My teaching centers on making economics accessible through active learning, removing financial barriers for students, and preparing them for data-driven careers. My teaching evaluations improved 34% across core metrics from my first to most recent semester.
Continuous Improvement
Each semester I introduce a concrete change to lower barriers to learning and replace passive lectures with hands-on tools. The cumulative effect is reflected in the steadily rising teaching evaluations below.
Summer 2026 — Tulip Bulb Investment Game v2
Released a major rewrite of the Tulip Bulb Investment Game. V2 adds five historical bubble scenarios (Tulip Mania, South Sea Bubble, Florida Land Boom, Dot-com Bubble, Crypto Mania), full Buy / Sell / Hold trading with quantities, an inflation-adjusted Future-Value vs Present-Value breakdown, and a closing reflection that connects the simulation to today’s AI valuations.
Summer 2026 — Welfare Lab (Biggio Center Course (Re)Design)
As part of the Biggio Center Summer 2026 Course (Re)Design Program, I built the Welfare Lab, an interactive tariff and tax welfare-math sandbox where students manipulate market parameters and watch consumer surplus, producer surplus, and deadweight loss update in real time.
Spring 2026 — Midterm Survey Innovation
In Spring 2026 ECON 2030 (Principles of Macroeconomics), I introduced a multi-wave mid-semester survey system (4 waves, 42 total responses) to collect actionable feedback and adapt teaching in real time. After Midterm 1, students requested more practice problems and instructor-led problem-solving; I restructured the remaining sessions accordingly. The results:
- 94% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the post-Midterm 1 changes
- 78% reported improved pacing
- 56% felt better prepared for exams (only 6% felt less prepared)
- 100% rated the additional practice problems and in-class solving as at least moderately helpful
Spring 2025 — Prisoner’s Dilemma Game
Developed an interactive Prisoner’s Dilemma Game for ECON 2020 (Principles of Microeconomics). Students play repeated rounds against classmates and the computer, observing strategic interaction and Nash equilibria emerge from their own choices.
Summer 2024 — Tulip Bulb Investment Game (Biggio Center Course (Re)Design)
As part of the Biggio Center Summer 2024 Course (Re)Design Program, I built a free, browser-based Tulip Bulb Investment Game for ECON 2030 (Principles of Macroeconomics) so students could experience speculative bubbles and boundedly rational decision-making firsthand instead of reading about them. Replaced an expensive publisher subscription.
Student Feedback
“Li, you are truly a fantastic professor. I would not wish to take economics with another lecturer… I have a newfound appreciation for the study of economics and the beauty of its logic.” — Spring 2025, ECON 2020 (Principles of Microeconomics)
“Zihang was the most wonderful TA I have ever had… He always answered questions, supported his students, and helped us to think critically about the material and our project. I imagine he will be an absolutely fantastic professor.” — Fall 2025, ECON 4600 (Econometrics)
“Mr. Li is a phenomenal teacher who really cares about each student’s well being. While this is a very difficult course, he makes it fun to learn!” — Spring 2024, ECON 2030 (Principles of Macroeconomics)
“Incredibly knowledgeable and easy to talk to… knew how to answer students’ questions, even when the student had no idea what they were asking, providing feedback that removed prior doubts.” — Fall 2024, ECON 4600 (Econometrics)
“His teaching style really suited and engaged the class far more than the professor. I think he would be a great teacher. He was very patient and gave all of us his undivided attention.” — Fall 2024, ECON 4600 (Econometrics)
“A difficult course with ample amounts of help… has the gift of teaching, passionate about his job and it shows inside and outside the classroom. Genuinely wants students to learn the course and excel academically.” — Fall 2025, ECON 4600 (Econometrics)
“Gives plenty of practice problems and examples. I enjoy when you incorporate real news and events.” — Spring 2026, ECON 2030 (Macroeconomics, mid-semester survey)
“It is perfect.” — Spring 2026, in response to “what additional changes would you like?”
Independent Instructor — Auburn University
ECON 2020: Principles of Microeconomics
- Semesters: Fall 2023, Spring 2025, Summer 2026 (planned)
- Evaluations: Improved from 4.37/6.0 to 5.33/6.0
- Full course responsibility: curriculum design, syllabus development, assessment, and grading (AACSB accredited)
ECON 2030: Principles of Macroeconomics
- Semesters: Spring 2024, Spring 2026
- Evaluations: 5.21/6.0
Module Instructor — Auburn University
ECON 5700/6700: Health Economics (Spring 2025)
- Led instruction on Demand and Supply of Health Insurance and Organization of the Health Care Market
- Taught undergraduate and graduate sections
- Led session on data and statistical methods with empirical applications
Teaching Assistant — Auburn University
ECON 4600: Econometrics (Fall 2024, Fall 2025)
- TA Evaluations: Improved from 5.39/6.0 to 5.86/6.0
- Hold independent weekly recitation sessions: R programming, regression analysis, quantitative methods
- Individually guide each student through their research thesis
ECON 2020 & ECON 2030 (Fall 2021 – Summer 2025)
- Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
Teaching Assistant — Konkuk University (2018–2020)
- Environmental Economics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, History of Economic Thought
- Prepared course materials and graded assignments for 200+ students
Teaching Evaluations
| Course | Semester | Role | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECON 2020 | Fall 2023 | Instructor | 4.37/6.0 |
| ECON 2030 | Spring 2024 | Instructor | 5.21/6.0 |
| ECON 2020 | Spring 2025 | Instructor | 5.33/6.0 |
| ECON 4600 | Fall 2024 | TA | 5.39/6.0 |
| ECON 4600 | Fall 2025 | TA | 5.86/6.0 |
Courses Prepared to Teach
Undergraduate: Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Business Statistics, Industrial Organization, Health Economics, Big Data Analysis, Corporate Finance, Financial Markets and Institutions, Managerial Finance, Investments
Graduate: Applied Microeconometrics, Econometrics, Health Economics, Business Statistics, Industrial Organization, Financial Economics, Risk Analysis
Educational Tools
I develop free interactive tools to replace expensive publisher subscriptions:
- Welfare Lab — Interactive tariff and tax welfare-math sandbox for ECON 2020
- Tulip Bulb Investment Game — Illustrates speculative bubbles and boundedly rational decision-making
- Prisoner’s Dilemma Game — Teaches game theory and strategic interaction
Service & Outreach
Aris Education Foundation — Pro Bono Website Feedback
Provided feedback and consultation, free of charge, on the design and development of the Aris Education Foundation website. The foundation supports educational opportunities for children with disabilities in underserved rural communities in India through infrastructure grants, learning materials, teacher training, and scholarships.