Reflections on My First Year Teaching AP Economics

The AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics exams are over. Looking back, the past year felt like a constant race to cover all the content for both courses. It was my first time teaching them—and in fact, my first time teaching economics at all. I majored in International Studies and Sociology at university, so I don’t have an academic background in economics. That made it a challenge—but one I enjoyed!

When I accepted the offer to teach these courses last year, I had a general understanding of key economic concepts—GDP, economic systems, inflation, unemployment, supply and demand, and so on. But in hindsight, I wasn’t fully aware of how deeply the AP courses would dive into each of these topics—because I didn’t know the depth myself. As college-level courses, AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics go far beyond the basics.

This post is a personal reflection on that experience. I hope it will be helpful to other teachers who may not have a formal background in economics but are considering the challenge of teaching AP Microeconomics or AP Macroeconomics.

Official Course and Exam Description

The first step I took was to carefully review the official Course and Exam Description (CED) documents provided by the College Board—one for AP Microeconomics and one for AP Macroeconomics. These documents outline everything you need to know about the course structure, including the framework, unit guides, topic breakdowns, and exam details. They are essential for planning, as they help ensure that all required content is covered. I relied heavily on the "Essential Knowledge" sections to design my lessons and used the CEDs to build my scope and sequence for the year. These documents were the foundation of my instructional planning.

Scope and Sequence

Since I was teaching both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics, I had to think carefully about how to structure the year. Each course consists of six units, with the first unit—Basic Economic Concepts—shared by both. With that in mind, here is the sequence I followed:

1. AP Microeconomics - Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts

2. AP Microeconomics - Unit 2: Supply and Demand

3. AP Microeconomics - Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model

4. AP Microeconomics - Unit 4: Imperfect Competition

5. AP Microeconomics - Unit 5: Factor Markets

6. AP Microeconomics - Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government

7. AP Macroeconomics - Unit 2: Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle

8. AP Macroeconomics - Unit 3: National Income and Price Determination

9. AP Macroeconomics - Unit 4: Financial Sector

10. AP Macroeconomics - Unit 5: Long-Run Consequences of Stabilization Policies

11. AP Macroeconomics - Unit 6: Open Economy – International Trade and Finance

When I began the course at the start of the year, I spent too much time on Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts. This ended up cutting into the time I had available for later units. The unit guides in the Course and Exam Description include suggested timeframes for each unit, and I highly recommend sticking to them. They help ensure you can cover all the material at a steady pace and finish the course comfortably.

Microeconomics vs Macroeconomics

Personally, I enjoyed teaching Macroeconomics more. I’ve always found the bigger picture of economics more compelling than the details at the individual level. Macroeconomics focuses on measuring the overall health of an economy using key indicators like GDP, inflation, and unemployment. It offers a broad view of how the economy functions and, in my experience, is less graph-heavy than Microeconomics. Micro, on the other hand, deals more with the actions and decisions of individual consumers, firms, and markets.

Key Resources           

Here are some of the key resources I used throughout the year:

• AP Classroom: This is the official College Board platform, offering videos and practice questions for each unit. I assigned these as we progressed through the course. We used a flipped classroom model—students watched the videos and completed practice questions at home, and in class, we reviewed the content and addressed any doubts or misconceptions.

• Jacob Clifford’s YouTube Channel: His videos are short, clear, and cover every topic in AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics. He has a solid grasp of the curriculum and explains concepts in a way that is accessible and engaging for students.

• ReviewEcon: This website provides concise written explanations, interactive activities, and a large bank of practice questions organized by topic. It was a very helpful resource for both instruction and revision.

• Khan Academy: I used this more as a supplementary resource. As we moved through the course, I occasionally assigned optional Khan Academy videos to reinforce learning and provide additional practice.

• Textbooks: I referred to Krugman’s Economics for AP and Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw. I liked Krugman for its alignment with the AP exam and for the useful MCQ and FRQ practice. Mankiw, on the other hand, offered strong explanations and real-world examples that helped students better understand and apply economic concepts.

What’s Next Now That Exams Are Over

Now that the exams are behind us, we can finally take a breather. My students still have over a month of school left, so I’m excited to explore economics beyond the College Board syllabus—without the pressure of exam prep. Of course, many of them are experiencing a bit of “senioritis”—that classic post-exam slump common among Grade 12 students preparing to graduate. I see it as a challenge: to keep them engaged and help them learn something meaningful in these final weeks of the school year.