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Kate Demarest, CPACarroll Community College
Carroll Community CollegeLocated in Westminster, MD Total student body – 4,000 full- and part-time
studentsAverage class size – 20 studentsAge:
Under age 20: 44% Age 20-29: 37% Age 30 and above: 19%
Principles of Accounting ACCT 101 – financial accountingACCT 102 – financial and managerial
accountingAnnual enrollment in Principles of
Accounting – 400Who are our students?
Business majorsAccounting majorsCPA examination candidates with bachelor’s
degrees
2008: What wasn’t workingMany students failed or dropped Principles of
Accounting classes.Grade distributions were below departmental
and college norms.Faculty were frustrated by students’ lack of
success but didn’t know how to fix the problem.Students were inconsistently prepared for
subsequent courses.Large amount of inconsistency among course
sections.
The likely suspect - homeworkAll instructors were assigning homework, but
few collected the homework.Among those collecting homework,
instructors found it overwhelming to provide feedback or a grade.
Reasons for not completing homeworkStudents perceived a weak link between
completion of homework and their performance on tests or semester grade.
Students who attempted the homework often got stuck and gave up.
Principles of Accounting – before redesignInstructors summarized and reviewed the
chapter content.Homework was assigned for each chapter but
not collected.Homework was reviewed during class, but
few students completed the homework.“Freshmen don’t do optional.” Carolyn Jarmon, NCAT
Class grade was based on assignments, tests, and participation.
The RedesignReplacement Model redesign – blended face-
to-face and online instructionRedesign was for all course sections of
accounting 1 and 2 and covered all content in the course.
The goal of the redesign was that students would learn more.
We chose to use MyAccountingLab as a base for homework.
Principles of Accounting – after redesignInstructors summarized and reviewed the chapter
content.Homework was assigned for each chapter and students
completed homework using MyAccountingLab software.Instructors reviewed the results of homework and
emphasized key points.Instructors continued to spend time reviewing problems,
but less class time spent on foundational concepts.More time on spent reviewing advanced problems
during class, with focus on hands on group activities.Class grade was based on homework, tests, and
participation.
ImplementationMyAccountingLab software
was piloted during summer 2008 with two Principles of Accounting classes.
Beginning in fall 2008, MyAccountingLab was used for all Principles of Accounting 1 classes.
Full implementation across all Principles of Accounting 1 and 2 classes began in 2009.
Student perceptions Using the MyAccountingLab software:
Helped when students were “stuck” or didn’t know the next step.
Student perceptions Using the MyAccountingLab software:
Was more realistic than using paper and pencil.
Made accounting more fun and interesting.
Student perceptions If the MyAccountingLab homework
were not required, I would not do it. I would also probably fail the class.
I prefer MyAccountingLab over paper homework because I get automatic feedback. Also when I start doing it, I have a strange motivation to keep going and finish it where if it was on paper I would quit.
The practice has helped me a lot. You can describe how to drive a car all you want but they can't drive it well without practice.
Sheila Huskey, Principles of Accounting 1
Student perceptions With MyAccountingLab, I can
complete homework anywhere I have internet access. Although, I still consult my text frequently, I find that I can learn just about everything in the text (general concepts) by use of MyAccountingLab and it's resources. I think it is saving my back, since I don't have to struggle with carrying the large textbook around all the time.
The repetition of problems on the MyAccountingLab homework has been extremely helpful.
Doing the problems in class on paper presents accounting in a different way. With MyAccountingLab only, there would be a tendancy over the long term to become "lazy" and not fully understand accounting.
Joseph Benedict, Principles of Accounting 1
Tom Cossentino,Principles of Accounting 1
Instructional perspectiveAcross course sections, more than 95% of
students completed all or most of the homework.
Instructors had a better idea about which topics needed additional review.
Course grades improved and more students were successful in the two principles courses.
Our experiencePrinciples of Accounting 1
Our experiencePrinciples of Accounting 2
Benefits of course redesignGrade distributions came closer the
departmental average.More students earned As and Bs and fewer
students earned Fs or withdrew.Students had a clearer path to success.
Resources neededTime for training for facultyTime for course setupComputer access for all studentsSmall additional charge with textbook10 minutes of class time on first day of class
What were the non-issues?Would students object to the additional cost
of the software?Would students be able to transfer skills from
the application to a paper-and-pencil test?Would part-time faculty be willing to learn
the software?Would registration issues dominate the
beginning of the semester?
Unexpected benefitsMuch richer multimedia learning experienceIncreased student satisfactionGreater engagement between students and faculty
Unexpected benefitsLearning aids (audio PowerPoints, videos,
Demo Docs) supplemented instruction:for students who missed classfor students with disabilitiesfor international students
Unexpected benefitsBetter tools for preparing for tests, especially
the Study Plan
Unexpected benefitsMuch richer experience for online only
studentsBetter support for new faculty
… The story doesn’t end here.
Next steps
Remembering what was working…Grade distributions came closer the
departmental average.More students earned As and Bs and fewer
students earned Fs or withdrew.Students had a clearer path to success.
Where was the performance gap?While students performed better on problems
on tests during the semester, there was no significant change in performance on the multiple choice portion of tests or the standardized final.
Was this a logical consequence of our redesign?Homework involved approximately two hours
of work on exercises and problems.Multiple choice questions were not a part of
homework.
Redesign – phase 2For each chapter, 10 multiple choice
questions were added to the homework.Multiple choice questions were not the same
questions that appeared on test nor even deliberately mapped to the test.
Principles of Accounting 1
ResultsStudents performed better on multiple choice
questions after the redesign.The performance gap increased with each
successive test, demonstrating increased proficiency with multiple choice questions.
My class todayTopics are introduced in very short lecture segments. Multimedia tools used during some classes to
introduce or review concepts.Most class time is spent working in small groups on
short or complex problems.More time for critical thinking and application.Classroom and small group discussions can be loud
and passionate.Item analysis allows me to identify where students
had problems and devote extra class time to these topics.
Students use the tools to prepare for class and remediate long before tests.
Teaching is more fun and rewarding!
Key ingredients of a successful course redesignIdentify the issue to be solved – poor grades,
low retention, tight resourcesChallenge assumptions about what cannot be
changed.Find a champion to lead a pilot.Use the right tool. Support faculty and students through the
change process.
