To a large extent, research in business and the social sciences is based on theoretical constructs about existing organizations, phenomena, or behavior, followed by tests of hypotheses derived from these constructs. The goal usually is to describe or explain the organizations, phenomena, or behavior being studied and/or to generalize the findings to future organizations, phenomena, or behavior. Conversely, the goal of action research is to effect a desirable change within a specific social setting—one in which the researcher is an active participant. It is a value-driven, cyclical, and transformative process that uses intervention in a setting, based on observation and theoretical constructs, to alleviate an observed problem or to increase the effectiveness of a practice in the setting. This paper describes action research and provides an example of how faculty can use it to help them diminish observed classroom problems or increase the effectiveness of their classroom strategies.

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Feeling like a bit of a thespian in class? Why not expand your class role and channel your inner Stanley Tucci or Kathleen Marshall? Large-lecture classes offer an opportunity to run a whole production. While much has been written about large-lecture classes, papers have tended to address the relative merits of these classes or some specific issue related to teaching them within a specific discipline. This paper adds to the existing literature by providing an overview of the day-to-day considerations, planning, and mechanics of developing and teaching a large-lecture introductory accounting course, by taking you on a behind-the-scenes tour through the pre-production and production processes for a large-lecture, introductory accounting course. It describes the pre-production process, including the following: understanding the audience, developing a vision for the course, identifying resource and financing needs, determining the cast and crew, designing the set, developing the production elements, casting the show, and rehearsing the show. Additionally, the paper describes the production itself, including the dimensions of acting, addressing problems that occur during the production, and managing intermissions (exams). The paper closes with a brief discussion of the critics.