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Session 3242

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using Computer Tutorials to Teach Basic Accounting

Donald N. Merino, Ph.D. P.E., and Kate D. Abel, Ph.D.

Stevens Institute of Technology

Abstract

This article addresses the effectiveness of teaching engineering students basic accounting using computer –based tutorials versus traditional methods. In a previous study the authors surveyed 147 engineering students to address the issue. The purpose of this study is to test their model on a larger sample of students from a wider cross section of years. By studying the topic over a larger time continuum, validation of the earlier research was attempted with the hope of developing more robust and generalizable conclusions and recommendations. This continued research was conducted to evaluate the gain in a student’s knowledge of basic accounting via a set of pre- and post-tests. The study compared student’s test scores using computer-mediated accounting tutorials with those of students who received traditional lectures and computer assistance in the same topic. All students sampled were undergraduate engineering students taking a required Engineering Economy core course that contained accounting computer tutorials. It was anticipated that both processes would be satisfactory instructional methods and yield similar educational results.

The results of the research confirmed that there is no statistically significant difference between the two methods. This study concludes that computer based tutorials are effective in teaching basic accounting. In addition, the student use of computer-mediated tutorials in a lab context could be substituted for traditional lectures with an instructor without impacting what a student learns - at least for teaching engineering cost accounting fundamentals.

Background

Integrating computer use into the classroom is an increasingly common occurrence (Keown, 1999; McLester, 2001). But does such integration produce students as knowledgeable in a subject matter as the traditional lecture format? Holman (2000) contends that matching a student’s individual learning style to the teaching resource could have important implications in a students’ learning. In addition, Pitman, Gosper and Rich (1999) report that students use different course materials in different ways and to different degrees. Implementing supplemental teaching methods such as computer tutorials into the classroom may thus assist the students in achieving even more knowledge than the traditional lecture formats.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Merino, D. (2003, June), Evaluating Effectiveness Of Using Computer Tutorials To Teach Basic Accounting Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11462