An Accounting and Finance Blog by Prof Jas

So I’ve been learning some new tricks for my blog and I’m excited to use them! In this post, you will get to enjoy two forms of REM (and possibly a third if you fall asleep as you read).

Now R.E.M. is the name of one of all-time favorite rock bands so naturally I chose an article which allows me to share one of my favorite clips out there on the net (as off-topic as it might seem):

I loved this performance of “Nightswimming” from Automatic for the People (1992) so much that I actually bought an “emotionally unavailable” t-shirt a few years ago. Thanks to my new ability to embed a YouTube video right into my blog post, you too have the privilege of enjoying this great tune!

Getting back on track, the article I found for this week’s blog post actually discusses REM sleep. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement which occurs while we sleep and usually while we are dreaming (GIF below).

The article is entitled During REM sleep, memory is consolidated by weeding out unwanted neural connections. It summarizes a study conducted by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine, who investigated exactly how REM sleep helps transform temporary memories into permanent learning.

The research on mice concluded that neural structures inside the brain (called dendritic spines) are physically pruned and strengthened during sleep. This process is part of the brain’s active selection of which memories to retain and which to dispose of. By nature, dendritic spines aren’t permanent structures- they grow, shorten, or disappear over time as the importance of certain knowledge changes. Ever struggle with a task which used to be second nature to you back when you did it regularly? That’s your brain “forgetting” a skill which hasn’t been emphasized for a long time.

Another important conclusion from this study was that there was much more pruning of dendritic spines in younger mice. In the older mice, the same process still happened during REM sleep, but with less frequency. Finally, deprivation of REM sleep caused severe hindrance in cognitive development, which agrees with past studies on humans.

After reading this article, I am inclined to encourage my students to get adequate sleep before coming to class. I am almost tempted to have them sleep in class (like nap time way back in elementary school), but that might raise some issues with the higher-ups at the University.

In all seriousness, I think it is important to limit how much new material students are taught in one day so that they have the opportunity to “sleep on it” and absorb a higher percentage of what they have been exposed to. Also, we instructors should repeat important points in multiple lectures so the concepts “stick” in our students’ minds.

So my Sunday is off to a great start after an engaging chat with my PIDP 3100 learning partner, Caroline Pichner. As my loyal readers should recall, she is a first-aid instructor with her own kick-ass blog (see December Grinchies).

Our conversation started with a warm introduction. I droned on about my boring accounting life while Caroline shared an interesting past with a long successful teaching career. She teaches 5 and 10 day courses in first-aid with passion which glows through one’s cell phone (can’t be great for my health- will Skype next time). She has started the PIDP to broaden her horizons and create more career opportunities for herself.

Caroline was proud to tell me that BC has the highest level of first-aid in Canada (not a surprise with instructors like her). Her industry is constantly evolving as major organizations get together regularly to share research with each other as well as update first-aid knowledge and techniques which are taught and used everywhere. Furthermore, we get trends coming up from the States which influence our first-aid (I think I’m okay with this- just don’t influence our politics, USA!).

Regarding adult education specifically, Caroline spoke about how lecture “reading” had to be kept to a minimum in her course or students start falling asleep (I hear ya, Caroline). There is also hands-on practice students must participate in, to learn how to deal with emergency situations. Unfortunately, this doesn’t allow for much self-directed learning, but there is opportunity to use bits and pieces of PIDP goodness in Caroline’s teaching.

Finally, Caroline expects her teaching role to change a little bit as she progresses through the PIDP. She has spoken to her boss about the PIDP (he is a proud graduate of the program) and is excited at being able to “read” her students better, especially when it comes to figuring out who is learning well and who is having some difficulty.

I had a great time chatting with Caroline. She is passionate about what she is doing and a bright, friendly person to boot! Thanks Caroline, for being a great learning partner!

Have you ever become frustrated with someone who just didn’t seem motivated about something? As a college instructor, I come across this issue frequently and it can really get on my nerves. For obvious reasons, this blog post topic about motivating students was an intriguing one for me, so much so that I was willing to forgo my usual off-topic opening tangent (you’re welcome).

