Instructor Workbook: Intermediate Micro

Copyright ©2017. All Rights Reserved. MobLab Inc.

Contents

I Preliminaries 3

1 Introduction to the Workbook 41.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Technology 52.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2 How does MobLab work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.3 Create your class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.4 Running your first game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.5 Running your first survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 Wifi capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.7 LMS integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.8 Student perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Pedagogy 83.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2 What games do and do not do well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.3 Instructions and instruction comprehension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.4 Reflection questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.5 Results presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.6 Instructor and Student Workbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.7 Playing our games out of class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4 Classroom Management 124.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.2 Getting students onboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.3 Getting students logged in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.4 Student motivation and how to grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

II Utility Maximization 14

5 Cobb Douglas: Optimality involves maximization of marginal utility perdollar 155.1 General Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.2 Learning Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.3 Time Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.4 Class Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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5.5 Detailed Instructions and Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

III Market Power 20

6 Cournot Competition: How market size affects economic outcomes 216.1 General Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.2 Learning Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.3 Time Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.4 Class Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226.5 Detailed Instructions and Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Part I

Preliminaries

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Chapter 1

Introduction to the Workbook

1.1 PurposeThis instructor workbook provides educators with general and specific material related toteaching with MobLab games and surveys. The general material includes technology, peda-gogy, and classroom management information that are useful across activities. Specific ma-terial includes guidance on specific games. For example, how to use linked modules, videos,and the Student Workbook to lower your preparation costs and maximize student learning.

We believe this workbook will prepare instructors, and, the Student Workbook will help stu-dents see the connection between the game and course content. But, our goals at MobLabare greater than that. We designed our materials to train students to become scientists. Ourpre-built curriculum focuses (linked throughout the text) focuses on on how small changesto the “rules of the game” affect incentives, strategic interaction, and lead to different re-sults. Our interactive results help instructors to present information incrementally. Thishelps students absorb theory better. Then instructors can compare economic theory to theexperimental data. This can lead to a number of interesting open discussions. We help to pro-mote these deeper discussions with pre-built Reflection Surveys on the console and questionsin the Student Workbook.

Finally, while our goal of creating scientists is serious, our games are fun! We hope thesematerials help spark the joy of discovery in your students. Thank you for entrusting yourclass to MobLab. Please let us know if you have ideas to update these materials for the benefitof other instructors and students. Contact support@moblab.com with any questions.Our team is happy to help!

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Chapter 2

Technology

2.1 IntroductionIn the technology section we want to provide a brief description of how our technology works,how to implement MobLab in the classroom, and how to use our technology for administrativepurposes like grades. Instructors are also frequently curious what the students see. Section2.8 documents student sign-up and participation in games and surveys.

2.2 How does MobLab work?MobLab is a cloud-based platform (Amazon AWS and S3) that allows instructors to conductinteractive games and surveys both in and out of the classroom. Students can participate inthese activities on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Our instructor and student platformssupport the latest Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9+. We also have studentmobile apps for iOS 8+ and Android 5.0+.

Our games are designed in-house by MobLab engineers, designers, and economists on HTML5. All of our games and surveys are designed to use the minimum amount of informationnecessary when sending updates to and from the server. Our surveys are also built on web-socket, a technology that is much more bandwidth efficient than http poll, long polling, orhttp streaming. We have supported 900+ concurrent user connections, with little to no effecton our server capability or speed.

2.3 Create your classCreating a class is easy. Once you have signed up with a MobLab instructor account youcan follow these instructions to create a new class. Once you have created a class it isstraightforward to get students onboard (see Chapter 4.2). If you want a quick tour of theinstructor console please view this video on the Instructor Console.

Note: While not technology related this seems like a good place to interject about content.The workbook contains many relevant games for your class but if you want to learn about allrelevant options for your class please contact support@moblab.com. Send us your syllabus andwe will be happy to make recommendations.

