Affiliation:
1. Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Arizona
Abstract
An economic learning-model is developed and used as an analytical framework for evaluating the costs and benefits of teaching-innovations. The inputs for the economic model are learner study time under both innovative and traditional teaching methods. Two sources of potential benefits from teaching-innovations are identified: time-savings as innovations make learners more productive learners, and learning enhancements as innovations increase learning. One conclusion is that evaluating teaching-innovations by comparing test scores for experimental and control groups ignores the impacts of “labor saving” innovations and may not accurately measure the learning of more advanced reasoning and decision-making skills.