A picture is worth a thousand words (at least): The effective use of visuals in the economics classroom

Much attention has been devoted to improving teaching pedagogy in economics; yet, one area that has generally lagged is the effective use of visuals. Evidence from cognitive and brain science suggests that the common approach of placing text onto slides does not improve student retention. This paper ties the literature from cognitive and brain science with that of economic education to show how visuals are more complementary to spoken lectures than words. This, in turn, leads to improved learning outcomes and a more enjoyable learning experience. The paper concludes with a concise summary of best practices, emphasizing easy-to-implement design techniques.