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2.4 Running your first gameStart with our playlist feature. The playlist is an excellent organizational tool. Be aware,students will see the playlist name. After you have created a playlist you can add a gameto the center part of the console. Access the instructions to inform students about the rulesof the game. With everyone on the same page, begin the game! After the game begins youwill automatically have monitoring capabilities. Additionally, you may find this walk-throughvideo on how to run a game helpful.

2.5 Running your first surveyRunning a survey is similar to running a game, however, there is some advice specific tosurveys. First, our “Basic Survey” includes a number of survey types, e.g., multiple choice,free text response, etc. Second, with our surveys you can use the “paths” feature to runsurvey-based experiments or to re-order questions and reduce cheating. You may find thiswalk-through video on survey features and how to run a survey helpful.

2.6 Wifi capacityWIFI capacity is frequently a non-issue. However, we understand the concerns associatedwith bringing a new technology into the classroom. Our engineers estimate that any givenclassroom has the capability to support at least 85% of the number of students expected to bein the class concurrently. The expected student data usage for a MobLab session is between25-50MB. Most of the bandwidth is used when students first load MobLab. Instructors withbandwidth concerns may ask some student to use data through our mobile apps to keep fromoverloading the routers at a school. If you have additional questions don’t hesitate to contactsupport@moblab.com. We are happy to talk with your campus IT.

2.7 LMS integrationMobLab is Learning Tools Interoperability 1.1 compliant and once integrated with campuslearning management system (LMS), students can access MobLab with single sign-on andinstructors can send participation and grades from MobLab to their LMS. Please contactsupport@moblab.com for campus tailored LMS integration steps.

Security considerations are minimal. MobLab does not keep any student data except forMobLab student email and password. Student passwords are hashed and students are en-couraged to create a password that is unique from their LMS login password. Furthermore,we only allow for https connections as opposed to http.

2.8 Student perspectiveYou may be curious what students see during the sign-up and game play process. To create anaccount students go to www.moblab.com and sign-up as a student. After an account has beencreated, they join your class. See section 4.2 to locate class code information and documentsthat make it easy for students to join your class. Once an account has been created and thestudent has joined your class, the next big step is for students to participate in a game or

survey. When there is an active playlist, it will generate a session students can join. Wealso show the student experience toward the end of our walkthrough videos for games andsurveys.

Chapter 3

Pedagogy

3.1 IntroductionAllgood et al. (2015) note in their Journal of Economic Literature review that, “The evidenceon the use of classroom experiments and cooperative learning shows consistent positive effectson student achievement …”. These results are encouraging for the future of classroom exper-iments. Scholars are just beginning to understand best practices for classroom experiments.For example, Cartwright and Stepanova (2012) have found that student reflection is necessaryfor learning gains from classroom experiments.

Some of the advice in this section on pedagogy is based on empirical evidence. When that isthe case we will provide citations. Other advice is culled from instructor experiences acrossyears of teaching with classroom experiments and our own time as a commercial product.

3.2 What games do and do not do wellMost good arguments are built on logic, credibility, and emotional appeal.1 Economics modelsare logical, but struggle to make an emotional connection with students and may not be viewedas credible. Classroom experiments can help on both fronts.

1. Consider the competitive market and the “invisible hand”. To students learning eco-nomics for the first time, the “invisible hand” sounds like voodoo, superstition, or hocuspocus. However, classroom experiments can help show that individuals following theirown self-interest leads to an efficient allocation of resources. In the context of the doubleauction price and quantity converge to equilibrium.

2. Consider the prisoner’s dilemma. Students experiencing being the “sucker” that choseCooperate when their partner chose Defect. This helps cement the idea of a “bestresponse” and equilibrium. Likewise, students remember buying a lemon when theythougt they were buying a cherry.

The games will not help students solve math problems; however, a couple things are worthnoting here. First, the survey technology can be used to determine deficiencies in core com-petencies. Second, in addition to improving credibility and emotional connection to material,the games help spark student curiosity and motivation. This can indirectly help with the corecompetencies.

1Aristotle set forth these ideas in his Rhetoric. See this website for more detail.

