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An Evaluation of Collaborative Problem Solving for Learning Economics

In this article, we describe and evaluate a package of measures designed to introduce a collaborative, problem-solving (CPS) approach to learning into the tutorials of a second-year university macroeconomics subject. These findings are derived from a comparison of a trial group of 311 students and a control group of 301 students, each drawn randomly from students enrolled in a single subject, at a single institution, the University of Melbourne. To learn economics successfully, students need to have ability in both abstract thinking and in application. They also need to be able to express complex ideas logically and fluently. The development of these diverse aspects of thinking is challenging for students in their early undergraduate years and may be one reason why students often view economics as a difficult subject. The 1995 CPS project was a pilot for a wider departmental initiative designed to enhance the role of tutorials (one-hour classes of about 20 students led by a tutor) in the teaching and learning process. The project embodied two major components: problem-based learning and collaborative learning. Both these components were thought to be potentially valuable for undergraduate students