Prof Stephen Coetzee and Dr Astrid Schmulian of the Department of Accounting in UP’s Faculty of Economic and Management Scienceswon the South African Accounting Association (SAAA) Best Innovative Teaching Initiative award, sponsored by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). They also won the award for the Best Innovative Teaching Presentation at the South African Accounting Association (SAAA) Teaching and Learning Conference 2018, held at the Nelson Mandela University in December. This conference provided a platform where academics could present and share research focusing on teaching and learning in Accountancy.
 
Prof Coetzee and Dr Schmulian were recognised for the exciting innovations they have introduced in their teaching, including Messenger bots, Team Assessment with Immediate Feedback (TAIF), and caselette-based Hyperdocs.
 
Bots are artificial narrow intelligence programmes, based in instant messaging apps, designed to interact with users in a human-like way. According to Prof Coetzee, the use of bots in messaging apps as a learning tool enhances student learning, engagement, motivation and interest, and presents possibilities for collaborative learning and quicker responses to FAQs in a large class environment. “The aim of this intervention used in the second-year Financial Accounting module is for students to actively learn, independently construct their own knowledge through interaction with the bots, to reflect and think more critically and read more attentively, while growing as independent thinkers and lifelong learners.”
 
TAIF has been suggested as an effective ‘competency-based assessment for learning’ technique and places the emphasis on authenticity and students learning to collaborate. Dr Schmulian explains that this assessment entails the use of the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) in a group assessment. “Following team consultation, the student-team scratches off the coating of their preferred response on the printed multiple-choice IF-AT card, and immediate feedback is then provided to the team by the appearance of a star for a correct answer, or a blank block for an incorrect answer.” The team assessment developed generic transferable skills across various competency areas and created an opportunity for social constructivist learning.
 
In addition, the two lecturers have adopted caselette-based HyperDocs. HyperDocs are transformative, interactive Google Docs or Slides created by teachers and given to students to engage, educate, and inspire learning. Case-based teaching is a pedagogical approach that engages students in the process of making real-world decisions. Cases should represent authentic workplace situations to encourage students to apply knowledge gained from the classroom or through additional research in order to solve the case. While traditional cases may be 15 or more pages long, shorter versions can be adopted and these are referred to as caselettes. When HyperDocs are combined with caselette-based teaching, students can develop skills in collaboration, analytical thinking and reflective judgment by reading and discussing complex, real-life scenarios.
 
The SAAA awards acknowledge their continually evolving approach to teaching and learning, which has in the past already been acknowledged by receiving awards such as the 2016 National Teaching Excellence Award from the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA).

- Author Department of Accounting (Source: www.up.ac.za)

So excited to be invited to key note at the RMIT Accounting Educators Conference 2018 on Monday 19 November 2018. 

The RMIT Accounting Educators’ Conference provides participants with the opportunity to:

Explore the latest research developments in accounting education
Debate the future of accounting education
Learn from the experience of others.

The program will feature a keynote address, a panel of guest speakers and parallel sessions with accounting and education scholars. The conference provides a forum for sharing and shaping ideas, insight, and discussion on accounting education and related research that support the underlying theme of the conference.

The theme of this year’s conference is Out with the old, in with learning technologies.
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In a rapidly changing educational environment at international, national, and institutional levels, the theme of this year’s conference is both significant and topical. By attending this conference you will be part of a community engaging in a dialogue about the future of accounting education. 

For more click here

Academic staff in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences were honoured for the excellence they achieved in teaching and learning, as well as research, at the prestigious annual EMS Awards Function, which was held on 6 June 2018.
 
Prof Elsabé Loots, Dean of the Faculty, praised the staff in the Faculty for their commitment and hard work in the 2017 academic year. The awards in the teaching and learning category give recognition to lecturers who introduced innovations in their classrooms, maintained high module pass rates and were assessed to be good teachers based on an objective evaluation of their teaching and classroom practice. Stephen and Astrid were awarded this award for the third year in a row! (Source: UP 2018)

Stephen & Astrid attended the BAFA Accounting Education SIG in Brighton, Sussex. The conference is designed to provide:

• a setting for discussions of research into innovations in accounting education amongst a range of other topics in the area of accounting education;
• a forum for presenting emerging ideas and full papers;
• workshops at which researchers can develop ideas for research projects or discuss current work and ideas;
• opportunities for accounting educators to identify partners (or institutions) for collaborative research;
• a network of continuing support amongst attendees.

Stephen presented their research into the use of Messenger bots in teaching and learning. Astrid presented their research and development of a team based assessment with immediate feedback.

IFRS Rookies shared thoughts on the potential of teaching and learning with Messenger Bots with staff from St Stithians.

Stephen & Astrid explored embracing Messenger chatbots in teaching and learning, and collaborative assessment with delegates at the Flexible Future Conference (​https://www.flexiblefutures.co.za). Astrid's presentation on collaborative assessment was the joint most highly rated presentation at the conference.

Many hands make light work... Academic Trainees in the School of financial sciences spent the day with Team Teaching Rookies learning how to collaborate as teacher teams. 

Stephen Coetzee, Astrid Schmulian and Cecile Janse van Rensburg were recognized for outstanding teaching and teaching related activities as lecturers who clearly demonstrate that they make a significant contribution to enhancing students' learning experience.