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3.3 Instructions and instruction comprehensionThere are several benefits to students understanding the instructions. First, there is pedagog-ical value to students understanding the instructions. For example, buyers and sellers whounderstand how their payoffs are calculated $V − $P and $P − $C respectively (where V isvalue, P is price, and C is cost) will also understand consumer and producer surplus moreclearly. Second, the instructions prepare the students to participate in the game. Preparedstudents have a better experience with the games, plus and will generate data that is easierto explain.

In the Instructor Workbook we will make student comprehension of the instructions even eas-ier. In each chapter we link to video instructions that can be copied and pasted to your LMS.Students can watch these and complete corresponding warm-up questions while watching thevideo. Finally, we have pre-built instruction comprehension questions which you can quicklyadminister at the start of class for a final checkpoint to correct misunderstandings.

3.4 Reflection questionsEach workbook module on the instructor console contains reflection questions. These reflec-tion questions are done before results presentation. Items in the “Reflection Survey” promptstudents to think about their strategy and how it evolved across rounds. These questions helpstudents ground economic theory in their own experience. Thinking through these kinds ofquestions improves student clarity and benefits open discussion. Other questions in the Reflec-tion Survey seek to transition from the games into deeper discussion. These other questionsoften take the following forms:

1. Comparing two game parameterizations (e.g. market with and without price ceiling)

2. Thinking through the assumptions of the game and asking whether all the relevantfeatures have been captured. If they haven’t, how would inclusion of those or otherfeatures alter predictions?

3. Generalizing results from the experiment beyond the classroom. Are there other settingwhere the insights gained in the experiment would also be useful? Are there limitationsto what has been shown?

3.5 Results presentationWhen presenting the results we recommend sequential presentation of data. The instructorcan use our interactive graphs to present the components of theory incrementally. This makesthe theory more digestible. Once theory is understood this allows the instructor to compareeconomic theory to economic outcomes. For each chapter in this document, we have links tovideo walking instructors through a standard presentation of results and where applicable wediscuss common data patterns.

3.6 Instructor and Student WorkbooksLet’s begin with the Student Workbook. We recommend instructors post the Student Work-book in their LMS for students to print. Each chapter of the Student Workbook contains four

sections:

- Warm-up questions

- Thinking through theory

- Experiment notes

- Further questions

As mentioned in Section 3.3, warm-up questions can be paired with video instructions tohelp students better understand the rules of the game. Experiment notes are useful to havestudents record their experimental decisions. This small act gives students more repetitionsmaking basic calculations. Also, the experiment notes section encourages students to writenotes about observations during game play. The “Thinking through theory” section focuseson ideas related to the theoretical prediction of the game. For some games it will be usefulfor students to complete this section prior to the experiment. For other games, completingthis section prior to participation will bias results. In each chapter we indicate whethera game should be played before or after instructors cover theory. Finally, “Furtherquestions” are intended to be used as homework related to the game.

Now we turn to the Instructor Workbook. Content for instructors is organized as follows:

- General Discussion

- Preparation

- Detailed Procedures

- Summary

In the General Discussion section we provide some background description of the game as wellas learning objectives and timing. In the Preparation section we clarify what students andinstructors should both do to prepare to participate in the experiment. In Detailed Proceduresmost of the step-by-step implementation of the module is contained in the module guide onthe Instructor Console. We link to that guide and in the Instructor Workbook provide asense of how the module guide and the Student Workbook can work in tandem. Finally, thesummary section provides bullet points for running the experiment in your class.

3.7 Playing our games out of classThere are two modes for playing games out-of-class: students play with each other or robots.If you’re comfortable with students playing with robots the solution is simple. Click the “AllPlay Only Robots” box in the General Panel of your game and increase the game durationto a window of time you want the game available to students (e.g. 48 hours). Once you press”Run Game” and ”Begin!” the game will be available for the next 48 hours. Whenever astudent participates during that window they will be embedded in a group (if N > 1) whereall other participants are robots. Documentation for robot strategies can be found at thebottom of most game guides. Now we turn to students playing with each other.

