Market Simulations and Custom GPTS as Tools for Active Learning in “Introduction to Economics”
摘要
Traditional approaches to teaching Introduction to Economics, which rely heavily on graphical analysis and mathematical expressions, often lead to superficial learning and student disengagement. Students tend to memorize procedures rather than understand the core principles of economic reasoning, resulting in increased absenteeism and limited ability to apply concepts to real-world situations. To address these challenges, a teaching innovation has been implemented within the Introduction to Economics course offered in the Marketing degree program. Students are organized into groups of three and assigned a specific role: either “potential buyers” or “potential sellers” of a hypothetical good X. Each group receives a “willingness-to-pay” (the maximum price they are prepared to pay) or a “willingness-to-sell” (the minimum price they are willing to accept). Based on these initial data, the course explores a range of economic scenarios: competitive market equilibrium, efficiency, price controls, taxation, subsidies, international trade, and market failures (externalities, public goods and imperfect competition). In each scenario, the instructor asks groups whether they would be willing to buy or sell at a given price. Following group discussion, a collective analysis of the responses is conducted. This approach avoids the use of complex graphs and mathematical techniques beyond basic arithmetic. The emphasis is placed on economic reasoning and the interpretation of outcomes. To support the learning process, the teaching team has developed custom GPTs—referred to as Interactive Professor—for each topic. A custom GPT is an application that enables ChatGPT to interact in a predefined manner. These tools allow students to consolidate the concepts discussed in class through autonomous and interactive practice.