Resumen de Participate or observe? Effects of economic classroom experiments on students’ economic literacy

Roel Grol, Esther Mirjam Sent, Bregje de Vries

• Economic classroom experiments are controlled interactive learning exercises targeting the comprehension of economic concepts in an inductive way. Aiming at increasing students’ knowledge of economic concepts, two types of economic classroom experiments are examined in a sample of 134 secondary school students. In the interactive research condition, 44 students participate in a series of four experiments, whereas in the constructive condition, 49 students observe four videos showing peers engaged in similar experiments. The 41 students in the control condition attend four lessons based on the model of direct instruction. ANCOVAs and contrast analyses indicate that interactive learning from experiences in economic classroom experiments is beneficial for secondary school students’ knowledge of economic concepts. Reasons for this finding are elaborated on the basis of observed student activities, interactions, communication, and self-reported experiences.