Using cooperative learning structures to enhance pedagogical effectiveness in accounting.
Gupta, Sanjay ; Ostapski, S. Andrew
ABSTRACT
The business environment of corporate America is changing rapidly
and has necessitated a change in accounting education to keep pace with
the needs of the business world. Accounting educators are being urged to
reevaluate the curricula and focus on improving students' critical
thinking, communication and interpersonal skills, and active
participation in the learning process. Businesses need more speed,
flexibility, and integration to operate successfully in both the local
and global economies. They are finding that the flow of information
across business functions is critical to achieving good decision-making.
To facilitate the flow of information, companies are developing various
types of work teams. The purpose of this study is to discuss the
proposed changes in accounting education, provide an overview of the use
of teams in the workplace, introduce THE GAME, a structured and
collaborative exercise designed to increase student participation in the
learning process, and develop some short activities that students work
on collaboratively. These exercises contribute to active learning,
critical thinking, problem solving, and interpersonal skills, which are
attributes critical for success in the accounting profession.
BACKGROUND
The transformation of the business environment has accounting
educators facing pressure from the accounting education change movement,
especially from the American Accounting Association (AAA, comprised of
accountants and accounting professors), the Accounting Education Change
Commission (AECC), and the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (AICPA). Most recently, the AICPA (1999) endorsed a Core
Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession. This
framework specifies interaction, leadership, communication, and project
management, among other competencies, that students need to develop for
entry into the accounting profession.
The AECC (1990) espoused effective teams as the most important
interpersonal skill that accounting students should obtain. The AECC
objectives go beyond the traditional lecture, textbook and exam
paradigm. Slavin (1983) showed that group assignments do lead to
increased learning. He notes that students in teams can address higher
level learning tasks, such as analysis and synthesis. Michaelson et al.
(1993) states that educators can benefit from industry's experience
with high performing teams. He says that the key to success of a student
or work group lies in the way in which teams are formed and managed, and
the strength of tasks that they are expected to accomplish.
TEAMS IN THE WORKPLACE
Companies need more speed, flexibility, integration and innovation
to operate successfully in both the local and/or global economy. Because
of the rapidly changing economy and the diverse workforce, accounting
educators are being challenged to advocate group work, improve
students' communication skills, and encourage students to think
critically (Cottell & Mills, 1993). Companies are finding that the
flow of information across business functions is critical to achieving
good decision-making. To facilitate the flow of information, companies
are developing various types of work teams. For instance, Retail
Financial Services (RFS) senior management accepted its employees'
recommendation that company centers should be organized around teams,
with no managers at all (Ashkenas, 2000). When the teams were given the
same levels of authority that prior managers had held, improved customer
satisfaction and reduced costs resulted.
Another example of the benefits of work teams is Fidelity
Investments. Management designed a cross-functional team to reduce
direct mail costs and increase customer usage of automated services.
Ashkenas (2000) notes that, in addition to reaching their primary
objectives, employees also learned to be team players.
Siegel (2000) notes "... three-fourths of management
accountants work in companies where they and their colleagues are
members of cross-functional teams." According to a Caterpillar accountant, many accountants would prefer not to lead a team, but the
accounting person usually assumes a leadership position. The business
advisor role encompasses the need to create business strategic options,
participate in decision-making, and create processes that measure and
monitor success. Because of their extensive company know-how, management
accountants serve as the professionals who provide a reality check for
the management team.
THE GAME
To encourage more accounting professors to use student teams in the
classroom setting, it may be helpful to compile the experiences of
accounting professors currently using student teams. If professors know
"what works" in forming and managing student teams, then more
professors may be willing to utilize them. Studies overall appear to
show that there are more benefits than costs from student teams, but
this outcome is dependent upon the professor's ability to establish
an appropriate environment, develop effective team exercises, and create
an understanding of how team activities can improve the learning
process.
