Janine Wilson, Economics  
ECN 115BY
Economic Development

Janine Wilson made the decision to hybridize Economic Development (ECN 115B), a popular upper-division elective in the economics major, as a way to address the wide range of preparedness of students in the large class. The hybrid format let her create modules that demonstrate fundamental economic development models that students could watch as many times as necessary to master the material. 

Videos incorporate the Learning Glass, a tool that allows her to illustrate her points on a board while facing the class -- improving the delivery mode of the traditional whiteboard/blackboard while preserving the lecture for future viewing.

I had so many students with experience in developing countries...and at the end of class every quarter I had people come up and say, "I’m so glad you mentioned this about microfinance, because I’m working on this NGO in Kenya," and I would think, "Where were you in week three, when I could have really used your enthusiasm to help share with your colleagues?" The hybrid format allowed them to do group work, where they weren't just learning from me, they were learning from each other and this was a class where they had so much to learn from each other.

The hybrid format allowed her to teach smaller groups in the face-to-face environment, creating the opportunity for more interaction. Students spoke up more readily about their own experiences in developing economies; at the end of the course they present on a developing country of their choosing, and create a cumulative written report that becomes a writing sample. 

Sample Video from ECN 115BY

5 Production Possibilities Frontiers

Bio: 

Dr. Janine LF Wilson has been teaching economic history, public finance, labor economics and economic development at the University of California, Davis since 2005.  She earned the Provost's Hybrid Course Award for a redesign of her traditional economic development course into a hybrid course using both online and face-to-face teaching. She was the recipient of the 2018 Letters & Science Teaching Award.  Dr. Wilson also serves as the Chair of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Economics.