The greatest obstacle to students playing with their peers outside of class is coordinatingschedules. There are two solutions. First, you can easily create multiple playlists usingour copy feature and run those playlists at different times that accomodate your students.If you want to pre-specify dates/times for those playlists to run use our online schduler.2An additional option for simultaneous move games is to schedule long round durations (e.g.24 hours per round) so that each day individuals are submitting decisions. Email us atsupport@moblab.com if you have further questions about playing games outside of class.

2Note that while the scheduler will allow you to specify the date and time for a playlist to run someone willlikely still need to monitor the experimental session because robots are not automatically added to incompletegroups.

Chapter 4

Classroom Management

4.1 IntroductionEconomics begins and ends with scarcity. One of the most scarce resources is your time.This section describes tips to help you save time inside and outside of class, as well as somecommon administrative questions.

4.2 Getting students onboardWhen you create a class (as described in 2.3) our platform will generate a unique class codefor students to link to the class. There are two easy options for getting students onboard.First, you can use pre-built documents to get students onboard. You will need to fill inthe document with your Class Code. We recommend posting the document to your LMS oremailing students. Alternatively, you can invite students to join your class. Before your firstin-class use of MobLab set up a low stakes activity like the MobLab Pre-Class survey. Thiswill give students some familiarity with the platform before the main event.

4.3 Getting students logged inYou can reduce time needed for MobLab games by quickly getting students logged in. Hereis a link to our best practices on getting students logged in.

4.4 Student motivation and how to gradeInstructors often ask about student motivation in classroom experiments. This is still an openquestion for pedagogical research. Holt (1999) notes that monetary incentives, “are oftenunncessary in classroom exercises.” Dickie (2006) found that monetary incentives attenuatedthe benefits of classroom experiments on learning outcomes.He cited crowding-out of intrinsicmotivation as a possible explanation. More recent work by Rousu et al. (2015) suggests thatmonetary incentives can impact learning outcomes positively.

Our experience at MobLab has been that students are sufficiently motivated through partic-ipation credit and an appeal to “think carefully” about their decisions. Without monetaryincentives we predict similar average behavior with more variance. Why might these soft in-centives work? Perhaps the context rich environment of MobLab screens reduces differences

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in behavior between hypothetical and real rewards. The question of student motivation inlab experiments is an interesting area for future research, but, currently we advise instructorsthat participation credit is sufficient.

Part II

Utility Maximization

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Chapter 5

Cobb Douglas: Optimality involvesmaximization of marginal utilityper dollar

5.1 General DiscussionIn each period of this decision process, a panda must allocate a sum of money between twotypes of sushi. Prices are given, and the utility function is Cobb-Douglas. One piece at atime, the student chooses from the two types of sushi and continues doing so until the herbudget is depleted. While deciding, the student is shown how much utility each type of sushiwould bring if chosen for the next piece.

Students first play three rounds maximizing a utility function with equal prices. Students thenplay three rounds where the utility function and budget are held constant, but, prices are nowunequal. Students that “chase” marginal utilities (which are shown on the game screen) willfind they do not maximize utility. Encourage students to consider all the relevant information— not just the benefits but the costs too. You may also want to encourage students to observethe final budget share for each type of sushi that results from following the optimal strategy.

5.2 Learning ObjectiveWith our Consumer Choice: Workbook Module and the Student Workbook Chapter on Con-sumer Choice we expect students to achieve the following learning objectives:

- When allocating a fixed budget, sequentially choosing the item offering the highestmarginal utility per dollar will generally lead to the utility-maximizing budget allocation.

Students should have a basic knowledge of marginal utility, but, we recommend playing thisgame before deeper discussion of the theory.

5.3 Time RequirementThis chapter assumes you will run the classroom experiment as an introduction to ConsumerChoice. By posting the video instructions onto your Learning Management System (LMS)

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you can preserve class time. The module should take between 10-20 minutes. Time for opendiscussion (following the results) will vary. But, the module can be comfortably done in a50-minute or 75-minute class.

