Sheryl Ball, of Christiansburg, Va., and Catherine Eckel, of Blacksburg, who share a research methodology called experimental economics, have received the 2004 Diggs Teaching Scholar Award.

Ball, associate professor of economics and associate dean for curriculum, instruction, and advising, and Eckel, professor of economics, both in the College of Science, have used innovative ways to use technology in the teaching of large introductory classes. The valuable hands-on experiment allows students to be either buyers or sellers and encourages greater understanding of true market experiences. Large classes, however, make these markets awkward or impossible. To accommodate larger class sizes, Eckel worked with the National Science Foundation to develop the idea of using hand-held wireless devices with a server to facilitate the use of experiments. Called the Wireless Interactive Teaching System (WITS), the program uses wireless technology to adapt small classroom active-learning techniques to large introductory economics courses. The system includes wireless handheld PDAs in an intranet served by a wireless laptop computer.

In a Fall 2003 test of the system, the researchers found substantial and statistically significant evidence of better test scores, deeper thinking about course concepts, and improved teaching evaluations compared to standard-format classes. The final exam grade was 6.59 percentage points, about two-thirds of a letter grade, higher in the experimental class.

Because of this innovative and effective use of technology in teaching, Department Head Aris Spanos said, "The system they are developing has the potential to revolutionize the teaching of introductory economics."

With a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, Ball has received, in addition to those with Eckel, a grant from the National Institute of Dispute Resolution and is part of a team at Virginia Tech that received a NSF IGERT grant to develop a joint graduate program in engineering and business. She has received Virginia Tech’s Alumni Advising Award and the Certificate of Teaching Excellence. When Virginia Tech decided to bid for spectrum license in the FCC auction, Ball helped develop the bidding strategy that allowed the university to become the only educational institution to win a license.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Ball is a member of the American Economic Association, the Committee for the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, the Economic Science Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Economics.

As one of four University Advance Professors, Eckel helps implement a National Science Foundation-funded program to advance women in science and engineering careers at Virginia Tech. She is director of Virginia Tech’s Laboratory for the Study of Human Thought and Action and president-elect of the Southern Economic Association as of December 2004. She has held offices in the Southern Economic Association and the Economic Science Association and has served on the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession of the American Economic Association. She has served on the executive boards of the Southern Economic Association and the Economic Science Association. Eckel is associate editor of the Southern Economic Journal and Experimental Economics. She has a bachelor’s in economics from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

The College of Science at Virginia Tech gives students a comprehensive foundation in the scientific method. Outstanding faculty members teach courses and conduct research in biology, chemistry, economics, geosciences, mathematics, physics, psychology, and statistics. The college is dedicated to fostering a research intensive environment and offers programs in nano-scale and biological sciences, information theory and science, and supports research centers—in areas such as biomedical and public health sciences, and critical technology and applied science—that encompass other colleges at the university. The College of Science also houses programs in pre-medicine and scientific law.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become among the largest universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.

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