I design research-led, applied teaching resources that connect economic theory to real-world contexts. My work focuses on student engagement, digital innovation, and inclusive learning through interactive tools, social media, and open educational resources.
Digital Learning and Social Media
I use social media as a teaching tool to connect economic theory with everyday experiences and increase student engagement beyond the classroom.
In 2022 I created together with William Tayler (Senior Lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University) an Instagram account with educational proposes. Via this application, we upload reels, stories, and posts that show how daily life economics can be an example of the theoretical microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts we see in class. Following the link in the page bio, you can also access a linked website with free educational resources (see here) available with case studies, academic articles, and theoretical concepts linked to posts and reels.
“The Use of Social Networks to Improve Engagement and Implement and Research-Led Curriculum” with William Tayler (Lancaster University), Lancaster University Economics Working Paper Series 2025/001, URL: https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/228419/1/LancasterWP2025_001.pdf
Izquierdo Sanchez, S., and Tayler, W. (2024). “Instagram: Transforming Higher Education Engagement Beyond the Classroom”, HUMS Good Practice Library. URL: https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/humteachlearn/2024/07/02/instagram-transforming-engagement/
Izquierdo Sanchez, S., Tayler, W. (2024). “Instagramming Economics”, Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education (SIME): https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_Scholarship-and-Innovation-in-Management-Education/23/
UoM Humanities podcast. Good practice in teaching series (8 May) - Episode 24 following this link
Teaching and Learning Podcast. Aston University (18 November) - Listen to the full episode here
Classroom Games and Experiential Learning
I design and implement existing classroom games to help students actively engage with economic theory through experimentation and decision-making. These activities simulate real-world economic environments, allowing students to apply abstract concepts, analyse outcomes, and reflect on strategic behaviour in a structured but interactive setting.
The Film Industry Game: This game shows the students (in a simplified way) the importance of the firm’s decision-making in a two-sided market and how the different strategies can affect revenues. During this game, the students will revise the concepts of revenues, competition, supply chain, two-sided markets, and opportunity costs. You can access the game via the link below:
Izquierdo Sanchez, S. (2024). "Firm decisions under uncertainty in a two-sided market. A "film industry" classroom game", Advances in Economics Education, 3(2): 124-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4336/aee.2024.02.02
Social Learning and Information Cascades: This game explains the consumer's decision process for experience goods. Access game instructions and the PowerPoint used in class, with instructions given to the students here.
This game is an approach (to be used either online or in a face to face setting) I created based on the classroom game published by: Anderson, L. and Holt, C. “Classroom games: information cascades”, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10(4): 187-193
Perfect Competition Entry and Exit Game: This game is ideal to use before you explain the concept of Perfect Competition, and after the students have learnt the concept of production, costs, and profit maximisation. It can also be used after the students have learnt the concept of Perfect Competition, as an application of the theory. Students simulate firm behaviour with varying costs and face real time price signals.
Access the game: Cheung, S. L.(2005). " A Classroom Entry and Exit Game of Supply with Price-Taking Firms", Journal of Economics Education, 36(4): 353-368.
I usually run this game during the lecture. See an example of the data collected and the follow-up graphs from the results I use to introduce the discussion and the topic of Perfect Competition here.
I teach large groups. The paper by Cheung only considers up to 20 firms; some years, I have more than 20 groups playing the game simultaneously, so I extended the game for up to 30 firms. Find the extended table for prices and fixed costs here. You can also access the printouts I give to the groups here.
The Tennis Balls Game: This game helps students to understand the concept of the law of diminishing marginal returns. It is a quick, easy fun game!
Access the game: Hedges, M. R. (2004). "Tennis Balls in Economics", Economics Network: Idea Bank, URL: https://economicsnetwork.ac.uk/showcase/hedges_tennis
Assessment Innovation
During the academic year 2023/2024 I implemented a new coursework component in the module Microeconomics 4 at the University of Manchester. This coursework involves students forming groups of up to four individuals and selecting a topic of their choice related to the module content. This topic can be based on their daily lives or current events. The students will then be tasked with writing a blog post on their chosen topic, incorporating relevant literature. The blog post has to be written in a non-technical style, appealing to the general public. The aim is to help students develop their communication skills, simplifying complex ideas and crafting concise and engaging writing, but also skills such as collaboration and feedback or digital literacy. To encourage peer-to-peer learning and provide examples of real-world applications of the module content, the marked blog posts are shared anonymously with the entire class. This approach allows students to learn from each other and gain valuable insights into various topics. In subsequent years, new students are able to access the blogposts from previous academic years. Access the Microeconomics 4 blog here.
Izquierdo Sanchez, S. (2024). “The Microeconomics Blog: Inclusive Learning Using Open Educational Resources (OER)”, Economics Network Ideas Bank, URL: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/the-microeconomics-blog-inclusive-learning-using-open-educational
Izquierdo Sanchez, S., and Gonzalez Bonnet, N. (2024). “Diversifying the Curriculum: Microeconomics 4 Blog”, SoSS Teaching and Learning. URL: https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/sossteachlearn/2024/07/01/diversifying-the-curriculum-microeconomics-4-blog/
Izquierdo Sanchez, S. (2025). “Using Prizes and Open Educational Resources (OER) to Enhance Engagement in Microeconomics”, SoSS Teaching and Learning, https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/sossteachlearn/2025/08/05/using-prizes-microeconomics/
Qualitative Skills and Software
In addition to games and coursework innovations, I also create supporting materials to help students strengthen their quantitative and data analysis skills.
Excel: This manual has been developed to support the teaching of Managerial Economics I at the University of Manchester where Excel is one of the skills in the learning outcomes. It introduces students to data management, graphical analysis, statistical tools, and optimisation techniques such as Solver. The material provides a step-by-step guide to applying Excel in economic contexts, including descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, and firm-level and time series applications. It is particularly useful for supporting independent learning and applied coursework. Access Manual and Datasets here.
SPSS: I used SPSS when teaching Business Economics at the University of Huddersfield. This manual introduces students to data management, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis. It provides a step-by-step guide to using SPSS in applied economic contexts and is particularly useful for supporting independent learning and coursework projects. Access Manual and Datasets here.
Student Voice and Leadership
Over the past years, I have also organised several events for Student Voice. Some examples are (access full list of events here):
I have led the organisation of the School of Social Sciences Career and Employability Conference. I designed the structure of the conference in collaboration with various student societies within the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. The conference aims to demonstrate to students how the graduate skills they acquire through their degree can be applied across a variety of jobs, and how these skills can evolve in the job market. See more information about this and other events I led the organisation on here.
During the academic year 2024/2025, I led the collaboration with the Royal Economic Society and the School of Social Science at the University of Manchester to organise an "Inspiring Women in Economics" careers event. This event featured a distinguished panel of senior women economists from the public and private sectors, as well as academia. They shared their career journeys, challenges they faced, lessons they learned, and insights into achieving success in the field of economics. The panel discussion was followed by a Q&A session, giving attendees the opportunity to engage directly with the speakers. This event was aimed at inspiring and empowering underrepresented backgrounds in economics. Learnt more about this event here.