Session 19 Lightning talk: Innovative starter activities for accounting and finance seminars

Abstract

Session overview:

Often an accounting and finance seminar starts with students working through questions in a seminar, or a lecture led demonstration followed by students practicing an accounting and finance technique. Instead, the use of appropriate starter activities encourages prompt attendance and student engagement from the very start of the session.

Benefits of starter activities:

• Refreshes students’ prior knowledge before new learning
• Encourages attendance at the start of the seminar, otherwise students miss ‘fun’ activities/recap
• Informs lecturer as to students’ understanding of a topic
• Suits some neurodivergent students

What makes a good starter?

• Quick
• Engages students from the off
• Easy to set up/understand
• Variety of starters, so it is not the same every time and becomes mundane
• Enhances learning

Examples

1. List of assets/liabilities OR income/expenditure OR income statement/balance sheet items on board and ask students to name an example
2. Control accounts - draw a control account on the whiteboard; give a couple of students 1 item from a control account and ask them to put on the whiteboard; include a couple of invalid answers for stretch and challenge of high achievers
3. Differences between financial accounting and management accounting - put the 2 headings on the visualiser, and ask pairs of students to identify which of 2 items is MA v FA, class build into full list)
4. Student budgeting activity - handout with items the student buys, income received; each student to calculate individually
5. Ask students to vote/comment on a topic/discussion point
6. Quiz

Key learning points from this session:

The presentation will show a few activities, possibly photos or diagrams, including:

1. List of assets/liabilities - photo of how it looks after students complete
2. Control accounts - photo of how it looks after students complete
3. The FA v MA list - diagram of how it looks after students complete
4. Student budgeting activity handout
5. Visual of Padlet or Mentimeter with a vote/comment on a topic/discussion point
6. Visual of a Kahot Quiz

Innovative starter activities for accounting and finance seminars PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.