Teaching innovations in agricultural economics: an economic approach

An economic learning model, with time inputs of instructional preparation, classroom contact, and student preparation under both innovative and traditional teaching methods, is developed and used to evaluate teaching innovations in agricultural economics. The model’s implications for evaluating teaching innovations are developed and tested. The conclusions are as follows: a comparison of test scores for experimental and control groups to evaluate teaching innovations ignores the efficiency impacts of “labor-saving” innovations; students can provide useful data for evaluating teaching innovations; and economic cost-benefit concepts should guide conclusions about the effectiveness of innovations.