For many different reasons not to be fully considered here,
educators may encounter lack of participation or sometimes lack of
interest from their students, who ideally should participate in the
learning process. Experiential learning offers a way to go "outside
of the traditional learning box" and allow actual experiences to
serve as learning tools.
THE GAME provides a "fun" method that motivates students
away from apathy and redirects them to seek knowledge in an exciting
way. THE GAME is more than just fun because it reflects real life
challenges such as the importance of knowledge, documentation, teamwork
and timing. And, as in "real life," despite one's best
efforts, the results may not always seem fair.
I. GOALS
THE GAME is just like an energetic quiz show that rewards
participants who are both knowledgeable and lucky. The goals of THE GAME
include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. encourage students to read actively their textbook, with all of
its supplementary features, in preparation for class.
B. teach students the importance of organizational structure and
how responsible individual contributions to group goals may establish
team building, insure organizational strength, and promote success.
C. require students to utilize web-based technology to communicate
among themselves and to find solutions outside of traditional research
methods.
D. show students how the rules of THE GAME are similar to the
technical requirements of statutes or other detailed public or private
regulatory efforts.
E. demonstrate the importance of record keeping.
II. PROCESS
THE GAME is very structured and yet, at the same time, without
parameters. THE GAME is the name for knowing how law or any set of
regulations effects business activity. Everyone is in THE GAME
regardless of choice. THE GAME begins in class as soon as the rules are
read.
Students should divide themselves into three more or less equally
numbered teams: THE RED, THE WHITE, and THE BLUE within two minutes.
After the time elapses, the instructor randomly assigns those
participants still without a team to one of them so that everyone is a
member of a group. Now, each team must elect a leader and a co-leader
within two minutes. After the time elapses, the instructor will randomly
select a leader or co-leader for any team that has failed to select one.
Leaders can be removed and their replacements elected at any time by
majority decision of members within the individual group. The teams are
responsible for determining their own work assignments. Teams, through
their elected log keepers, must keep a concise record of their
activities.
Each team, through its leader or representative, enters THE GAME by
selecting a turned over card, which may be any of the following:
THE PROJECT CARD: Due on the assigned date, a project on a given
topic is assigned by the instructor. After it is presented, the
instructor rates this effort on a scale of 1 to 10.
THE TEN QUESTIONS CARD: The group with this card creates ten
objective questions on the assigned reading, to be approved by the
instructor, for those teams that have selected the O or the X cards. If
31% of the test takers get below 70% on the test, then the team
producing the questions gains a total of ten points from the sole group
taking the test or five points taken from each group, if both teams are
involved. It is possible for a team to have a negative number of points.
THE X CARD: The group selecting this card can challenge the project
presentation and deliver a better product at the next class meeting. In
the discretion of the instructor, the X group can take some or all of
the points awarded to THE PROJECT team. As test takers in answering THE
TEN QUESTIONS, the team will be given the average test score from one to
ten, expressed in whole numbers.
THE O CARD: Members who hold this card can take the TEN QUESTIONS
test but are powerless to do anything else. The average test score in
whole numbers will be assigned to the group.
THE WILD CARD allows the team to chose within two minutes what role
it will play from the remaining cards. If a choice is not made within
two minutes, the instructor will make the choice for the group.
Absent special circumstances, THE GAME will be played whenever
possible. Extra credit points to the final grade may be awarded by the
instructor to the teams in relation to the final score among them.
III. THE GAME: THE FINAL CONFRONTATION
Lessons learned throughout the term are put to the test during the
final phase of THE GAME. The instructor will ask a question drawn from
the pool of Ten Questions used during the course of the term. Any member
from any team may answer. The first person to reply gets the opportunity
to respond. If answered correctly, the WINNER's team earns one
point and the WINNER gets a reward. If answered incorrectly, the person,
giving the wrong answer, will be a LOSER and held in the PIT, isolated
from the team. The LOSER can no longer participate until released. If
the LOSER's team subsequently answers a question correctly, then
the LOSER will be released but no points will be earned. The team may
elect to leave the LOSER in the PIT and accumulate points instead. The
same question may be repeated until it is correctly answered. If a team
is completely eliminated, then the remaining two teams may continue to
compete until (1) all the questions in the pool have been asked, (2)
only one team remains, or (3) the instructor decides to end the game.
