Designing the First Class in Challenging Quantitative Courses: A Roadmap with a Mark-and-Recapture Activity

The first class of a challenging quantitative course is high‑stakes: students and instructors may feel anxious about unfamiliar interactions, and these early experiences can shape perceptions of the course, peers, and instructor. We present a replicable roadmap for the first class in undergraduate statistics, econometrics, and related quantitative courses. As one implementation of this roadmap, we adapt the ecological mark‑and‑recapture method into a brief in‑class simulation that lowers barriers to participation, fosters peer interaction, and introduces recurring ideas in statistics and econometrics. The paper includes a complete protocol, student handout, instructor guide, discussion prompts, and implementation notes.

by Ying H. Chao and Camilo Rubbini

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Chao, Y., & Rubbini, C. (2026). Designing the First Class in Challenging Quantitative Courses: A Roadmap with a Mark-and-Recapture Activity. Available online at Journal of Economics Teaching, DOI: 10.58311/jeconteach/3c49babe5b57a09c7cf690603ffbf0bb6f4504db

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