5.4 Class SizeNo adjustments are needed for larger classes.

5.5 Detailed Instructions and CommentsStudent PreparationTo preserve class time post these written instructions online and direct students to read thembefore class. Most games are better when everyone knows the rules (the data will be bettertoo). Also, if convenient, encourage students to to complete the warm-up questions whichthey will be able to complete by reading the instructions.

Instructor PreparationClick on the Modules tab. Select the “Consumer Choice: Workbook”. Add to the centerconsole.

The associated module guide contains step-by-step instructions for running this experimentwith your students. Consider reading it before class — if only for inspiration. In the ConsumerChoice: Workbook module on the console there are three reflection questions. Feel free to addor subtract from these reflection questions. If you need a brief tutorial on MobLab’s surveytechnology please see this video. Finally, before class consider watching a short video on astandard presentation of the Consumer Choice results.

Pump up the fun!

After you discuss the ideas of a budget constraint, indifference curves, and marginal rateof substitution you may ask your students to complete the “Thinking through theory”section. Then, create a new playlist and insert the Consumer Choice game into the playlistfrom the “Decision-making” category. Choose three rounds of Problem #3. Problem #3doubles prices and income from Problem #2 and therefore results in the same equilibrium

bundle. Set game duration to 48 hours and run the game. Students will now have 48hours to complete these three rounds.

Students often have trouble making the Panda happy in the first iteration of the game.So tell them this is their chance to make the Panda happy.

Instruction Comprehension QuestionsThere are two comprehension questions in the module. The first is related to whether bundlesare feasible or not. The second is related to diminishing marginal utility. These should bequick questions. With the details button in the monitor tab you get real-time feedback onthe distribution of responses to identify and correct errors in student understanding.

When there are no further questions click “Finish” on the instruction comprehension questions.

Three Rounds with Equal Prices followed by Three Rounds with UnequalPricesRemind students that all the relevant information is on their screens: budget, prices, andmarginal utilities. Inform them that Rounds 1-3 are the same but there will be a price changeafter Round 3.

- Record their final consumption decisions for each round

- Record the fraction of utility realized

Whenever students are ready click “Begin”. Whenever you are ready to end the game click“Finish”.

Reflection SurveyHave students engage in reflection before you present the results. This is a great activity todo while the results load1 and has been shown to improve learning outcomes dramatically. Itwill also improve the quality of discussion in your class. If you have told students to recordtheir decisions and take notes let them know these notes will likely be helpful when answeringthese questions.

Results presentationIn the video presentation of results we advocate sequential presentation of information. Foreach problem you can show through the optimal bundle displayed in the table as well asthe actual distribution of choices. Likely a number of students choose the optimal bundlein Rounds 1-3. Ask them how they were making their decisions. Most students will reportusing the stars on the screen (marginal utilities) to make their decision. But, doing so willyield sub-optimal choices in Rounds 4-6. Point out to students that their budget is scarce andthey must consider how much marginal utility costs. Therefore, marginal utility per dollar or“bang for your buck” is an important measure.

At this point, you may want to build on this intuition by discussing the budget constraint andderiving the optimal bundle. Your students may find our “Thinking through theory” sectionin the student workbook helpful in leading them to the rule that total utility is maximizedwhen the ratio of marginal utility to price are equalized across goods.

For further reflection on the results and on elements of the game have students complete someor all of the “further questions” section in their student workbooks.

Summary

Here is shortened description of each step for in-class implementation:

- Step 1: Click “Run Survey” on Open Session and “Begin!”. This creates an activesession for students to join. The session name students see will be the name ofthe playlist you placed your game in. When you’re ready to start the InstructionComprehension Survey click “Finish” on the open session. Before Class.

- Step 2 Click “Run Survey” on Instruction Comprehension Survey and “Begin!”.Use real-time information to correct misunderstandings. When you’re ready tostart the Practice Round click “Finish” on the Instruction Comprehension Survey.The instruction comprehension survey and discussion of answers typically take lessthan four minutes.

1You can pull up the results while the students are participating in a survey. Even if it is in the sameplaylist.

- Step 3 Click “Run Game” on the First Session and “Begin!”. Inform students thatall the relevant information is on their screens: budget, prices, and marginal utilities.Inform them that Rounds 1-3 are the same but there will be a price change afterRound 3. The First Session typically takes less than seven minutes.