IV. GRADED ACTIVITY
The importance of documentation cannot be understated. The team
log, both hard-copy and on disk, along with each student's
documented contributions may be used as the basis for a regular test
grade, which is recommended to be at least 20% of the final grade. In a
survey of 215 students enrolled in upper-division speech communication
and business policy courses at two major universities, Fiechtner and
Davis, 1992, found that at least 20% of a grade must be cooperative for
goal interdependence to occur and for students to report a positive
group experience.
As an added reward to motivate students, the overall point standing
among the teams may also be used, in the instructor's discretion,
to distribute extra credit points to the final grade of team members. A
suggested distribution could be as follows. Third place would earn no
points. Second place would result in one extra point. The winning team
would earn two extra points to each member's final grade.
V. GROUP SIZE
The class is divided into three approximately equal sections.
Sections may consist of three (3) to sixteen (16) members. Group size
reflects the kinds of issues, which similarly sized businesses
encounter. Smaller group sizes are usually easier to manage but the
group member's workload is usually greater. In larger groups, the
participant's direct involvement decreases but leadership,
communication, and management of human resources become much more
important concerns.
VI. TIME REQUIRED
Presentation of THE PROJECT should be limited to twenty (20)
minutes. The TEN QUESTIONS test should last no more than ten (10)
minutes. When both exercises are done, the total time commitment should
be about thirty (30) minutes. Administrative issues concerning THE GAME,
such as discussion of the rules, may consume an additional five (5) to
eight (8) minutes. The term's FINAL CONFRONTATION, the activity
that reviews all the TEN QUESTIONS used throughout the term, should stop
after one hour or until all the questions have been answered correctly.
VII. PHYSICAL SETTING
Ordinarily, a regular classroom should be sufficient for conducting
THE PROJECT or THE TEN QUESTIONS exercises. For the FINAL CONFRONTATION,
a lecture hall would facilitate a stadium effect, which would segregate each team into competitive sections. Exiled team members would then
congregate in THE PIT, until their release is won by their teammates.
VIII. MATERIALS
A computer station with appropriate software and Internet access would be most useful in the classroom. If unavailable, an overhead
machine or handouts for each student would be adequate substitutes.
IX. PROJECTS
Issues should be presented clearly to avoid confusing students. If
the situation appears practical, then the students' interest may be
naturally aroused. Students may even relate an exaggerated hypothetical
to a potentially real situation in their lives. Some suggested examples
follow:
PROJECT 1 (OVERVIEW OF ACCOUNTING)
John, a very bright and hard-working student, is a sophomore
enrolled in the college of business at a large state university. He is
completing his junior core and is undecided about his major. He has
heard that the accounting profession offers good salaries and that jobs
are plentiful. After talking to several faculty and relatives, he has
learned that there are several areas within the accounting discipline,
i.e. tax, audit, financial, managerial, governmental, and information
systems. He also has been told, by his uncle who is a CPA employed with
a local accounting firm, that the benefits of a professional
certification are tremendous. John is unaware of any other professional
certification other than the CPA, and is unsure of the benefits of
having a professional certification. You are John's advisor and he
has approached you with several questions to help him decide upon a
major.
Give John an overview of the accounting profession and the various
areas within accounting. Also, explain to John the basic differences
between financial and managerial accounting. Finally, give John more
information on the various professional certifications in accounting and
the advantages of having one or more certification.
