Pivoting in a COVID-19 teaching environment: developing interactive teaching approaches and online assessments to improve students’ experiences
ISSN: 1030-9616
Article publication date: 10 June 2021
Issue publication date: 23 August 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes made to course delivery, course materials and assessment approaches required in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced many changes to occur in a very short time.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a case study of the changes made to content, teaching methods and assessment in a postgraduate introductory financial accounting course of approximately 350 students across two terms.
Findings
The key findings are that the sudden change from face-to-face to online teaching to address government regulations, social distancing expectations and students’ needs required immediate changes to how content was delivered, how to interact with students (many of who were studying outside of Australia), and how to adapt to online assessments. Many of the innovations the authors describe will continue to be used in the course going forward both in face-to-face and online formats. That is, the need to change resulted in innovations that can be implemented in a post-pandemic environment.
Originality/value
The key value of this paper is to provide instructors with insights into the innovations the authors made to address the changed circumstances, which can be incorporated into other accounting courses in the future.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the helpful comments from Victoria Clout, Ken Trotman and the reviewers.
Citation
Morgan, K.L. and Chen, W. (2021), "Pivoting in a COVID-19 teaching environment: developing interactive teaching approaches and online assessments to improve students’ experiences", Accounting Research Journal, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 313-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-09-2020-0302
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited