ACTION RESEARCH TO IMPROVE ACCOUNTING EDUCATION AND ACCOUNTING EDUCATORS

S U S A N M . C U RT I S U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S , U R B A N A -C H A M P A I G N

SO, WHY IS THIS A WEBINAR ABOUT

TEACHING I S TH E

ONE THING W E ALL DO.

ACTION RESEARCH?

THE S

CHOLARSHIP

OF

TEACHIN

G

“But it is only when we step back and reflect systematically on the teaching we have done, in a form that can be publicly reviewed and built upon by our peers, that we have moved from scholarly teaching to the scholarship of teaching.”

“Scholarly teaching is what every one of us should be engaged in every day that we are in a classroom, in our office with students, tutoring, lecturing, conducting discussions, all the roles we play pedagogically....”

Lee Schulman,

President of

The Carnegie Foundation

for the Advancemen

t of Teaching

POLLING QUESTION 1

Pick the statement that best describes your current relationship with the scholarship (i.e. research) of teaching.

1. Previously, I never thought about the scholarship of teaching

2. I consume scholarship of teaching (e.g. read published papers)

3. I participate in a learning community focused on teaching

4. I actively research teaching5. I would like to learn more about the research of teaching

Agenda

Why Should You Research Your Teaching?

Action Research

Sharing Your Action Research

Some reasons why you may want to research

your teaching

Compared to faculty who do not research their teaching, faculty who research their teaching are

More likely to know and understand their students the learning environment

Better equipped to impart non-pedagogic scholarship to their students promote reflective learning in their students help weaker students achieve educational goals

Ravenscroft, S., Rebele, J., St. Pierre, K. and R. Wilson. (2008). The Importance of Accounting Education Research Journal of Accounting Education, 26: 180-187.

St. Pierre, K., Wilson, R., Ravenscroft, S. and J. Rebele. (2009). The Role of Accounting Education Research in our Discipline. Issues in Accounting Education, 24(2): 123-130.

WHY SHOULD YOU RESEARCH YOUR TEACHING?

WHY SHOULD YOU RESEARCH YOUR TEACHING?

Faculty who research & improve their own teaching, the teaching practices others—and be

better able to enhance its effectiveness

Ravenscroft, S., Rebele, J., St. Pierre, K. and R. Wilson. (2008). The Importance of Accounting Education Research Journal of Accounting Education, 26: 180-187.

St. Pierre, K., Wilson, R., Ravenscroft, S. and J. Rebele. (2009). The Role of Accounting Education Research in our Discipline. Issues in Accounting Education, 24(2): 123-130.

may also influence and enhance the teaching of others

WHY SHOULD YOU RESEARCH YOUR TEACHING? Accreditation “Intellectual Contribution”, “Scholarship”, “Scholarly

Activities”Excerpts from their accreditation standards…

(AACSB) Definition: “Intellectual contributions are original works intended to advance the theory, practice, and/or teaching of accounting, business and management.

(ACBSP) “It is expected that each faculty member be continuously and actively engaged in scholarship…”

(AACCHC) “Criteria for selecting faculty include knowledge of subject matter… effective teaching, scholarly activities…”

Examples of Accreditation Agencies

(AACSB) Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business

(ACBSP) Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs

(ACCJC) Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges)

WHY SHOULD YOU RESEARCH YOUR TEACHING?

The Pathways Commission

Pathways Commission. 2012. The Pathways Commission Charting a National Strategy for the Next Generation of Accountants. Sponsoring organizations: The American Accounting Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Reform accounting education so that teaching is respected and rewarded as a

critical component in achieving each institution’s mission

WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?

A method for improving our teaching practices.

“a systematic investigative research method that educators can use to improve aspects of their educational practice”

(Paisey & Paisey 2005, p. 1)

“an iterative, systematic, analytic way to reflect on what we are doing in class, to

evaluate our success at achieving our classroom goals, and to chart the direction of future classroom strategies based on what we have learned.”

(Cunningham 2008, p. 2)

Cunningham, B.M. 2008. Using action research to improve learning and the classroom learning environment. Issues in Accounting Education. 23(1): 1-30.

