An Application Of Stock-Trak In ‘Investments’: What Common Mistakes Do Students Make While Studying Socioeconomic Processes?

The main purpose of this study is to review practical experience and provide guidance on the use of Stock-Trak software (trading virtual assets of various types of investment assets) by students to make investment decisions under uncertainty. The article uses such scientific methods of analysis as analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction and modeling. The information base for the study is students enrolled in bachelor's degree programs in economics at Northeastern State University (USA). Based on the analysis of students' reports for the period 2014-2017, it is established that the most common mistakes in the study of socio-economic processes include the neglect of transaction costs and the non-accounting of dividends in the calculations. For the most part, students have difficulty calculating financial ratios correctly because they are not sufficiently familiar with the procedure for acquiring investment assets using margin, and are unable to determine the initial amount of investment when purchasing assets using margin and have difficulty separating the profit option. Previous studies of methods and models of mastering knowledge of investment activities show that gamification of the educational process, an interactive form of practical exercises helps to improve the quality of communication of learning subjects, improve the overall level of learning effectiveness, as well as better mastering of knowledge through their practical use in the beginning. mode and subsequently in further professional activity. The results of the study may be useful to teachers in the financial and economic disciplines in terms of a detailed analysis of the major difficulties encountered by students in using the program and avoiding these errors in their activities.