How Will “Competency Maps” Change the Way We Teach Accounting?  

At the CAAA conference in Quebec this June, many participants were talking about competency maps, particularly those that have been developed or are being developed by the professional accounting bodies. This article focuses on the introduction of the CICA Competency Map (CM) and what impact this may have on undergraduate classes.  

The Impetus for Change  

In 1983, Kolb noted:

“[T]here is a marked trend towards vocationalism in higher education, spurred on by a group of often angry and hostile critics — students who feel cheated because the career expectations created in college have not been met, and employers who feel that the graduates that they recruit into their organizations are woefully unprepared.”  

Accounting bodies in both Canada and the United States are among those who have been criticizing colleges and universities for what they see as less than adequate preparation of students for the work world. In the 1980s and 1990s, several of these bodies embarked on studies to find out what type of education would produce more suitable and acceptable candidates. What they discovered was that to be better accountants, students needed to learn more than technical knowledge and theory in their undergraduate studies — they needed to learn how to apply what they learned in realistic settings, where information was incomplete and a multitude of factors were present.

The accounting profession was certainly not the first to voice concern about the efficacy of higher education. Dewey, in Experience and Education (1938), recognized the conflict between traditional education and a more “progressive” approach that emphasized the relationship between knowledge and its application. In his view, higher education needed to focus on learning from experience as well as learning from texts and lectures. 

Evidence indicates that students retain knowledge learned using experiential methods much longer than knowledge learned using the more traditional lecture/reading approach (Meyers and Jones 1993). Studies have also shown that students develop superior thinking and writing skills when they learn using cases or problems based on realistic settings (Felder and Brent 1999). Given the push from the profession to produce students who can apply what they know, and evidence that indicates that students retain more when their instruction uses real-world examples, it is clear that universities and colleges are under increasing pressure to change from the traditional lecture/discussion format. But change to what?  

How Can We Change?  

Learning from experience, active learning, problem based learning and competency based education are some of the terms used to describe new and different approaches that have been tried in university and college classrooms in the attempt to teach students to apply theoretical knowledge in realistic situations.

•     Learning from experience, also called experiential learning, is arguably the foundation of everything we learn, according to Conner (2004). Effective learners perceive information, reflect on how it will affect some aspect of their lives, evaluate how it fits into their own experiences, and think about how this information offers new ways to act. Experiential learning is the overarching theory that encompasses active learning, problem-based learning, and competency-based education as described below.

•     Active learning is learning in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class. It is learning that encourages students to reflect on what they are doing.

•      Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method that challenges students to “learn to learn,” working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real-world problems. Problems are used to engage students’ curiosity and initiate subject-matter learning. PBL prepares students to think critically and analytically, and to find and use appropriate learning resources.

•      Competency-based education is “ an approach … that specifies expectations in terms of learning and outcomes, or what an individual can do or accomplish, rather than in terms of knowledge acquired. It focuses on the application of knowledge in the workplace and not on the acquisition of knowledge alone” (CA Competency Map).  

One common thread that ties these theories together is student involvement in real-world simulations or experiences. Techniques that promote such involvement include cases, in-class debates and participation, role-playing, group projects, and guest speakers.

Over the next year, this forum will focus on how university and college education can improve, and is changing to improve, the learning environment for accounting students. If you have an experience that has been successful in this regard that you would like to share with others through this forum, please contact Marg Forbes at forbes@commerce.usask.ca.

References  

Barr, R. B., and J. Tagg. 1995. From teaching to learning — A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change (November–December): 13–25.  

Bonwell, C. C., and J. A. Eison. 1991. Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, DC: George Washington University.

Conner, M. L. 1997–2004. Learning from experience. Ageless Learner. http://agelesslearner.com/intros/experiential.html.

Dewey, J. 1938. Experience and education. New York: Scribner’s.  

Duch, B. J., S. E. Gron, and D. E. Allen (eds.). 2001. The power of problem-based learning: A practical "how to" for teaching undergraduate courses in any discipline. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Felder, R. M., and R. Brent. 1999. FAQs II: Active learning vs covering the syllabus. Chemical Engineering Education 33 (4): 276–7.

Felder, R. M., and R. Brent. 2001. Effective strategies for cooperative learning. Journal of Cooperation and Collaboration in College Teaching 10 (2): 69–75.

Kolb, D. A. 1983. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Toronto: Prentice Hall Canada.

Meyers, C., and T. B. Jones. 1993. Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.