Integration of URSCA in Economics General Education Courses Zamira Simkins, Rubana Mahjabeen and Sakib Mahmud University of Wisconsin-Superior

Introduction Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (URSCA): An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student with a faculty mentor that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline URSCA at UW-Superior: URSCA committee & activities Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program UW-System Growth Agenda Grant & URSCA Center URSCA program grants Partnership with McNair Scholars program

URSCA in Economics URSCA taxonomy (DeLoach, Perry-Sizemore and Borg, 2010): Course activities Course projects Capstone experience Collaborative research ExamplesShort assignments, experiments Research papers, surveys Thesis, SYE papers Grant-funded studies Course level All 4 th year3 rd or 4 th year Time required Days, weeksWeeks, months Semester(s)Summer, semester(s) Prereqs.Content knowledge & basic research skills Integrated content knowledge & research skills Integrated content knowledge, research and teamwork skills

URSCA in Economics (cont.) URSCA taxonomy (DeLoach, Perry-Sizemore and Borg, 2010): Course activities Course projects Capstone experience Collaborative research Goals & objectives Application of concepts and theories Integration of concepts and theories Student learning & program assessment Advanced learning & grad. school preparation Research type & student decision- making Highly structured, common instructions, few decisions Structured, students make some research decisions Unstructured, students make most research decisions Varied structure, high degree of faculty oversight, joint decisions Mentoring focus Individual or group, simple Individual or group, complex Individual, highly complex

UW-S URSCA in ECON Gen. Ed’s Project objectives: Integrate URSCA in all Economics Gen. Ed. courses Increase the number of students exposed to experiential/active student learning Introduce students to research methods and practices Implementation: Courses: Economics in Society, Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics Products: 3 sets of course-based assignments, grading rubrics, assessment rubrics and feedback forms Frequency: every semester

UW-S URSCA in Microeconomics Economics Student Learning Outcomes: Master economics terms, concepts and theories: Demand, supply, law of demand and law of supply Apply knowledge to understand how the economy works: Market forces of S & D, equilibrium P & Q Develop undergraduate research KSAs: Data collection, processing and interpretation Demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills: Data analysis Demonstrate effective communication skills: Written answers, group discussions

Project Description Market: Online homework access code (e.g., Aplia access code) Assignment details: Introduced after S & D Market assumption: perfectly competitive market Ideal class size: students, buyers-sellers Two+ class periods: (1+) simulation, (2) analysis Simulation: 10 rounds, 2-3 minutes per round Student instruction sheets: Buyers – product valuation and behavior rules Sellers - production cost and behavior rules

Buyer & Seller’s Record Forms Round #Seller’s Name Price You Paid for the Access Code Your Access Code Valuation Your Consumer Surplus Round #Buyer’s Name Price You Received for the Access Code Your Production Cost of Access Code Your Producer Surplus

Analysis of Simulated Data Initial analysis: Cleaning the data set Analysis of sellers' behavior Analysis of buyers' behavior

Analysis of Simulated Data Subsequent analysis: Revealing of buyer valuations & production costs Analysis of simulated data in graph and table format: Table: market Qs & Qd at each price level Graph: market S&D curves; equilibrium P&Q Application of economic theory to simulated behavior Discussion on findings

URSCA Project Grade 5% of class grade: Participation in the simulation Data collection Data analysis Group discussion

Student Survey Results This assignment…Strongly Agree & Agree Strongly Disagree & Disagree Helped you master knowledge of economics terms, concepts, and theories 58.49%11.32% Improved your knowledge and abilities to understand how the economy works 81.13%3.77% Taught you undergraduate research methods and developed your research skills 60.38%11.32% Enhanced your critical thinking and problem-solving skills 58.49%7.55% Developed your KSAs in data collection, processing, and interpretation 83.02%7.55% Enhanced your oral & written communication skills 60.38%7.58% Helped you learn how to work effectively as an independent researcher or a member of a group 64.15%5.67%

Conclusion Positive student feedback about the assignment Areas for improvement and extensions: Revise instructions to provide step-by-step guidance for every phase of the assignment Vary product costs and valuations across rounds Extend the simulation across different market structures: Perfect competition Monopolistic competition Oligopoly Monopoly