Paisey, C. and N.J. Paisey. 2005. Improving accounting education through the use of action research. Journal of Accounting Education, 23: 1-19.

WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?

A professional learning tool.

“a means of constructing and elaborating teacher’s professional knowledge.” (Nofke & Somekh 2009, p. 26)

“a strategic approach to knowledge production, integrating a broad array of methods, and methodological approaches in specific ways to create new

understandings…” (Levin and Martin 2007, p. 220)

Nofke, S. E. and B. Somekh. 2009. Introduction to Part I in Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research ed. Nofke, S.E. and B. Somekh. London: Sage Publications.

Levin, M. and A. W. Martin. 2007. The praxis of educating action researchers. Action Research, 5(3): 219-229.

WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?

A tool for facilitating change.

Key Characteristics of Successful Change Initiatives that are Inherent in Action Research

Personnel development Participation and Empowerment Evolutionary development Intensive communication Monitoring, Evaluation and Problem-solving Development of Professional Support Networks

Altricher, H and P. Posch. 2009. Action Research, Professional Development and Systemic Reform in Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research ed. Nofke, S.E. and B. Somekh. London: Sage Publications.

LEARNING BY DOING ACTION RESEARCH

Teaching is a practice

Developing a practice requires

Repeated cycles of (teacher) learningPractice

ReflectionAdjustment of practice

Thompson, M. and L. Goe. 2009. Models for Effective and Scalable Teacher Professional Development. ETS RR-09-07. New York: Educational Testing Service. Available at http://www.ets.org/research/contact.html.

LEARNING BY DOING ACTION RESEARCH

Experiential Learning!

“Action research is learned in action…

Experience is an essential part of this learning.” (Levin and Martin 2007, p. 223)

It may be no more difficult than learning the cycles of the research itself.

Levin, M. and A. W. Martin. 2007. The praxis of educating action researchers. Action Research, 5(3): 219-229.

A MODEL OF ACTION RESEARCHDiagnosing Identifying or defining a

problem

Action Planning Considering alternative

courses of action

Taking Action Selecting a course of action

Evaluating Studying the consequences of

an action

Specifying Learning Identifying general findings

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

Susman, G. (1983). Action research: A Sociotechnical system perspective. ed. G. Morgan. London: Sage Publications

The Cycles of Action Research

Reflection guides action, which in turn guides reflection.

REFLECTION

Dick, B. Stringer, E and C. Huxham. 2009. Theory in action research. Action

Research, 7(1): 5-12. 

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

REFLECTION

Recall details of an event/situation

Attend to the emotions associated with that event/situation

Work to understand the event/situation

Chui, L. R., 2006. Critical Reflection. Action Research, 4(2): 183-203.

USING YOUR FEELINGS IN ACTION RESEARCH

Action researchers

use feelings “as a sense, which, like other senses,

convey information” (Heene 2005, p. 266)

Heene, H. 2005. About feelings in action research: an experiment in first-person inquiry. Action Research, 3(3): 263-274.

Values

Practices

An Example of Reflection: Diagnosing a Problem/Identifying

an Issue

POLLING QUESTION 2

Which of the of following have you used to diagnose a problem or issue in your teaching practice?

Reflections on 1. my feelings about how a lesson/class went2. student evaluations of my teaching/course 3. reactions from students (e.g. during class, in e-mails

etc)4. student performance (e.g. on tests, assignments etc)5. other

Read published literature to find

theorY…

READING PUBLISHED LITERATURE

Levin, M. and A. W. Martin. 2007. The praxis of educating action researchers. Action Research, 5(3): 219-229.

 

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

Action research is participative,

done in collaboration

with others.

PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION

The Institutional Review Board (IRB)

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

Keep it manageable. Keep it in context.

Learning how to use

writing in action research

is essential to learning how to

do action research.

WRITING IN ACTION RESEARCH

Levin, M. and A. W. Martin. 2007. The praxis of educating action researchers.

Action Research, 5(3): 219-229.

