Improving students’ knowledge and skills using an innovative Pecha Kucha presentation assignment in a History of Economic Thought class

Abstract

In this article, the author considers the motivational power in allocating to groups of students in a History of Economic Thought (HET) course a new formative Pecha Kucha (PK) presentation assignment on one economic school of thought. Following this, each group then posted its PK on the Moodle course forum and commented on PK presentations by other groups. The assignment aimed to encourage students to engage more with technology; to learn on their own and with each other and from each other; to acquire abstracting skills; to address the breadth rather than only the depth of learning; and to make use of the brevity of PK in shortening the long history of economics. The author weighs up the advantages and limitations of this assignment and reflects on its applicability to other courses.