When I began searching for an article, I already knew I wanted something that focused on adult learners, not learners in general. I also preferred something that gave direct tips which I could use in my classroom, not something overly theoretical focused on a specific learning model or elaborate study.

The article which caught my eye this morning was a summary of research study done by Michael W. Galbraith, Stephen D. Brookfield, and Mihaly Csikszentmialyi. Raymond J. Wlodkowski keyed in on six motivational strategies from the aforementioned studies. Read it all here: Motivational Strategies.

Let’s quickly rifle through the six strategies covered in this article:

1. Establish inclusion– This essentially means encouraging students to participate in the learning process with activities such as introductions, group work, and detailed participation guidelines which help develop a comfortable and safe learning environment.

Admittedly, this is something I am still improving in my classes. I find that it is easier to establish inclusion in smaller classes, but with large groups it can be a struggle. In my class of 4 students this semester, I have assigned a major group project which they will do together. I also have weekly homework which they will solve on the board while I observe. In my class of 40 students, I feel worried about using such activities since they consume a lot more time and the large class can be tougher to manage.

2. Develop a positive attitude– Here, the author discusses things like using learning models, effective instruction, and feedback from instructor to learner and vice versa.

I have tried to succeed with this ever since I first started teaching. As a recent University graduate, I know the value of establishing a positive learning environment. I try to be well prepared for lecture and provide my students with the best learning experience possible. Furthermore, I stress that I welcome feedback from students about what is working well and what can be improved.

3. Enhance meaning– This part discusses “spicing up” the learning experience by posing problems, creating simulations, and providing variety.

I am a big fan of all three approaches since they make the classroom more interesting. I also believe that using different approaches gives learners different perspective and allows them to get more out of the same instructional time.

4. Eugender competence– Once again, feedback is stressed here (especially early on in a task/project), along with the importance of creating tasks which learners can easily relate to.

For my in-class examples, I try to find situations which students can easily relate to (ex. entry-level accounting jobs, the college bookstore, well-known corporations). This helps students pick up concepts more easily than having to understand an unfamiliar example as well as the concept itself.

5. Critical thinking– This is the largest section of the article. Naturally, there is significant overlap with the other sections. It is difficult to imagine any learning environment without some critical thinking involved. This article recommends using scenario analysis, lectures, and critical debates to promote critical thinking.

Obviously, these methods are heavily dependent on the topic being studied. I prefer to promote critical thinking mainly through the lecture approach, by asking students interesting questions and having them solve questions in their notes. Occasionally, we will have a discussion in class to share ideas about a certain accounting or finance scenario.

6. Cultivate interest and curiosity– The final motivational technique discussed in this article basically advises to add the element of surprise into the classroom. There are a few ways to accomplish this- by having students discuss instances where they were surprised or surprised someone else and surprising students yourself in class.

I had to think about this point and I can think of a few examples where the element of surprise occurred in my classroom. These were generally positive learning experiences and did perk up the mood of the class. This is an area where I will attempt to improve going forward.

I found this article to be to-the-point and relevant to my goals. My passion for what I was reading resulted in another long-winded blog post, but c’est la vie. Until next time, take care everybody!

So I ended up back at that new house up the hill in Mission earlier this week (I’m done pretending that I can stick to that darn 100 word recommendation). That ice was so bad this time around that we couldn’t even get our work van up the ~500 meter driveway. We had to get our customer to bring down his tractor to haul up our tools while we made the icy hike up that steep hill- I was ready for a long nap before I even reached the work site!

Anyway, getting out of this preamble and jumping into another one… I planned on creating homework solutions for my new course today (I’ve finished lecture notes all the way to the midterm already – yay!), but woke up feeling like I really wanted to make a blog entry today. I’m actually jumping ahead of my week 5 blog assessment point, but this stuff is so darn addictive that I just can’t stay away!

Our article of the day is Creating The Ideal Learning Environment: Emotional written by Dan Boudreau on April 16th, 2012. Now, the title seems to be a bit confusing but I was taught to never judge a book by its cover (or a woman by her dinner party dress- another story for another time), so I continued reading the article which soon rewarded me with an explanation of the title.

