How to Teach Economics - Paperback

by Yousuf Hamid (Author)

Economics teachers often work by themselves or in small departments. This can mean they are forced to plan a lot of lessons from scratch with limited scope for shared planning or collaboration. Even as teaching becomes more research-informed, there is still the problem of having to work out how this best applies when teaching Economics, especially when there has been limited training in this. This can mean teachers are forced to adopt a trial-and-error approach, attempting to implement generic teaching and learning tips into economics lessons. Teachers plan each explanation individually, only learning what common misconceptions are through the painstaking experience of seeing puzzled expressions on multiple pupils' faces over the years. This book aims to change that. By looking at what the latest cognitive science research tells us about how pupils learn and crucially how that can be implemented in economics lessons, this book provides a short-cut to that trial-and-error approach. While the book summarises what the research tells us about pupil learning, this is fundamentally a 'doing' book. It is packed with practical examples of how research can be implemented in Economics lessons looking at explanations, misconceptions, assessment, curriculum and much more.

Author Biography

Yousuf Hamid is Head of Economics at a secondary school in London. After growing up and studying economics at university in Glasgow, he relocated to London where he worked as an economic analyst for a large financial services firm. Keen to make more of a difference in society, he left this job and went travelling spending time volunteering in several schools along the east coast of Africa. Inspired by the joy of teaching, he later changed careers and trained to teach with Teach First. He has taught Economics at GCSE and A-Level in several inner-city schools in London and is a passionate believer in economics education as an entry point for pupils to truly understand the world in a way that only an understanding of economics can provide.