Codeship: Financing growth: Case study and Teaching note

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Nuevas formas de trabajo autónomo en el aula. Aplicación en la temática contable

El presente artículo intenta reflejar que el trabajo autónomo da mejores resultados para los estudiantes de segundo curso de contabilidad financiera, según la experiencia realizada durante los cursos académicos 2005-2006 y 2006-2007 haciendo que comprendan mejor la materia, se impliquen más, se sientan motivados, favorece la interacción docente-discente, tengan un mayor desarrollo de habilidades prácticas y todo esto conduce a que el número de suspendidos sea menor. Cabe decir que los estudiantes que trabajan y estudian, abandonan las nuevas metodologías de aprendizaje ya que no pueden asistir a clase y no les ayuda a obtener mejores resultados

Un Recurs per a l'aprenentatge autònom dels procediments matemàtics a l'assignatura de comptabilitat

L’objectiu principal de la present comunicació és mostrar el funcionament d’un recurs de reforç de principis matemàtics creat a la Facultat de Ciències Econòmiques i Empresarials de la Universitat de Girona amb la finalitat de: a) millorar l’activitat docent en l’ensenyament, b) centrar l’ensenyament en l’alumne, c) augmentar la capacitat d’aprenentatge autònom dels alumnes, d) potenciar l’autoestima en els alumnes, e) reforçar l’autogestió de l’aprenentatge de coneixements de principis, f) ajudar a determinar les hores de treball autònom de l’alumne necessàries per dominar procediments matemàtics bàsics

Una Proposta de millora de l'aprenentatge de la comptabilitat en el grau d'ADE

En aquesta comunicació presentem una proposta de millora de l’aprenentatge basat en un projecte vertical el qual s’aplicarà a totes les assignatures de Comptabilitat a partir del curs 2010/2011 de l’estudi de Grau d’Administració i Direcció d’Empreses de la Facultat de Ciències Econòmiques i Empresarials de la Universitat de Girona. Amb aquest projecte es pretén solventar alguns problemes que es plantegen actualment en la docència universitària, en el rol del professor i en el de l’estudiant

Cultivating creative ecologies : creative teaching and teaching for creativity

Australian universities now commonly list creativity amongst the generic attributes that graduates are expected to have achieved or demonstrated upon graduation. While this reflects emerging local and global trends to encourage creativity at every educational level, creativity as a generic capability has special difficulties. These include problems of definition, its perceived value, the gap between espoused beliefs and practice, and tensions between standards and accreditation agendas and the desire to embed creative outcomes in the curriculum. Contextual and disciplinary differences also shape the expression of creative teaching and teaching for creativity. This paper explores these issues, acknowledging the role of information and communications technologies in shaping the technology-enhanced learning spaces where creativity may emerge. Csikszentmihalyi’s model of creativity as a system of interactions is presented as a useful foundation for furthering the discourse in this domain, along with the notion of creative ecologies as spaces for effecting change.

Improving criteria and feedback in student assessment in law

Spurred on by both the 1987 Pearce Report1 and the general changes to higher education spawned by the “Dawkins revolution” from 1988, there has been much critical self-evaluation leading to profound improvements to the quality of teaching in Australian law schools.2 Despite the changes there are still areas of general law teaching practice which have lagged behind recent developments in our understanding of what constitutes high quality teaching. One such area is assessment criteria and feedback. The project Improving Feedback in Student Assessment in Law is an attempt to remedy this. It aims to produce a manual containing key principles for the design of assessment and the provision of feedback, with practical yet flexible ideas and illustrations which law teachers may adopt or modify. Most of the examples have been developed by teachers at the University of Melbourne Law School. The project was supported in 1996 by a Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching grant and the manual will be published late in 1997.3 This note summarises the core principles which are elaborated further in the manual.

Exploring the relationship between professional and organizational commitment : the attitudes of Ontario chartered accountancy students

This study was undertaken to investigate the attitudes of chartered accountancy (CA) students toward professional commitment and organizational commitment. The focus of the study was to discover if a relationship between these two constructs existed and determine which situational and individual characteristics facilitate or impede commitment. The sample included those CA students who wrote the 1995 UFE (n=423). Four instruments were used for data collection: Job Diagnostic Survey, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, Career Commitment Questionnaire, Career Facilitation Survey, and individual demographic inquiry. The study found a significant relationship between professional commitment and organizational commitment. Situational characteristics tended to influence organizational commitment, while individual characteristics more often governed professional commitment. Specific satisfactions, general satisfaction, growth satisfaction, and satisfaction with compensation, co-workers, and supervision were found to facilitate organizational commitment. Organizational commitment was also influenced by supplemental job characteristics, internal work motivation, career facilitation, and autonomy. Implications for practice involved the cooperation and collaboration of the governing body for the CA profession and the CA firms in activities addressing pertinent issues that influence commitment. Implications for future research were also discussed.

Instructor support for self-directed learning in higher education

This study addressed the problem of instructor support for self-directed learning, specifically, learner-directed program planning, within a classroom setting in higher education. A combination of survey, interview, document analysis, and observation was used to assess and evaluate the attitudes and practices of a sample of full-time faculty at an Ontario university. Eighty-seven percent of the study sample reported instructional beliefs, values, and expectations that were not supportive of self-directed learning, especially in terms of student participation in program planning. Planning was seen as the responsibility of the instructor. Instructors were least open to student participation in the planning of the evaluation of learning. However, there was considerable stated support for other of the basic principles of adult education. The remaining 13% of the study sample reported instructional beliefs, values, and expectations that were fully supportive of self-directed learning. Instructional practices were analyzed in relation to the instructors' stated beliefs. Although practices reflected, in many instances, instructors' statements of support, there were some significant discrepancies between apparent support for the concept of self-directed learning and actual classroom practice. Both beliefs and practice were compared to a research model of self-directed learning. Most instructors did not have a concept of self-directed learning as comprehensive as that described in the research model. Instructor support for self-directed learning was profoundly influenced by the university setting. It was concluded that more strenuous attempts to research, enhance, and promote instructional and institutional support for self-directed learning in higher education are warranted.

Accommodating College ESL Learner Communication Needs: Perceptions, Policies, and Practices

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to determine how the Practical Nursing and Pharmacy Technician programs in one southern Ontario community college could more effectively accommodate ESL learners' communication needs. The literature review examined (a) linguistic issues, such as language testing and second-language learning theories, (b) organizational matters, such as ESL curriculum and teacher training, and (c) affective issues, such as motivation for second-language learning, learning styles, and the student-teacher relationship. I gathered perceptual data from the programs' administrators, faculty members, and ESL learners. Eleven participants took part in individual interviews or a focus group session. The results suggest that ESL learners need assistance with discipline-specific vocabulary and cultural nuances. College ESL learners' weak communicative competence, together with misleading acceptance standards for ESL learners and limited support available to faculty members and to students, decrease opportunities for successful completion of the programs. The results point to re-assessment of the college's admission policies and procedures, program evaluation practices that consider the needs of ESL learners, discipline-specific language support, and strategies to enhance the ESL student-teacher relationship. The study highlights theory relating to ESL learners' self-perception and engagement, as well as the importance of including the voice of college ESL learners in educational research. The results suggest that despite ESL learners' perseverance in completing their studies, power imbalances remain. The college has yet to implement organizational strategies such as discipline-specific communications and ESL courses and extended language support that could meet the communication needs of ESL learners in the two programs.