PROJECT 2 (STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT)
Sam is a division manager with Extrusion, Inc. and has seven
workers under him. His company has recently implemented a new budgeting
system where all division managers are required to submit a semi-annual
report about worker productivity. Extrusion operates in a very
competitive business environment and has to continually improve on
business efficiency to ensure its survival. On completing his report,
Sam realizes that six of his seven workers have been very productive and
have met or exceeded company budgets. The seventh worker, Jerry,
however, has the lowest productivity and falls far short of company
budgets. Jerry is Sam's nephew and was hired by Sam because of
family pressure. Sam is aware that Jerry could lose his job when he
submits his productivity report to the Vice-President and has even
considered window-dressing the numbers to conceal Jerry's poor
performance. Sam is in an emotional quandary and has approached you, his
good friend for several years, for advice.
Provide Sam with an overview of the Standards of Ethical Conduct
for management accountants and the implications of violation of these
standards. Also, explain to Sam specifically which standard he would
violate if he were to "fudge" the numbers.
PROJECT 3 (COST CLASSIFICATIONS & BREAKEVEN ANALYSIS)
Patrick is planning on opening his very own DVD-rental business in
town. He has already done some groundwork and has collected information
on store rental rates and some possible store locations. He has also
obtained information on DVD rental rates from other stores in town and
has contacted some whole-sellers, who supply DVDs to retail video
stores, about the purchase price of DVDs. Patrick has also compiled a
list of possible costs that he will incur on a monthly basis such as
rent, electricity, water, telephone, salaries for 2 store employees,
advertising, purchase of 3 computers, 2 printers, and some furniture for
displaying and storing the videos. After gathering all this data,
Patrick is unsure how to determine the viability of this business
venture and has sought your help. You are Patrick's neighbor and a
successful business owner with more than 10 years of business
experience.
Provide Patrick with information on the various costs he may incur
and classify the costs as fixed or variable. Also, based on the data
collected, explain to Patrick how he can use this information to
determine breakeven analysis, potential net income on predetermined sales, and effect of changes in cost information on his projections and
decision to open this store.
PROJECT 4 (CAPITAL BUDGETING)
Cindy Westover owns a miscellaneous office services business,
Speedy Copy. Services provided include mail, fax, computer use rentals,
and photocopying. Since her business has expanded considerably in the
past two years, Cindy is considering investing in an additional
state-of-the-art photocopier. She has identified two leading brands,
Jensen and Systems Plus, and has gathered the following information on
each of these brands.
Jensen Systems Plus
Installed Price $14,500 $15,500
Estimated maintenance & usage/year $2,300 plus $4,050
$0.01/copy
Estimated salvage value $1,500 $2,500
Estimated useful life 5 years 5 years
Minimum required rate of return 16% 16%
Speedy Copy expects to charge customers $0.05 per copy with annual
sales of about 140,000 to 200,000 copies. Cindy has handed this
information to you, the office manager, for your evaluation and
recommendation about which brand should be purchased.
What capital budgeting methods could be applied in this situation
to make a decision? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these
methods. Cindy does not understand the significance of the minimum
required rate of return of 16% or how it is computed. Please explain.
Also, your recommendation should include different decisions for
estimated volumes starting from 140,000 copies/year to 200,000
copies/year, in increments of 5,000 copies. Cindy is confused about why
the decision is different at different volumes. Please explain.
PROJECT 5 (COST ALLOCATION)
Auto Serve, a local auto shop, offers a variety of specialty
services such as transmissions, brakes, electrical, and body-work. Each
of these services is treated as a separate division and has a supervisor
in charge, with each supervisor having three mechanics reporting to him.
While mechanics work on a salary, the supervisor gets paid a salary as
well as a bonus that is linked to the profitability of his division.
Bonuses are typically a large part of the division supervisor's
remuneration. As a result, the supervisors attempt to run an efficient
division, keeping a close eye on costs and the productivity of the
mechanics. Ben is the division manager of brakes and has had a very busy
year. Since Ben runs a very efficient division, he expects to earn a
fairly substantial bonus and is extremely disappointed and confused when
he receives his year-end report from Spence, the accounting manager.
