A Neuroeducation and Cognitive Learning-Based Strategy to Develop Active Learning Pedagogies for Accounting Education

Abstract

This study combines educational neuroscience research with cognitive load theory to form the foundation of a prescribed five-step process useful in creating in-class activities. The purpose of this study is to provide an easy-to-implement active learning pedagogy for use during class time. The intent is to trigger the “aha†moments of learning content. The method includes elements to optimize cognitive load in working memory, a prelude to long-term memory storage for future retrieval during the subsequent learning processes. Utilizing the prescribed five-step process, three mini-cases were created and used to introduce inventory costing, accrual accounting, and depreciation concepts in a financial accounting principles course. The pedagogy was tested with a repeated experiment, one-group pretest-posttest design. Combining the mini-cases with group work during class time proved beneficial with significantly higher posttest results. The prescribed five-step process was further tested by a different instructor at a different institution in the first intermediate accounting (FAR) course. The strategy again proved beneficial with significant results between pretests and posttests after implementing the mini-cases in the FAR course.