Memes Contest: Engaging Students through Innovative Teaching

Rowan Cherodian teaches Introduction to Time-Series Econometrics to Stage Two Economics students. Recently, he held a meme contest, where the students with the top three memes got free drinks at K-Bar.

It can be difficult to engage students in a module that is particularly challenging. For years, Econometrics has had a love-hate relationship with Economics students––everyone loves being able to learn key skills and knowledge that play a huge role in today’s job market, and the content can be really interesting, but it’s definitely not easy. PhD candidate and GTA Rowan Cherodian, the module convener of Introduction to Time-Series Econometrics, wanted to break some of the tension that comes with the challenge, and encourage students to find the module more fun.

Winning meme courtesy of Benny Liu.

“The aim of the meme contest was to encourage student engagement and lighten the mood,” said Cherodian. “The course covers some very technical material that I know many students struggle with, so I added the meme contest to make learning and engaging with the material and course more fun.”

Meme courtesy of Shivali Raichura.

The three winners of the challenge were Benny Liu, Shivali Raichura and John McLarty and were treated to drinks at K-bar. 

Meme created by John McLarty