Encouraging tutorial preparation and participation

Discipline Area

Accounting

Key assessment issue addressed

Encouraging students to participate in tutorial discussions in large classes

The initiative

Prior to 1999 students in Accounting, Decisions and Accountability, a core course within the Division of Business and Enterprise at the University of South Australia with an on campus enrolment of about 1000, were given 10% of their assessment for participation in tutorials. This had been used as an incentive to generate class discussion for about 5 years, with limited success. In 1999 we decided to assess students' preparation for tutorials and make this worth 15% of their assessment. Student focus groups had suggested that this was the minimum amount that would make the effort worthwhile relative to the assessment reward. The students are assessed only on preparation and not on accuracy. It is the students' responsibility to check the accuracy of their answers during the tutorial or from the course web site in the following week. The feedback from tutors was tremendous with them reporting a sharp improvement in participation in discussions within the tutorials and a desire by students to understand the problems they had encountered. The average grade received for this part of the assessment dropped slightly as students could no longer turn up to a tutorial unprepared and bluff their way through for a participation mark. Students have to prepare consistently for the entire semester to achieve a high grade for preparation. However, the average mark in each of the five type of exam questions increased by 20% in 1999 and has remained at this higher level of achievement ever since. The pass rate in the course had steadily declined from 1994 to 1998 from 75% to 55% and this rebounded to 80% in 1999 and has remained at that level ever since.

The reason for the initiative's effectiveness

In the past we told students that if they did all of the work required of them then they should pass. However, students' interpretation of this was often limited to thinking turning up to class with little or no preparation was all that was required. There was a gap between what teaching staff expected and what students believed we expected. This initiative has made our expectations of students explicit and rewards them for achieving what we require. Having prepared for tutorials students are interested in finding out how good their answer is and in solving any problems they encountered. Hence the increased participation in class discussions that have made tutorials far more interesting and a better learning environment.

Further details

Mr John Medlin
University of South Australia
email address john.medlin@unisa.edu.au