COMMUNICATING THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS TO NON-BUSINESS LEARNERS

Abstract

This study is situated in a course taught by the author who takes the position that non-business majors approach their learning differently from business majors. Many non-business majors carry concerns regarding not having prior accounting coursework, negative experiences or lack confidence in the domain of mathematics. Through personal reflection, student feedback, reading current literature and empirical findings, I have made additional adjustments to the course design, instructional strategies employed and/or weighting and type of assessments to achieve the stated outcomes of the course. The main research question for this study is as follows: How does using surface and deep instructional strategies relate to student scores when examined by a prior knowledge group (business vs. non-business)? This study utilizes the mixed methods approach with data gathered from the statement of student goals from the first week of the course, student assessment scores, a linear regression model in STATA and the course/instructor’s evaluations at the conclusion of the course. Analysis of the responses in my course indicate that students’ goals were primarily cognition (understanding). The results also indicate that business majors continue to perform better in a statistically significant way on polling response accuracy. Although not statistically significant, non-business majors had higher average mean scores for in-class activities. As was found in prior studies, the grade point average (GPA) had a significant effect on student performance in the course overall. As a result of this study, changes to lecture delivery and student reminders of activities have been incorporated into the course.