Learning Accounting-Online VS F2F

Submitted by Sylvia Ong on
Duration
-
Abstract

This CATS' purpose was to determine if part of an ACC230 exam resulted in a statistically significant difference between an onine course and a F2F course.  In Fall of 2017, I piloted an ACC230 online class.  I wondered if there would be a major grade/score difference on an Inventory Valuation problem using First-In-First-Out (FIFO) and Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) between the two, different, instructional modalities.  I picked this accounting topic because it was used in two prior CATS (candy example).  My hypothesis was that online students would score lower, because learning accounting online is tough.  For the online course, I created videos to help students learn the three inventory valuation methods. For the in-person class, I reviewed the same candy example, but in a fun and interactive way, using actual candy and inventory worksheets to reinforce learning. Since the attached T-Test shows a .087 where P > .05, there is no statistically significant difference between the two mean scores. A historgram showing scores for each class is attached.  Based on this assessment, a new video was created to help students better grasp FIFO.

Division/Department
Completed Full Cycle
Yes
Course Number
ACC230
Rating
Average: 5 (2 votes)

Comments

Kelly Loucy Fri, 02/16/2018 - 11:36am

Although your results were not statistically significant, I like that you still took the step to create a new video to help students better understand the concept. Do your in-person classes have access to the same videos for review? 

P.S. I've often wondered if I should record an actual class session of students engaging in hands on activities like your candy example and if that would give online students a different perspective on certain concepts. 

Olga Tsoudis Sat, 02/17/2018 - 6:37pm

HI Sylvia,

I think your "no significance" shows great significance about online learning. We can teach our students online and use the resources to help them. Your videos must be helpful! Great work! 

Thank you for sharing!

Olga

Catherine Cochran Tue, 02/20/2018 - 8:27am

Hi Sylvia,

This was very interesting!  I often wonder the student's learning outcomes with online vs. face-to-face classes for other disciplines.  Thank you for sharing.  Great work!

Catherine