In this episode, Dr Nicola Thomas, Lecturer in Economics and Finance | School of Business, explores how popular culture can be used as a powerful teaching tool while maintaining academic rigour. Together, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of bringing familiar media into the classroom, the role of critical thinking in economics education, and how educators can adapt their teaching to the digital environments students engage with every day. Can films, television, gaming and social media help students develop deeper economic understanding? Let’s find out together.
Topics
- Genuine economic understanding (Timestamp 02:24)
- Biggest lessons in teaching economics (Timestamp 06:33)
- Media environments (Timestamp 09:46)
- Opportunities for economics education (Timestamp 12:59)
Resources
- You can learn more about Dr Thomas’ research here.
- Geerling, W., Mateer, G. D., Thomas, N., and Velte, N. (2026). Understanding Shrinkflation and Skimpflation Through the Lens of Grocery Shopping. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6642620.
- TeachEconAU is a free repository sharing Australian classroom ready economics clips and teaching guides, making teaching economics fun and easy!