- Step 4 Click “Run Survey” on Reflection Survey and “Begin!”. While studentscomplete their reflection survey click the results icon on the First Session. Theresults will soon load. Students can participate in brief or extended reflection on thegame.

- Step 5 Discuss the results of the experiment with students. Discussion of theoryand data often takes less than ten minutes.

Part III

Market Power

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Chapter 6

Cournot Competition: How marketsize affects economic outcomes

6.1 General DiscussionMobLab divides students into N -player markets, with N varying across the activities, and stu-dents act as firms in a Cournot oligolopoly, simultaneously choosing their level of productionof a homogeneous good (scooters). The market price is determined by a linear demand curvewith intercept 30 and slope equal to −1, or P = 30 − Q, where Q is the the total quantitychosen by all firms. At the end of round, each firm learns the total market production andthe resulting price and profits.

Students play three versions of this game, progressing from monopoly (N = 1), to duopoly(N = 2), and finally a larger, more competitve market (N = 14). Students play up to threerounds of each type of game, which allows them to develop their strategy and calibrate theirbeliefs about the aggregate production of other firms in the market.

In what follows we present written material and videos related to learning objectives, class-room implementation, results presentation, and discussion.

6.2 Learning ObjectiveWith our Cournot Competition Module and the Student Workbook Chapter on CournotCompetition we expect students to achieve the following learning objectives:

- Understand how increasing the number of competitors in the market, from one to many,shifts the market from the monopoly outcome towards perfectly competitive outcome–meaning higher aggregate quantities, lower prices, and greater total welfare, concen-trated among consumers.

6.3 Time RequirementThis chapter assumes you will run the classroom experiment as an introduction to CournotCompetition. By posting the video instructions onto your Learning Management System(LMS) you can preserve class time. The module should take approximately 30-minutes. Time

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for open discussion (following the results) will vary. But, the module can be comfortably donein a 50-minute or 75-minute class.

6.4 Class SizeNo adjustments are needed for larger classes.

6.5 Detailed Instructions and CommentsStudent PreparationTo preserve class time post video instructions and direct students to watch them before class.Most games are better when everyone knows the rules (the data will be better too). Also,if convenient, encourage students to be active listeners while watching the instructions andto complete the warm-up questions. Additionally, having students complete the “thinkingthrough theory” section will help them to think through the components of optimal decision-making and the logic of a best response.

Instructor PreparationClick on the Modules tab. Select “Cournot Competition: Workbook”. Add to the centerconsole.

The associated module guide contains step-by-step instructions for running this experimentwith your students. Consider reading it before class — if only for inspiration. In the CournotCompetition: Workbook module on the console there is only one reflection question. Feel freeto add to this reflection question. If you need a brief tutorial on MobLab’s survey technologyplease see this video. Finally, before class consider watching a short video on a standardpresentation of the Cournot results.

Pump up the fun!

Write down the prediction that Qmonopoly < Qduopoly < Qcompetitive and that con-sumers will be better off when there are more firms in the market. Seal the predictionin an envelope and hand it to a student at the start of class. This adds more oomph tothe results presentation when you instruct a student to open the envelope and read aloudbefore you present the results.

Instruction Comprehension QuestionsThere are three comprehension questions in the module. The questions include a review ofthe rules and two comprehension questions. One comprehension question is related to pricedetermination. Another is related to profit calculation. These should be quick questions.With the details button in the monitor tab you get real-time feedback on the distribution ofresponses to identify and correct errors in student understanding.

When there are no further questions click “Finish” on the instruction comprehension questions.

First Session – Three Rounds N = 1

This first game is somewhat different from the video instructions. Inform students of this.You may want to use the following script which also appears in the student workbook:

In this first game you will play three rounds as the only firm in the market. You facea demand curve of P = 30 − Q and can produce at most 30 units. There is zero cost toproduction.Encourage students to:

- Record their transactions in their workbook

- Write down features of the game screen or rules that are confusing

Whenever students are ready click “Begin”. Whenever you are ready to end the game click“Finish”.