Agitated, he questions Spence, "What is this $63,000 charge from
Auto Serve for allocated services all about? This deduction has almost
wiped out my division's profitability for the entire year! What did
we do to have all these costs allocated to us?"
Explain to Ben the sources for these charges. Describe the various
methods available to allocate costs and discuss the rationale behind
cost allocation.
PROJECT 6 (BUDGETING)
Jim is the production supervisor for Filers Doors Inc. and is
responsible for preparing the production budget for his company. He has
received from the marketing manager the following forecast of filing
cabinets sales for 2003:
January 50,000
February 40,000
March 60,000
April 70,000
May 60,000
June 50,000
July 40,000
August 50,000
September 60,000
October 70,000
November 80,000
December 60,000
Beginning Finished Goods inventory on January 1, 2003 is expected
to be 15,000 cabinets. Company policy states that minimum ending
inventory for finished goods is 15,000 cabinets and that the maximum is
half of the following month's sales. Maximum productive capacity is
65,000 cabinets per month. Jim also has to keep in mind that the company
wants a fairly constant production output so a constant workforce can be
maintained. Jim has passed this task on to you, the staff accountant.
Prepare a production budget stating the number of filing cabinets
to be produced each month. Also, explain to Jim the various budgets that
the company would have to prepare and how they relate to each other.
Also, discuss the various roles that budgets can play and elaborate on
some of the key points you observed when preparing the production
budget.
PROJECT 7 (RELEVANT COSTS)
Photon manufactures cell phones. The casing for the cell phone has
been manufactured in house so far but because of the exponential increase in the demand for cell phones and a shortage of workers, the
company is considering outsourcing the manufacture of the casing. Prior
to obtaining bids from several vendors, Photon would like to determine
the relevant cost of manufacturing the casing in-house so it can use
that information as a benchmark to determine if outsourcing is a cost
effective alternative. Matt, the CFO, has assigned Jeremy, the recently
hired accountant, the responsibility of providing him with feedback
about the costs involved in producing the casing and to determine a
maximum price per casing Photon should be willing to offer a vendor if
it decided to outsource. Jeremy has collected the following information:
Direct material cost per casing $4.80
Direct labor cost per casing $1.60
Fixed factory overhead cost per casing $3.45
Variable factory overhead cost per casing $2.75
Total cost per casing $12.60
Based on this information, Jeremy has recommended to Matt that the
maximum price Photon should be willing to offer a vendor is $12.60. Do
you agree with Jeremy? If not, discuss the flaw in Jeremy's
calculation and determine the correct maximum price the company should
be willing to offer a vendor. Discuss the concept of relevant and
irrelevant costs and provide at least three examples for each category
of fixed and variable factory overhead costs.
PROJECT 8 (OPTIMAL UTILIZATION OF SCARCE RESOURCES)
Robert Hegel is the sole proprietor of Sandals Ltd., which
specializes in the manufacture of primarily two lines of casual
footwear. Sandals is located in a small town, Verdova, about 150 miles
south of San Francisco. While the demand for his footwear has been
steadily growing, Robert has been having trouble attracting new
employees and retaining existing ones, because of the town's small
size. Robert is unwilling to move since he has grown up in Verdova and
has strong family ties to the area. Due to this labor shortage, Robert
is considering discontinuing one of the two footwear lines. He has
collected the following data and has hired you, a local CPA, to
recommend what he should do.
Strap-On Buckle-It
Unit selling price $60 $85
Unit variable costs $28 $40
You have asked Robert to provide additional information regarding
the total number of available labor hours per month and the number of
labor hours it takes to manufacture each of the two lines of footwear.
Robert provides the following information but does not understand why
and how this information is relevant: total number of labor hours
available per month is 520 and it takes 1.8 hours to manufacture one
Strap-On and 2.9 hours to manufacture one Buckle-It.
Determine which of the two product lines is more profitable.