 

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

Writing is a flexible 3-phase

process

writing down

writing up

constructing an account

WRITING IN ACTION RESEARCH

Holly, M. L., 2009. Writing to Learn: A Process for the Curious in Noftke, S and B. Somekh (eds) The Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.

 

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

Data ExamplesObservationsQuestions in classScores on quizzes, tests, HW, assignmentsMeta-data for computer workStudent Work—unmarkedStudent Work—marked and gradedSurveysDiscussion boardsE-mailsTeaching journalsAction research journalsStudent learning journals

ACTION RESEARCH IS DATA-DRIVEN

 

EVALUATING

DIAGNOSINGSPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

DESCRIPTIVE DATA

D E M O G R A P H I C D A T A

Age Gender Earned credit hours GPA Transfer status Domestic/

International

D E S C R I P T I V E S T A T I S T I C S

Sample size Counts Means, mode Standard deviation, variance Minimum & maximum value,

range

 

QUALITATIVE ANALYSISC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S

O F Q U A L I TAT I V E A N A LY S I S

Focus on meanings rather than quantifiable phenomena

Collection of many data on few cases rather than few data on many cases

A goal of rich descriptions rather than measurement of specific variables

Q U A L I T A T I V E A N A LY S E S T E C H N I Q U E S

Documentation of data and data collection process

Organization of data into concepts

Connection of data to show how one concept may influence another

Evaluation of alternative explanations, use of disconfirming evidence & search for negative cases

 

Examples of Qualitative Data Analysis MethodsEthnography

NetnographyEthnomethodologyConversation analysis

Narrative analysisGrounded theoryQualitative comparativeCase-oriented

understanding

QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

T E S T I N G D I F F E R E N C E S

Nominal Data Chi-quared, 2 samples, independent McNemar, 2 samples, paired

Ordinal Data Mann-Whitney, 2 samples, independent Wilcoxin, 2 samples, paired Kruskal-Wallis, >than 2 samples,

independent Friedman, >than 2 samples, related

Interval/Ratio Data Independent t-tests, 2 samples,

independent Paired t-tests, 2 samples, paired ANOVA, > than 2 samples, independent or

related

T E S T I N G A S S O C I A T I O N

Nominal DataChi-squared

Ordinal DataSpearman

Interval/Ratio DataPearson

Ordinal Data often frequencies or counts e.g. grades or grade-points

Nominal Data often frequencies or countse.g. “yes” or “no” responses

Interval/Ratio Data usually measured on a continuous or discrete scalee.g. test scores

Types of Quantitative Data

POLLING QUESTION 3

Have you used any data analyses to evaluate data from your classes? If so, which?

1. Analysis of demographic data2. Descriptive statistics3. Inferential statistics4. Qualitative analysis5. All of the above6. None of the above

Revisiting the flexible 3-phrase

writing process

Writing down

Writing upConstructing an

account

Sharing Your Action Research

DIAGNOSING

EVALUATING

SPECIFYINGLEARNING

TAKINGACTION

ACTIONPLANNING

SHARING YOUR ACTION RESEARCHConstructing an account

A Research Report Framing (issue identification and context) Choices (rooted in theory) Evaluation

Evidence (qualitative as well as quantitative) Criteria (think attestation)

Storytelling or ‘Show’ and ‘Tell’Speak from experience Evocative illustration

SHARING YOUR ACTION RESEARCH

Regional MeetingsThe Annual Meeting

The Conference on Teaching and Learning (CTLA)

American Accounting Association (AAA)

Round-Tables

PostersPapers

SHARING YOUR ACTION RESEARCH

Where else can you share your action research?

A teaching portfolioDepartment meetingsTeaching retreats Conferences—non-AAAAcademic journals

WHAT WE COVERED TODAY

Why Should You Research Your Teaching?

Action Research

Sharing Your Action Research

POLLING QUESTION 4

What is stopping you from doing action research?

1. Before today, I didn’t know what action research was2. I was never trained to do action research3. I don’t have anyone with whom to collaborate4. I am not sure this will be accepted as research at my

institution5. Nothing! I can’t wait to get started!