An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association 2005 Annual Meeting August 7–10, 2005 San Francisco, California Come to the City by the Bay!

Effective Learning Strategies Forum
Monday, August 8, 2005

Session 23
One Approach to Teaching and Assessing "Soft Skills" Learning Objectives

Presenter:
Michael Garner, Salisbury University

Co-Authors:
Ellen Pettingill, Salisbury University
Denise Rotondo, Salisbury University
Karen Papke-Shields, Salisbury University

Description:
Teaching and assessment processes delivering constant improvement aspects per AACSB requirements are downright daunting, especially when it comes to the so-called soft skills our accounting majors must possess. Learning goals and objectives such as good communication skills, effective team work, ethical behavior, professional demeanor, analytical problem solving ability, etc., require us to assess/evaluate student mastery and demonstration of such skills and abilities in a way that identifies items/areas requiring improvement.

Our business school employs a self-evaluation by our students engaged in internships and two evaluations performed by their job supervisors at the internship site to evaluate their level of development in said skills. The wording of the response choices selected by each evaluator for numerous questions forms a rubric for assessing the level of demonstrated performance. A number of low-value responses in a particular element highlight items needing improvement. The report includes our learning goals and objectives, our "learn and practice" venues, our assessment methodologies and their locations, the forms we use for the internship evaluations, as well as an explanation of the entire process. From this session, participants will acquire new ideas for addressing a tough academic assignment.

Back to Monday Sessions

AAA Home Page