Shining a Light on Effective Teaching Best Practices: Survey Findings from Award-Winning Accounting Educators

Abstract

This paper provides best practices evidence from a sample of accounting educators in the U.S. recognized formally for their teaching excellence. These teaching exemplars were surveyed and asked to list, in their own words and in ranked order of importance, “a minimum of three and up to five factors or qualities of your teaching that you believe have helped distinguish you as an effective teacher.” We received 453 responses to this question from our sample of 105 award-winning accounting educators. A content analysis of these responses suggests the following major characteristics of teaching effectiveness in accounting (in decreasing order of perceived importance): class session learning environment, student focus, preparation and organization, importance of the practice environment, passion and commitment to teaching (as a profession), and the design of the course learning environment. Response breakdowns suggest the existence of contextual effects: differences in importance ratings for selected characteristics of teaching effectiveness were observed with respect to respondent professorial rank, years of full-time teaching experience, and gender. Results shine a light on teaching effectiveness in accounting education providing, for the first time, both evidence of the perceived relative importance of specific characteristics, as well as insights on pedagogical knowledge to guide educator classroom pursuits.

Role-Playing Model: Is It Effective to Improve Students’ Accounting Learning Motivation and Learning Achievements?

“…The effectiveness of learning accounting at schools has some determinants. Based on survey conducted by Wygal & Stout (2015), the determinants of learning effectiveness respectively are: class session learning environment, student focus, preparation and organization, importance of the practice environment, passion and commitment to teaching (as a profession), and the design of the course learning environment. This research finding shows that the role of educators in learning process is considered highly important.…”

MACC Curriculum and CPA Exam Passage Rates: An Exploratory Study

“…The Pathways Commission's feedback mirrored the efforts of previous groups in that it identified modern factors impacting accounting education, recommended broad strategic goals for accounting education, yet it did not venture into specific, tangible detail regarding curriculum (Behn et al, 2012). The Pathway Commission's recommendations have, however, motivated discussions about accounting curriculum (Lawson et al, 2014;Lawson et al, 2015;Spraakman, O'Grady, Askarany, & Akroyd, 2015;Wygal & Stout, 2015).…”

Teaching effectiveness of non-native English-speaking teachers in business disciplines: intercultural communication apprehension and ethnocentrism

“…NNEST's limited cultural understanding of the Australian business context hinders their teaching effectiveness because they struggle to find real-life examples to explain principles and concepts in order to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of business disciplines. The importance of practical experience among accounting teachers was discussed by Mounce, Mauldin, and Braun (2004); Wygal and Stout (2015); and Wygal et al (2014). NEST have Australian industry exposure via their past experiences, while NNEST have little understanding of the Australian business environment and culture.…”