Don't teach your students about the types of unemployment

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Class time is wild precious. And it’s very limited. So, as Economics teachers (indeed, as all teachers) we have to maximise the value students get from our classes. In my opinion, we should stop wasting class time by teaching relatively straightforward content.

Let me give you an example.

In the NSW HSC Economics course, students are required to know the types of unemployment (cyclical, structural, frictional and so on). This content is not up for debate. There is no controversy over defining the types of unemployment.

Put it more simply, students don’t have to ‘analyse’ or ‘discuss’ the definition of cyclical unemployment. They have to engage with the concept, but the basics of knowing what it is — that’s not worthy of class time.

If I have a 45-ish minute lesson, teaching the types of unemployment could take a large chunk of this time, leaving little time for application and thinking

“My message: don’t teach your students about the types of unemployment. Let someone else do it.”

You could let me do it (see right). You could outsource it to someone else on YouTube, or you could even outsource it to your virtual self in the form of a flipped video.

Set this content for homework. The class time can now be used to have students engage with the types of unemployment.

Some ideas: 

  • how the types of unemployment interact with each other (such as structural leading to long-term leading to hidden)

  • how to solve the different types of unemployment

  • real world examples of the different types of unemployment (such as automation in the context of structural change)

  • past exam questions (multis and shorts) to practice and work on as a class.

I think the latter approaches encourage thinking. And it’s hard for students to learn without engaging in thinking. You can also think about this approach in other instances where students just need to know facts.