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A Conversation with Sylvain Hours at EconDoctor.com
March 20, 2026
Over the years, one of the things I have most enjoyed about being part of the global IB Economics community is discovering colleagues who are constantly creating thoughtful tools that help all of us become better teachers. One of those colleagues is Sylvain Hours, the creator of EconDoctor.com.
I have followed Sylvain’s work for quite some time, and I have always been inspired by the creativity, ingenuity, and innovation behind what he builds. His resources reflect a genuine effort to make the work of IB Economics teachers run more smoothly by creating clear, practical tools that help both teachers and students improve their craft. In many ways, I have long felt that Sylvain’s ideas sit at the forefront of thinking about how we teach IB Economics well.
Sylvain and I first connected last year about the possibility of doing an interview and collaborating together. At the time, he mentioned that he was in the middle of rebuilding and revamping his website.
That work has now been completed, and the new version of EconDoctor.com has just launched with a number of exciting updates and tools.
I am very pleased to share Sylvain’s work with you here. If you are looking for exceptional resources to support your teaching, or tools that can help students deepen their understanding of IB Economics, I truly cannot recommend his work highly enough.
What follows is a conversation Sylvain and I had a last week ago, where he shares the story behind EconDoctor and the ideas shaping the platform today.
I hope you enjoy it!
Can you give us a brief history of EconDoctor.com, what inspired you, what gap in economics education were you trying to fill, when you started putting it together and why?
Back in high school, I was already sharing my class notes with classmates through a discussion forum I had created. It worked well, so I naturally kept doing the same throughout university. When I began teaching economics in high school in 2017, I struggled to find resources that were rigorous, clear, comprehensive, and carefully structured. So I started building my own materials to match the way I teach and the way my students learn. It quickly grew into a very large project, and it is still evolving.
Because the marginal cost of sharing digital resources is essentially zero, the socially optimal price is also zero. That is why I share most of what I create free of charge. We certainly do not want to create deadweight loss.
EconDoctor.com was born in 2019 from that wish to share. The name is a nod to my PhD in economics, and it can also be read as “e-conductor”, with the “e” for online and “conductor” in the sense of a guide and fellow teacher.
Whenever I create teaching materials, I keep in mind a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein that sums up my philosophy. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Can you walk us through the types of resources available on the site and how they are intended to be used by educators and students? What’s the process for signing up? Is it free, or are there paid sections?
Almost everything is freely accessible. You create a free account and you are in. The core of the site is a shared resource library built over thousands of hours. It includes a large collection of slide decks, summaries, and classroom-ready documents covering virtually the entire A-Level, AP, and IB Economics syllabi.
The site was also recently rebuilt with a more modern, mobile-friendly design, and a reworked back-end for speed and stability. The YouTube channel has not changed much recently, but it still hosts around a hundred videos, including workshop recordings, walkthroughs of tools, and advice for IB Economics exam preparation.
Over time, the IB Economics section has expanded significantly and now includes a set of practical, revision-focused resources that teachers can use immediately, with very low prep.
One key resource is the real-world examples database. It now contains more than 300 curated examples, organized by unit and chapter, clearly tagged SL or HL when relevant, and presented in a consistent format that students can use quickly. Each entry is reduced to the essentials, what happened, where, when, and most importantly how to use it in an IB-style answer. I have also built a revision planner that helps students rate their confidence across the syllabus so they can prioritise more effectively. Teachers can view students’ planners to identify which topics need attention across a class.
More recently, I have added several print-ready IB revision resources, including large diagram packs, keyword flashcards, and real-world example flashcards designed for fast, high-impact practice. The diagram packs also come in an editable PowerPoint format, so teachers can adapt them to lessons and students can tailor them for their Internal Assessment instead of redrawing everything.
I also created Pathfinder, a classroom revision activity focused on economic reasoning. Students build a cause-and-effect route from a starting event to a destination concept, using required “stops” along the way. The goal is to practice clean “because” and “therefore” chains, without relying on definitions or diagrams. The Microeconomics set is available now, and Macroeconomics and Global Economy sets will follow.
All of that is free, except for the AI-based analysis tools for Internal Assessments and Extended Essays. Those sit behind a small paywall because of the cost of using large language models. Users can buy EconDoctor coins to unlock those tools.
I know a lot of people will be interested in your AI tools. Can you tell us a bit about the AI tools available?
There are currently three main AI tools.
The first is the Terminology Game. Teachers select terms by unit, chapter, and level, and students play individually or in teams, defining terms against the clock. The system scores each definition and provides immediate feedback in a format students actually use, with clear positives, clear improvements, and an IB-style definition alongside the student’s answer. The tool was recently rebuilt with a stronger feedback engine and a redesigned classroom-friendly interface, and it is free to use.
The second is the IA helper. It supports students in choosing suitable articles and then analyses draft commentaries, producing criterion-by-criterion feedback and predicted marks. The engine has been rebuilt end-to-end to make feedback more consistent, more rubric-driven, and closer to how an experienced teacher marks and guides an IA draft.
