Conference and seminar sessions in Authentic assessment
← More broad
LSE first year challenge - creating greater sense of community within the Economics Department
Workshop at DEE 2019,This academic year (2018/2019), we introduced at the LSE Department of Economics a new way of creating greater sense of community among our first year students and introducing them to economics and LSE heritage, the First Year Challenge. All of our fresher were divided in groups of 5, and sent to various London locations where they met their peers. Each student received a clue which he/she should research in advance, and the big theme was ’Economic and Financial Crisis - 10 years on’ through the lenses of the never ending Hayek - Keynes debate, to give it a bit of a connection to the LSE (Hayek was LSE professor from 1931-1950). Keeping in mind the school’s motto: Rerum cognoscere causas, the tasks encouraged students to analyse the crisis according to three aspects: (1) causes, (2) responses, (3) consequences and lessons learnt. The final product was a 3-minute-long video produced by each group. Initial judging was made by the Academic Mentors (all students within a group shared the same Academic Mentor). 18 out of 51 videos were shortlisted and final winners were selected by a panel of judges. During the project students interacted with their group members, their Academic Mentors and Undergraduate Tutors. The project lasted 3 weeks and had 3 main aims: 1) create greater sense of community in the LSE Econ Department (develop sense of identity and togetherness, introduce students to the School’s history, bond students with each other and their Academic Mentors), 2) engage the students in academic research early on, 3) encourage peer exchange and learning through a variety of mediums. The emphasis was on strengthening the sense of community. Students were encouraged to explore London together and the Ultimate London Explorer Prize was awarded.
Is our assessment up to the job?
Panel at DEE 2017,This panel will discuss whether current assessment methods for undergraduate economics students are fit for purpose. In particular, it will question whether our assessment is inclusive to a diverse student body and if it develops adequate skills and knowledge among our undergraduate to prepare them for the working world. We hope to also introduce innovative assessment ideas and advance the conversation around what remains to be done to bring undergraduate assessment into the 21st century.
Go Abroad Economics
Workshop at DEE 2017,Economics students at the University of Edinburgh have the opportunity to participate in an extracurricular study group called “Go Abroad Economics.” Student places to this group are allocated on a competitive basis. The purpose of this programme is to study the economy of a particular country in detail through a series of student-led workshops. As a capstone, students are taken on a partly-subsidised trip to the country in question. Trips last for 1-2 weeks and we take anywhere between 10 and 25 students per trip. The most innovative feature of the trips is that almost everything, from the site visits to the hotels, metro passes and SIM cards are arranged by the students themselves; the staff just book plane tickets and then act in a coordinating role. Most undergraduates have never had to work together to arrange something this complex before, so they learn a lot from the (sometimes bumpy) process. This programme has been running for more than two years, and has been a success. Destinations so far have included China, Ethiopia, Cuba, and others.
