Integrating data analysis into an introductory macroeconomics course

Data analysis and applying knowledge to real-world settings rank among key skills of college graduates. This paper shows how to completely integrate data analysis and application of knowledge to real-world settings into an introductory macroeconomics course. Every class meeting is structured as a series of activities that students work through using free, publicly available data. Time can be allotted to these activities during class because the course takes advantage of two previously documented active learning pedagogies (flipped classroom and team-based learning). Students benefit by gaining data analysis skills, applying knowledge to real-world settings, digging deeper into the material and contentious topics, and learning that results from combining the data analysis approach with the active learning approaches.