Teaching is a serious and important job and when it comes to subjects like accounting, it becomes even more serious. It is different from teaching science or any other subject. Alla Volodina understands that, and that is why she is discussing some interesting strategies, which are related to teaching accounting.
When a teacher teaches accounting, his focus should be not only on enhancing the study skills but he has to offer his students other opportunities like working in pairs. Teaching accounting is not only about creative learning but also other skills like speaking out and teamwork are also important. How to learn to study is as important as all the above stated factors. These few lines by Alla Volodina will help you to learn different strategies, which are quite helpful for accounting teachers.
When we talk about how to learn to study, the modern role of a teacher is less as “The teacher” and more as facilitator. A teacher should guide his students according to their study skills. Different students have different capabilities and creative learning capacity, so it is very important to deal with them individually. They should be encouraged to ask questions according to their individual needs. It will enhance not just their study skills but will provide them a chance for self development.
Another important aspect of creative learning in relation to accounting is the integration of content with real world. Many educational experts recommend use of case studies, but they should be interactive. Using cases in the classroom allows students to apply their newly-acquired technical knowledge. It will also enhance their understanding of complex accounting concepts. While most students find cases to be the most challenging part of a typical accounting course, the long-term benefits of using cases in the classroom are unmatched.
Traditional teaching strategies were teacher oriented. However, modern teaching strategies are student oriented. In student center approach, study skills of students are enhanced by different modes. A lot of sources of information are available for the students like tutors, libraries and other media. Modern strategies are about the creative learning and it includes demonstrations, writing journals, quizzes, debates, online teaching, group learning, problem based learning, fieldwork and internships. Group learning is one of the key strategies in studying accounting concepts. While studying in groups, students are able to learn from each other and clarify various concepts with their peers. In fact if a student teaches his/her friend a difficult accounting concept, their understanding will only be enhanced through the process.
Role of a teacher should be not only to promote surface learning but deep learning in his students. Some students prefer surface learning only as they can reproduce only what they have learnt, while other students have better creative learning skills and they are involved in deep learning as they can come up with new ideas from what they have learnt. A good accounting teacher can encourage his students for deep learning. If more students in a class show deep learning and better study skills, it means teacher is successfully guiding his students towards the right path. By introducing cases in their classrooms (as early as at the introductory level courses), teachers are able to engage and challenge all of their students.
Alla Volodina has valuable insight on teaching accounting and her articles are helping a lot of accounting teachers, who want to enhance the study skills in their students and want to motivate them for creative learning.