Explain to Robert the definition of contribution margin and why that is
not the criterion determining the more profitable product.
X. DEBRIEFING AND ASSESSMENT
At the conclusion of the Final Confrontation, the instructor should
solicit student comments concerning THE GAME. What were the lessons
learned, the values taught, and the nature of the experience? The
players should also honestly assess themselves, each other, and their
leadership. All of these matters should point to how the experience
parallels real life and all of its complexities.
XI. CONCLUSION
THE GAME, as developed above, has been applied to an Accounting
course format but may be altered easily to be discipline specific. The
spirit of competition will encourage students to learn from themselves
and from each other. Debriefing the nature of the experience is just as
vital as undergoing the experience itself.
USING THE GAME IN AN ACCOUNTING COURSE
THE GAME was incorporated in two sections of Cost Accounting (an
upper level accounting course required for accounting majors) during the
fifth week of the spring semester in 2003.
THE GAME began in class as soon as the rules were read. Students
divided themselves into three more or less equally numbered teams: THE
RED, THE WHITE, and THE BLUE within two minutes. Each of the two
sections had approximately 25 students, which meant that when the
students were divided into the three teams, each team had approximately
8 students each. Then, each team was given two minutes to elect a leader
and a co-leader. Finally, each team was given two minutes to elect a log
keeper.
THE GAME began with each team, through its leader, selecting a
turned over card. In the first section, THE RED team drew THE PROJECT
CARD and was tasked to PROJECT 1 (Overview of Accounting). They had four
days to prepare for their presentation. Log records indicated that team
members were efficient in allocating various responsibilities to
individual team members. Each team member was asked to collect
information on a specific accounting area (i.e. tax, audit, information
systems, etc.). The team leader and co-leader volunteered to put the
information together and make the presentation. The entire team met the
day prior to the presentation to do a trial run. The presentation was
professional, had quality visual slides, and excellent content. Each
team demonstrated good teamwork in roles assigned to individual team
members and in answering questions. At the end of the presentation, THE
BLUE team conferred and decided to challenge the presentation. Similar
to THE RED team, it was given four days to prepare its presentation. The
basic premise of their challenge was that THE RED team did not directly
address the basic objective of THE PROJECT, which was to help John
decide his major. THE BLUE team did a better job of describing the
salient features of the accounting profession from a more general point
of view. It also provided a more detailed look at the various
professional certifications available and the benefits of obtaining each
certification.
In the second section, THE BLUE team drew THE TEN QUESTIONS card.
The team's task was to create ten objective questions on the
assigned reading, to be approved by the instructor. The team initially
submitted ten questions of which the instructor approved only seven. On
the second attempt, the team submitted five more questions of which the
instructor approved an additional three. Questions were rejected on the
basis of irrelevance to material covered. THE BLUE team decided to allow
5 minutes to the other two teams to answer the ten questions. At the end
of the allotted time, THE BLUE team collected and graded the answers.
The leader of THE BLUE team went over the correct answers for the ten
questions.
The primary objective of incorporating THE GAME in an accounting
course was to observe the perceived benefits of cooperative learning.
Cooperative learning is defined as the instructional use of small groups
so that students work together to maximize their own and each
others' learning. Cooperative learning is characterized by five
basic elements: positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive
interaction, individual accountability, collaborative skills, and group
processing.
Positive interdependence exists when students believe they are
linked with the other group members in a way that one member cannot
succeed unless the other members of the group succeed. Students had to
work closely together to ensure team success. In the second section, for
example, THE BLUE team created a ten-question exam, which was to be
answered by members of the other two teams. If 31% of the test takers
scored below 70% on the exam, then the team producing the questions
gained a total of ten points from the sole group taking the test or five
points taken from each group, if both teams are involved. The
achievement of this attribute is demonstrated by some quotes from
students found in their logs. "I learned a lot about teamwork while
playing THE GAME. I now further understand the importance of each member
of a team. One cannot assume that if they do well the team will also do
well. One bad apple can bring down the success of a group."
