Teaching Elasticity in Economics with MobLab Simulations
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New! Teaching Elasticity in Economics with MobLab Online Assignments

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When I first heard of elasticity back when I was an economics student, I was puzzled. Sure, the math was straightforward but what about the intuition? What did it actually mean in the real world?

At first, I struggled with the concept of elasticity in economics. So, how did I overcome it? Back then, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos uploaded by econ instructors about elasticity and coordinated group study with some classmates. Even to this day, many students still utilize this DIY learning approach when they are having challenges learning econ. However, if I had been able to use MobLab’s Elasticity Online Assignment back then, I wouldn’t have needed to spend all that energy looking up YouTube videos because the Elasticity Online Assignment has videos, experiments, and comprehension questions already built in as one cohesive learning package.

Here’s how the Elasticity Online Assignment works and how your students can benefit from it. In a nutshell, the Elasticity Online Assignment is pre-made with MobLab simulations and surveys all set up, organized for student learning. The simulation that this online assignment uses is MobLab's popular Competitive Market Game, a continuous double auction where students are either buyers or sellers. They then place bids or asks that are then accepted or declined by MobLab’s robot players, which are designed to mimic human behavior. Note that all online assignments entail students playing against robots.

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Buyer (left) and Seller (right) Competitive Market Game Screens

When the game is finished, students are shown supply, demand, and transaction charts to graphically illustrate the type of trading they likely observed in the market game.



After the simulation, students are then presented with follow-up comprehensive material created using MobLab Surveys.


Students are then presented with a series of questions that assess their understanding of both the intuition and mathematics behind elasticity.



Next, students are presented with Key Takeaway (concept review) questions. Here is the list of those questions which can be viewed from your instructor console and what question 7 looks like.



The struggle may be real for students trying to understand elasticity, but MobLab helps make that learning (and teaching) experience smooth sailing. By combining our simulations with pre-built surveys bundled into one solid Elasticity Online Assignment, instructors now have a powerful learning tool they can deploy asynchronously in a matter of seconds.

Want to learn more about teaching economics with MobLab? Get in touch with our team to schedule a one-on-one demo meeting. Whether you’re teaching in person, online, or both, MobLab has got your class covered with many different exciting games to choose from!