Students' shared experiences as inclusive learning opportunities
Kristin Kiesel
Friday, September 13th, 2024
10:00-10:45 am
Description
This study analyzes how students’ course-level sense of social belonging is impacted by differential teaching methods, affects their learning experiences, and their academic outcomes in four large enrollment Managerial Economics courses. Our analysis of survey data collected at the end of the spring quarter as well as provided course-specific learning assessments (e.g., quiz and exam performance and course grades) exploits exogenous variation in mandatory vs. incentivized in-person lecture attendance and use of lecture capture to establish a causal link between students’ learning experiences and commonly used metrics of academic success. The study is informed by the emerging literature on experience effects and economic outcomes (e.g., Malmendier 2021, Malmendier and Shen 2024) and builds on pedagogy research (e.g., Edwards et al. 2022a, 2022b) documenting a strong recursive relation between academic performance, retention in STEM disciplines, and course-specific social belonging. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of which teaching methods leverage students’ diverse backgrounds and identities, bring them back into the classroom, and actively engage them with the taught course content.
Access the presentation slides (PDF)
About the Presenter
Kristin Kiesel is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. She teaches a variety of courses, including Managerial Marketing, Cooperative Business Enterprises, and Behavioral Economics, and currently serves as the co-director of the department’s Diversity in Research, Education, and Career Training (DIRECT), a comprehensive outreach and support program that aims to attract and lower barriers to academic success for underrepresented students in applied and agricultural economics. Her research focuses on the economics of information, consumer and strategic firm behavior with a particular emphasis on conducting retail experiments. She has analyzed the impact of various labeling regulations and marketing strategies on consumer perceptions and purchasing choices. She has also evaluated the effects of more restrictive policy approaches, such as bans and taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. Her research has been published in top field journals, and she has co-authored several book chapters. First and foremost, however, Kristin is strongly committed to her students and excellence in both undergraduate and graduate education. What she has learned from serving students with diverse backgrounds and social identities is not only making her a more effective teacher and mentor, it also continues to enhance her pedagogy and discipline-specific research.