The third is the EE helper. It is now live for IB Economics and fully aligned with the new Extended Essay requirements for first assessment in 2027. It supports three key stages. Students can test and refine their research question, receive criterion-by-criterion draft feedback with predicted marks for Criteria A to D, and receive targeted feedback on the quality of their reflection to improve their Reflection on Planning and Progress Form. I also work as an IB Economics examiner, which gives me a very concrete perspective on what tends to separate average work from strong work. That examiner lens helps keep the tools grounded in assessment expectations, while still making the feedback practical and actionable for students.
Since you’ve developed AI tools for the IB Economics Internal Assessment and Extended Essay, what’s your opinion on the ethics of AI in the IB and how it supports students and teachers?
Honestly, I am concerned about the growing role of AI in our lives, especially its impact on younger learners. We are in a difficult transition period where the technology is moving quickly and education adapts more slowly. My stance is pragmatic. These tools exist and they are not going away, so students need guidance on how to use them responsibly. Rather than leaving students alone with generic systems, I prefer a controlled environment where I define exactly what the AI does and what it does not do.
In EconDoctor, the aim is not to replace the Supervisor. The aim is to help students receive earlier, clearer, and more structured feedback throughout the process. It is designed as a support tool that strengthens skill-building and student autonomy, not as a shortcut that substitutes for thinking or for teacher judgement.
Where do you see EconDoctor going in the future? What are your plans for building out the tools?
I am already very happy with what the site offers, but I will keep expanding and updating the IB Economics resources and continuing to refine the AI tools so they remain rigorous, consistent, and genuinely useful in classrooms. In the short term, I am continuing to refine the workflow, prompts, and student-facing reports for both the IA and the newly launched EE system, now that it is fully aligned with the 2027 requirements.
On the resources side, I will keep publishing more revision-ready materials in the same spirit, expanding the diagram packs beyond Microeconomics and continuing to add high-utility classroom tools like Pathfinder, keyword flashcards, and real-world example flashcards.
One project I am particularly excited about is a scan-and-analyse system for handwritten student work, designed for formative assessment. Teachers would create an assignment with a markscheme, guidance, and possibly model answers, then print dedicated response sheets. Students would write by hand in class, and once scanned, the system would convert handwriting into usable text and generate question-by-question marks and feedback by comparing responses to expected answers. The purpose would not be to replace teacher judgement in high-stakes summative assessment. It would be to make formative assessment more manageable and more useful, especially when teachers simply do not have the time to produce detailed individual feedback on every written task.
My overall goal remains the same. I want to build resources and tools that are useful, reliable, rigorous, and accessible to as many students and teachers as possible.
Thank you Sylvain...
Finally, a sincere thank you to Sylvain for taking the time to share his ideas, his work, and the story behind EconDoctor. I am grateful for the conversation and for the thoughtful contributions he continues to make to the IB Economics community.
If you have not yet explored his work, take some time to visit EconDoctor.com and look through the many resources he has created for teachers and students.
Sylvain has also been kind enough to offer a 50% discount until the end of March. Simply use the coupon code BRAD2026 at checkout to receive 50% off.
If you would like to reach out to Sylvain directly, you can email him at [email protected].
Thanks again, Sylvain!
As always, we will see you next week when we continue with part two of our series on how to effectively implement Theory of Knowledge into our IB classrooms.
See you then.
Opportunities to Empower IB Teachers and Students...
If your school would like a tailored training on the updated Extended Essay guidelines, we’d love to help—onsite at your campus or live online—just send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll work together to make it happen.
Effectively Supervising the New Extended Essay - April 28th, 2026 - A special Asia–Pacific time zone session of this workshop for educators across the region. This focused and practical workshop is designed to help teachers confidently navigate the updated Extended Essay framework for the Class of 2027. Together, we’ll explore what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how to effectively guide students through both the Subject-Focused and Interdisciplinary pathways. Spots are still available.
Theory of Knowledge New Teacher Workshop - July 23rd & 24th, 2026 - Designed for teachers new to Theory of Knowledge, this two-day training co-taught by Brad Cartwright and Sofía Elizalde offers a clear, practical roadmap for teaching TOK with confidence. Together, we will explore the core components of the IB Diploma Programme, the purpose and structure of the TOK course, key assessment criteria, the TOK Exhibition, the TOK Essay, and classroom strategies that support thoughtful discussion, meaningful reflection, and strong student writing. An Early Bird Discount is available--use coupon code EARLYBIRDTOK at checkout.
IB Economics New Teacher Training - July 25th & 26th, 2026 - Designed specifically for teachers new to IB Economics, this two-day teacher training program will give you a practical roadmap to begin your IB Economics teaching career feeling confident, prepared, and calm.
Brad Cartwright
Educator | Speaker | Workshop Leader | Course Creator