Math and Economics: Implementing Authentic Instruction in Grades K-5

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to outline a partnership program that involved a local elementary school district, an institution of higher education, the local business community, and a state economic education advocacy group to integrate economics into math in grades K-5. The “Economics: Math in Real Life” program was provided in collaboration with a Title I program to integrate economics and personal finance content into mathematics instruction to demonstrate real-life applications of math concepts and increase students’ knowledge in this content area. Pretests and posttests were administered to gauge effectiveness of the authentic instruction program in increasing student knowledge in math and economics and teacher knowledge in economics. Empirical results indicate learning occurred in both math and economics for students in grades 3-5 and in economics for teachers.