Second Session – Three Rounds N = 2

Students now have experience in the market by themselves. Explain that now they will be inthe market with one other firm and can produce at most 10 units. There is still zero cost toproduction. Encourage students to:

- Record their own transactions in the student workbook

- Keep notes on their strategy and whether their strategy evolves

Whenever students are ready click “Begin”. Whenever you are ready to end the game click“Finish”.

Third Session – Three Rounds N = 14

Explain that students will now be in the market with thirteen other firms and can produceat most 3 units. There is still zero cost to production. Encourage students to:

- Record their own transactions in the student workbook

- Keep notes on their strategy and whether their strategy evolves

Whenever students are ready click “Begin”. Whenever you are ready to end the game click“Finish”.

Reflection SurveyHave students engage in reflection before you present the results. This is a great activity todo while the results load1 and has been shown to improve learning outcomes dramatically. Itwill also improve the quality of discussion in your class. If you have told students to recordtheir decisions and take notes let them know these notes will likely be helpful when answeringthese questions.

Results presentationIn the video presentation of results we advocate sequential presentation of information. Thiswill help students connect features of the game to economic theory. It also facilitates com-parison of theory to experimental outcomes.

For further reflection on the results and on elements of the game have students complete someor all of the “further questions” section in their student workbooks.

Summary

Here is shortened description of each step for in-class implementation:

- Step 1: Click “Run Survey” on Open Session and “Begin!”. This creates an activesession for students to join. The session name students see will be the name ofthe playlist you placed your game in. When you’re ready to start the InstructionComprehension Survey click “Finish” on the open session. Before Class.

1You can pull up the results while the students are participating in a survey. Even if it is in the sameplaylist.

- Step 2 Click “Run Survey” on Instruction Comprehension Survey and “Begin!”.Use real-time information to correct misunderstandings. When you’re ready tostart the Practice Round click “Finish” on the Instruction Comprehension Survey.The instruction comprehension survey and discussion of answers typically take lessthan five minutes.

- Step 3 Click “Run Game” on the First Session and “Begin!”. Inform students theyare in the market alone. There are no competitors for the next three rounds. Whenyou’re ready to start the Second Session click “Finish” on the First Session. TheFirst Session typically takes less than four minutes.

- Step 4 Click “Run Game” on the Second Session and “Begin!”. Inform studentsthere will now be two firms in each market for the next three rounds. When you’reready to start the Third Session click “Finish” on the Second Session. The SecondSession typically takes less than four minutes.

- Step 5 Click “Run Game” on the Third Session and “Begin!”. Inform studentsthere will now be fourteen firms in each market for the next three rounds. Whenyou’re ready to begin the reflection survey and move into the results presentationclick “Finish” on the Third Session. The Third Session typically takes less than fourminutes.

- Step 6 Click “Run Survey” on Reflection Survey and “Begin!”. While studentscomplete their reflection survey click the results icon on the First Session. Theresults will soon load. Students can participate in brief or extended reflection on thegame.

- Step 7 Discuss the results of the experiment with students. Discussion of theoryand data often takes less than ten minutes.

Bibliography

Allgood, Sam, William B. Walstad, and John J. Siegfried. “Research on Teaching Economicsto Undergraduates”. In: Journal of Economic Literature 53 (2015), pp. 285–325.

Cartwright, Edward and Anna Stepanova. “What do students learn from a classroom exper-iment: not much, unless they write a report on it.” In: Journal of Economic Education 43(2012), pp. 48–57.

Dickie, Mark. “Do classroom experiments increase learning in introductory microeconomics?”In: Journal of Economic Education 37 (2006), pp. 267–288.

Holt, Charles A. “Teaching economics with classroom experiments”. In: Southern EconomicJournal 65 (1999), pp. 603–610.

Rousu, Matthew C. et al. “Do Monetary Incentives Matter in Classroom Experiments? Effectson Course Performance”. In: Journal of Economic Education 46 (2015), pp. 341–349.

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