Learning to Think: Using Coursework to Develop Higher-order Academic and Practitioner Skills among Final Year Accounting Students

Abstract

This paper describes an assignment designed for a final year management accounting unit/module on a portfolio of accounting programmes, all of which are accredited by one or more of the UK-based professional accounting bodies. Its aim is to stimulate the development and use of higher-level academic and written communication and presentation skills through a formative assessment which offers challenging topics, an interesting ‘journal article’ format for presentation, copious guidance and feedback, and opportunities for self-reflection. This particular focus for the coursework ensures that an overall balance is achieved on the unit between higher academic skills and professional practitioner skills, when the examination paper for the unit is also taken into consideration. The format of this exercise would be readily transferable to many other subject areas.

Keywords:

• Critical thinking
• feedback
• reflection
• preventing plagiarism

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the generous advice of referees, which has considerably improved this paper.

Notes

All universities in the UK are required to appoint external examiners, who are academics with relevant expertise from other universities. ‘External examiners act as independent and impartial advisers providing institutions with informed comment on the standards set and student achievement in relation to those standards. External examining is therefore an integral and essential part of institutional quality assurance.’ (QAA (2004) code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education.)

The consequent improvements to earlier units are described elsewhere.