Active learning ideas
Economic growth is a primary objective of the Australian government, usually measured by the annual percentage change in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Students explore the factors that drive growth, such as technological change, labour force participation, and investment in infrastructure. They also examine the business cycle, identifying the characteristics of booms, recessions, troughs, and peaks.
Activity 01
Set up four stations representing Boom, Recession, Trough, and Upswing. At each station, students must list the likely levels of unemployment, inflation, and consumer confidence, using recent Australian historical data as evidence.
How is economic growth measured in Australia?
Activity 02
Students debate the limitations of GDP. One side defends GDP as a standard metric, while the other argues for alternative measures like the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) or the OECD Better Life Index, specifically referencing Australian social and environmental outcomes.
What are the characteristics of the business cycle?
Activity 03
Groups are assigned a specific decade in Australian history (e.g., the 2000s mining boom). They must identify the key drivers of growth during that period and present a 'digital scrapbook' of the era's economic performance.
What are the positive and negative impacts of economic growth?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Economic growth always makes everyone better off.
Growth can be uneven, leading to increased wealth gaps or environmental damage. Using a 'Gallery Walk' of different Australian communities (e.g., a mining town vs. a drought-affected farming area) helps students see that growth impacts vary significantly.
A recession is just when the economy slows down.
In Australia, a technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Peer-teaching exercises where students have to 'diagnose' an economy based on quarterly data help clarify this specific definition.
Methods used in this brief
The Circular Flow of Income
This topic introduces the five-sector circular flow of income model to explain the operation of the macroeconomy. Students analyse the impact of leakages and injections on the level of economic activity.
8 methodologies
Inflation
Students investigate the measurement, causes, and consequences of inflation in Australia. They differentiate between demand-pull and cost-push inflation.
8 methodologies
Unemployment
This topic examines the measurement of the labour force and the various types of unemployment. Students analyse the economic and social costs of unemployment in Australia.
8 methodologies