"From THE GAME I learned the importance of teamwork. It became
evident that if one member was lacking in any area the whole team is
affected. The synergism of team involvement was a major theme in this
activity."
Face-to-face promotive interaction occurs when group members
discuss concepts and strategies and teach their knowledge to their group
members. This aspect was observed during several instances during the
implementation of THE GAME. In particular, in the first section, the
team that challenged the initial presentation, engaged in a healthy
debate among team members to evaluate the risks of challenging and
arriving at a group consensus.
Individual accountability occurs when an instructor ensures that
the performance of each individual in the group is assessed and results
given back to the group and the individual. The instructor spent about
fifteen minutes in each section following the presentation and the
ten-question exam assignments, in evaluating the performance of each
team and each member. Results, in the form of extra credit points, were
also announced in the class immediately following the assignments.
Collaborative skills are leadership skills, decision-making skills,
communication, and conflict management skills. Students were required at
the outset to divide themselves into three more or less equally numbered
teams: THE RED, THE WHITE, and THE BLUE within two minutes. Then, each
team was to elect a leader and a co-leader within two minutes. Each of
the three teams in both sections demonstrated good decision making and
communication skills in selecting a leader and a co-leader. During the
working of the assignments, there were numerous instances where team
members were required to make a collaborative decision, e.g., choice of
final ten-questions and time to be allotted to the other teams to take
the exam. As one student commented, "I found that it was very
useful. It taught basic leadership and teamwork skills. Also, I found
that it allows many to discover whether they are leaders or followers
when given a task."
Group processing involves a group discussion of how well the group
is achieving its goals and how well it is maintaining effective working
relations among group members. This characteristic was indicated by the
logs of each team submitted at the end of THE GAME. There seemed to be
an overwhelming consensus that there was effective group discussions
leading to the achievement of each team's goals and objectives. One
inspired students aptly remarked, "I feel that this was a good
exercise in teamwork. I wish that we could do it the whole semester so
we could have a better idea of how a team environment really
works."
CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY
Cooperative learning is based on structuring learning environments
and experiences to encourage and promote student interaction and improve
student learning. The AECC has urged accounting faculty to develop
instructional methods where students become active learners rather than
to follow the traditional lecture format where students are passive
learners. Through appropriately structured cooperative learning
exercises, students not only learn the technical subject matter but also
improve their interpersonal communication skills and learn how to manage
group interactions effectively (Peek et al., 1995). Research findings
also indicate that more learning takes place in a cooperative setting
than an individual one (Ravenscroft et al., 1995). Cooperative learning
exercises stress the value of teamwork and shared responsibility, and
prepare students for the accounting profession. Cooperative learning
researchers and practitioners have shown that working together with
fellow students, solving problems together, and talking through material
together are essential to success in college. Isolation and alienation,
on the other hand are the best predictors of failure. As an added bonus,
cooperative learning is enjoyable for both students and faculty.
Eventually, however, faculty members must take into account the
knowledge, skills, and abilities that students need to best prepare them
for the constantly changing workplace. Faculty should also recognize
that using teams can be a double-edged sword. A well-structured team
concept that utilizes effective team assignments can facilitate the
learning process; whereas, an improperly structured team system that
utilizes inappropriate team assignments can magnify problems and create
new problems that discourage the learning process.
REFERENCES
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Cottell, P.G., Jr. & B. Mills. (1993). Cooperative learning
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Education, 8(1), 40-59.
Fiechtner, S.B. & E.A. Davis. (1992). Why Some Groups Fail: A
Survey of Students' Experiences with Learning Groups. Sourcebook
for Higher Education, University Park, PA: National Center on
Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, 59-74.
Michaelson, L.K., C.F. Jones & W.E. Watson. (1993). Beyond
groups and cooperation: Building high performance learning teams. To
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Peek, L.E., C. Winking & G. S. Peek. (1995). Cooperative
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