Average Score 57.647 58.726 (1.086) (1.266) Pr(WQ1 - WQ2 > 0) = .2867 Pr(WQ2 - WQ1 > 0) = .2593

Conclusions → Statistical evidence suggests that student performance increased significantly on a quiz directly related to the assignment but not on a more general midterm exam → WebQuest may be a promising teaching tool for a large Principles of Macroeconomics course