Mr Jon Guest

National Teaching Fellow 2011 Jon Guest's approach towards teaching is one that tries to convey his own enthusiasm for the subject combined with material that presents abstract economics concepts in the context of the everyday life of the student. Questions such as "Should spaces in different seminar groups be auctioned to the highest bidder via e-Bay?" and "Why do I never stick to my revision timetable?" help to create lively discussions and develop the student's ability to think like an economist. As a student from one of Jon's undergraduate classes commented, "He teaches with a genuine passion for the subject, which enables him to find more and more attention grabbing ways to teach us theoretical knowledge. He always manages to make the most difficult topics seem simple as he finds ways to relate the theory to real world examples that we can relate to easily". Jon has also worked on developing teaching methods that promote a more active learning environment in the classroom. In particular he has carried out a number of funded research projects on theimpact of games and experiments on student learning. These range from students playing an on-line version of the TV show 'Deal or No Deal' to games that involve them acting as buyers and sellers in the classroom. Through his work as an associate of the Economics Network, Jon has run sessions on innovative pedagogic practices at a number of universities, workshops for new lecturers and major national events. He has also been involved in developing and running very successful training courses for the Government Economic Service and Her Majesty's Treasury. The quality of Jon's teaching was formerly recognised when he became the first Government Economic Service approved tutor in 2005 and won the student-nominated award from the Economics Network in the same year. He was also a winner of The Teaching Excellence Award at Coventry University in 2008.