Educational data mining for improving learning outcomes in teaching accounting within higher education

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper are twofold. First, to disclose whether accounting students who participate more in online activities proposed by the teacher achieve better learning outcomes. Second, to identify which virtual learning activities achieve improved outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Data mining is a computer-based tool devoted to analyzing massive data sources, generating information and discovering deeper knowledge and links among variables. Findings – There were differences between universities and subjects in the association of level of activity and learning outcomes. These findings will help teachers adjust their teaching guide, schedule and explanations. Research limitations/implications – Further developments should include the level of online compromise of the lecturers, and the correspondence of the online activity with the designed activities in the teaching guide. In order to identify the value-added activities performed by the students to achieve better deep learning outcomes. Practical implications – Higher Education should provide students with cognitive and transversal skills for successful incorporation into the labor market. In this sense, teaching methodology combined with online tools facilitates the process of teaching and learning with the implementation of different multimedia resources. Originality/value – Recently, the impact of virtual platform usage on students’ learning outcomes has started to be analyzed using “data mining” techniques. Educational data mining is a new focus to disclose existing links among students, lecturers and its activity.

Student Performance Predictions Using Knowledge Discovery Database and Data Mining, DPU Students Records as Sample

“…Data Mining Techniques (DMT) utilized in various study areas, mainly for obtaining and examining a large number of data sets. The performance of DMT in learning is defined as Educational Data Mining (EDM), the guideline embraced in higher education institutions (IHLs) to measure the progress of students [4]. The prediction is among the significant elements in EDM.…”

Mineração de Dados Educacionais para Aperfeiçoamento da Gestão do E-learning: uma Revisão Sistemática de Literatura

“…A mineração de dados tem sido usada há muito tempo em marketing, publicidade, saúde, engenharia e sistemas de informação (Angeli et al, 2017), além de muitos outros setores profissionais, como bancos, seguradoras e empresas comerciais, para aprofundar as informações de clientes e adequar seus produtos ou serviços aos seus requisitos (Chamizo-Gonzalez et al, 2015). Quanto ao contexto educacional, uma forma específica da mineração de dados é conhecida como mineração de dados educacional (MDE) (Tan et al, 2017), utilizada para a descoberta de conhecimento, tomada de decisão e estabelecimento de ligações entre alunos, aluno-professor e ensino-aprendizagem (Chamizo-Gonzalez et al, 2015;Asif, Merceron, Ali & Haider, 2017).…”

“…Dado que o aumento de recursos de e-learning e de bancos de dados de alunos leva a enormes repositórios (Tan et al, 2017), recentemente, o impacto do ensino virtual começou a ser analisado usando técnicas de "mineração de dados" (MD), um sistema de informação baseado em computador e dedicado a escanear enormes fontes de dados, gerar informações e descobrir um conhecimento mais profundo, além de estabelecer novos links entre grandes quantidades de dados (Chamizo-Gonzalez et al, 2015). Já a mineração de dados educacionais (MDE), que se refere à aplicação da MD ao campo educacional, está surgindo como um novo campo de pesquisa (Lee, 2017).…”

A Multivariate Analysis of the General Skills Developed in Accounting Higher Education

“…Kavanagh and Drennan (2008) state that: "accounting educators worldwide are being urged to alter curriculum to produce accounting graduates with a broader set of skills and attributes encompassing more than purely technical accounting expertise" (p. 280). The concept of general skills differs from the concept of specific skills (associated with a particular function or occupation) due to two traits: transversely -the lack of specifics and adaptation to contexts -and transferability, acquired in a given context but usable in different contexts (Ceitil, 2016). Therefore, there is increasing pressure on accounting educators to design and implement educational programs that can contribute to the development of relevant skills (Arquero, Fernández-Polvillo, Hassall, & Joyce, 2017).…”

“…The practical implications derived from our findings may lead accounting educators to find solutions to provide students with cognitive and transversal skills for successful incorporation into the labour market. In this sense, the teaching methodology, combined with different multimedia features such as data mining (Chamizo-Gonzalez et al, 2015), or teaching accounting subjects in Spanish or English as a means of instruction (Rivero-Menéndez et al, 2018), can facilitate the teaching and learning process and improve student motivation.…”