A Slippery Rock University business faculty member is bringing the real world into the classroom in a big way. Sunita Mondal, a professor of business, has conducted research into Pennsylvania labor market changes since the COVID-19 pandemic, while also implementing the programming language Python in economics classrooms. Her approach has revealed new, dynamic approaches to economics education that better prepare students for the current job market.
“Being aware of employment trends helps students to be informed when looking for work,” Mondal said. “It helps our graduates to stay informed.”
Mondal’s research into the Pennsylvania labor market revealed a decline in sectors such as retail, hospitality and manufacturing, and growth and resilience in education, health care, finance and technology. Her parallel research into Python for economic classroom yielded new activities to implement in her classroom where students use real economic data from sources like the Federal Reserve Bank. The students also use coding to create visualizations that they can analyze in order to clearly read the labor market.
Mondal’s research topics are unified by the potential they have to better prepare students for the Pennsylvania job market. Being aware of sectors that are growing and declining prepares students to make educated decisions about where they apply, but that’s only half the battle. By using Python as students, they will enter the employment market with competency in the language, a marketable skill in a job market seeking tech savvy applicants.
“Employers in many sectors have these expectations now,” Mondal said. “They look for people who are skilled in analyzing data.”
The Haverlack College of Business’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board — consisting of SRU alumni working in business, economics, and finance — emphasized that data analysis is a skill they use regularly on the job and one that strongly strengthens students’ job-market preparation. Mondal began the necessary research to address this need, which revealed the utility of early experience with Python and the development of literacy and awareness of employment market shifts.
While the official classroom implementation of Mondal’s research is in its infancy, her findings still make their way into the classroom every day.
“As a faculty member, any time you are involved in research, it automatically comes into the classroom,” Mondal explained.
For her, this has meant focusing on the practical applications of the skills and concepts that her students are learning about in class.
“When you understand why you’re doing something or learning something, you feel more motivated,” she said. “Students feel that way when they see connections between what’s going on in the classroom and what’s really going on in the economy.”
More information about economics programs at SRU is available on the program’s webpage. More information about the Haverlack College of Business can be found on the college’s webpage
