‘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).
Coverage of Accounting Education
in academic Journals
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
Findings:
• 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.
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 instructors select 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
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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.
Understanding of key costing concepts
Project helped in understanding concepts?
Was the project beneficial?
Was beneficial for module?
Such activities make module interesting?
How do you view the experience?
How happy were you with assessment?
Should this project continue next year?
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.
Thank You !