Exploring Prospective Accounting Teachers' Knowledge to Analyze and Modify Learning Tasks for Cognitively Activating Teaching

• In Event: Roundtable Session 54
  In Roundtable Session: Inquiry Into Preservice Teachers' Knowledge Development

Abstract

A key aspect of cognitively activating teaching is the teacher’s ability to select and use appropriate tasks. Currently, there is little empirical research examining prospective teachers’ Task Analysis and Modification Skills (TAMS) – especially in accounting education. This study investigates prospective teachers’ knowledge about the cognitive potential of learning tasks. Two studies combining quantitative (N=1,152) and qualitative (N=174) analysis are used to learn more about the TAMS of prospective teachers in a university-based teacher training program in business education. Prospective teachers tend to modify obvious characteristics (e.g. context) rather than the complexity of the solution process. The Findings also indicate that content knowledge seems to play a major role for prospective teachers’ knowledge of tasks (r=0.71).

Author

• Sabine Fritsch, University of Mannheim