Monetary policy with Lego, storytelling and HSG expertise: a school project with a difference

In a small village called Econville, everything is still very traditional: bartering instead of bank accounts, craftsmanship instead of global financial markets. But the residents are becoming inventive – they build machines, trade more and push
boundaries. This leads to the creation of the first gold coins, banks and a central bank. And soon experiments with cryptocurrencies follow. Welcome to the world of money – told as a fictional story with a real educational impact.

This is the model used by HSG economist Carolin Güssow and HSG professor Johannes Binswanger to make complex economic relationships tangible. Originally developed for the HSG's Executive MBA programme, Econville –
which is also available as a book – is now finding its way into classrooms: This spring semester, an economics class at the Kantonsschule am Burggraben (KSBG) used the Econville textbook to learn about the monetary economy and then implemented their own projects based on this knowledge. 

When Lego meets monetary policy

Linus Köppel, economics teacher at KSBG and HSG alumnus, taught his students using the Econville model. Using Lego figures and bricks, he showed his students how payments between banks and the central bank work, how bank balance sheets function, and what terms such as money supply and inflation actually mean. "The use of tactile objects such as
Lego breaks down complex material and ensures a powerful learning experience," says Köppel. 

It didn't stop at theory: working in small teams, the students produced their own stop-motion films – each around three minutes long and on a specific topic related to the monetary system. Support came from the HSG Teaching Innovation Lab: filmmaker Luca Schmid provided technology, expertise and materials. This part of the project was made possible by a grant from the Lienhard Foundation.

At the end, the young people presented their work to a jury consisting of Güssow, Köppel and Schmid. Two winning films were selected. But the project does not end in the classroom: the films and the jointly developed teaching materials will now be made available to other teachers.

HSG knowledge showed new aspects

For Güssow, one thing is clear: "I find this collaboration between KSBG and HSG valuable. It is important that young people already understand the economically and socially important topic of money, especially how the amount of money is influenced and how it relates to economic activity.‘

Köppel also looks back on the project positively: ’Through the exchange with Carolin, I was able to monetary policy into my lessons.‘ He adds: ’I cover many areas in my lessons – from business administration to economics and law – but the in-depth and up-to-date knowledge from HSG research has shown me new aspects."