Evaluation of the design of a teaching intervention to develop to pervasive skills.

What is it about?

The primary objective of this article is to evaluate the design variables of a newly developed teaching intervention, ‘The Amazing Tax Race’. It comprises a race against time in which accounting students participate within teams in multiple tax-related activities so that they are exposed to pervasive skills. The findings provide information to accounting educators on the effectiveness of the design variables considered in the development of teaching initiatives aimed at pervasive skills development. The evaluation was conducted by means of a qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts gathered from interviews held with accounting students who participated in the teaching intervention hosted at a South African university accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Overall, the design variables applied were found to contribute positively to pervasive skills development. The format of the intervention could serve to overcome the challenge of accommodating large student groups. The author also notes limitations and makes recommendations for designing future teaching interventions.

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Why is it important?

The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the design variables to be considered in developing competency-based teaching methods. The findings will assist accounting educators and researchers in evaluating design variables in their own applied competency-based teaching methods.