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‘Accounting’ need not be boring !. Using action learning for teaching & assessment. Dr. Haider Shah & Ray Cobb. O bjective of accounting education. According to the first position statement of the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC, 1990) .
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‘Accounting’ need not be boring ! Using action learning for teaching & assessment Dr.Haider Shah & Ray Cobb
Objective of accounting education According to the first position statement of the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC, 1990) Establishment of a foundation that enables students become lifelong learners via (1) communication, interpersonal, and intellectual skills; (2) general, organization and business, and accounting knowledge; and (3) professional orientation.
Five factors of effective teaching • Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) identified factors in its 1993 report on effective teaching: (1) designing and developing courses and curricula; (2) selecting and using suitable material for the course/curriculum; (3) skilfully presenting the material; (4) using appropriate pedagogical methods and assessment devices; and (5) involvement in guiding and advising students • (AECC, 1993, p. 436).
PBL vs traditional lecture method • Breton (1999)’s experiment • Two sections of an accounting theory course (same instructor, same semester) were studied. • One taught in the traditional lecture format , other taught using PBL • Both classes took the same final exam, prepared from a test bank, and • completed a questionnaire to measure perceptions.
PBL vs traditional lecture method • The PBL class performed significantly better on 50% of the exam questions, • significantly better overall, and • perceived a long-term perspective to the usefulness of their learning. • Findings:
Action Learning Examples An experiential approach to learning about the balanced scorecard Wayne G. Bremser and Lourdes F. White Journal of Accounting Education , 18 (3), (2000), pp. 241-255 ”An active learning strategy for the classroom— ‘who wants to win . . . some mini chips ahoy’?’’ Ellen D. Cook and Anita C. Hazelwood Journal of Accounting Education, 20 (2002) pp. 297–306
Why traditional lecture method? • Cost-effective, • Useful for conveying large amounts of information quickly, and • Minimum threat to students as they need not participate in the process (Beegle & Coffee, 1991). • However research suggests that……. • Effective instructorsselect strategies that involve students as active participants & • Use a variety of teaching methods and presentation skills to • Stimulate interest in the subject matter (e.g. Silberman, 1996; Salemi, 2002),
Yummy Cup Cakes Project • Action learning project • Cost Accounting Course at Level 5 • Ray Cobb – the Module Leader • a product that they could make and sell and generate actual results • cup cakes : low cost, made with minimal of skills and selling to meet targets would expose students to a real business like scenario • Atrium used for market place; sale proceeds to go to a charity chosen by majority vote
Assessment design • One, developing a selling price for their products based on the cost of making the products & using cost plus Absorption method. To be submitted as an excel sheet • Second, reflection on what went well and what didn’t go as per plan. A Variance analysis report based PowerPoint presentation by each student in a boardroom like situation.
Conclusion • Adler and Milne (1997) argue that active learning develops competencies, other than technical competency, and promotes lifelong learning. • The feedback on Yummy Cup experiment also confirms that.