This article is part of a four-part series on learning environments (Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual). Thinking back, the emotion I felt in the classroom played a big part in how much I liked a course, so this article was definitely the one I was going to continue with!

Predictably, this article overlapped on some things I’ve already covered in my blog and read in my PIDP 3100 course, but there was new information for me in Boudereau’s ten tips too. His first idea about leading with a positive attitude is a slam dunk for me. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of lecturing a class on a day when I wasn’t as upbeat as others and quickly noticed the negative effect on my students.

The second point of establishing an emotionally safe and friendly learning environment is something I am still working on. I am trying to get better at involving students in my lectures and encouraging participation. In January, I am planning to have students discussing things with each other for 5 to 10 minute intervals- this is something I have not tried before. This idea also connects with Boudreau’s 9th point about learning circles.

The author’s fourth point about maintaining learner focus is something I value greatly. I encourage my students to communicate what works well for them and where things can be improved. I have actually designed a survey to have my students complete on the first day of class so I can respond to their needs and provide the best learning experience possible.

Finally, let’s talk about one last point about music which I’ve brought up on this blog before. Boudreau discusses music’s potential to influence emotion. I am considering using some music in my lectures but I haven’t committed yet. My fear is adding music might invoke too much of a “party” attitude in my classroom. If I do go ahead with this idea, it would likely be on a limited basis, such as at the very start of class or during break-time. If you have an opinion on if I should or shouldn’t use music, send me a comment (see bar up top)! I would love to hear from you 🙂

Bonsoir amigos! I return to you for the second straight day with a late-night post!

I’m trying to keep this one shorter than my last, but I can’t help myself from starting with something off-topic again. There’s something comforting about starting your writing with a story you really feel like sharing…

So, I started off the post last night with a slight tongue-in-cheek comment about the B.C. weather… and karma always seems to find a way! I was out in Mission today helping my dad install in-floor heating at a new home in a rural higher-elevation area. Lo and behold, the snow had started before we got there, and didn’t stop all day! It got to the point where we were worried about getting home at the end of the workday. Luckily, we made it back… and I got to make this great blog post!

My article today (note the stark transition since I’m trying to limit post length by forgoing luxuries such as smooth transitions) is Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Adult Learning Programs by Dorothy D. Billington.

There are a couple interesting characteristics about this article, one at the very top and one at the very bottom (I scroll through my webpages like a madman before I actually read them). The first point of interest is that it seems to be focussing on learning programs and not learners themselves. However, as we read on, there are some juicy tidbits about learners too. The second shocker is that this article appears to be from 1996! Those that know me know that I like my articles how I like my cupcakes – short, sweet, and out-of-the-oven fresh! The fact that I went with something from two decades ago tells you how good it is!

This article starts off similarly to the last one I blogged about- that learning must be an ongoing practice or one’s knowledge and skills end up in the Jurassic period (the land of obsolescence). However, one key difference- this article puts some of the professional development onus on organizations, not just individuals.

However, the article quickly diverts into an alternate direction, questioning if the billions of dollars spent on training annually is a worthwhile investment. The author conducted a four year study to investigate the optimal conditions for adult learning. She discovered seven key elements- 1) a safe and supportive learning environment, 2) intellectual freedom with experimentation and creativity, 3) students being treated as peers, 4) self-directed learning, 5) good pacing with the right amount of intellectual challenge, 6) active involvement in learning, and  7) Regular feedback for students.

Billington’s list seems to have some similarities and differences to the childhood learning we all experienced. Points 1, 2, 5, and 7 may be applied to children to some extent, but points 3, 4, and 6 seem to be meant solely for adult learners. It seems that adults benefit from freedom and flexibility in their learning, while children need more structure. Researchers such as Piaget and Knowles have come to similar conclusions.

I tend to agree with the experts on this one. I have found that I get better projects when I allow my students to choose their own topic and structure things how they feel fit. Once you get students feeling creative about one thing, they feel free to exhibit more creativity throughout the project. Of course, I take care to maintain a supportive attitude to the ideas they toss at me and provide feedback at regular intervals as well as upon request.

By the way, I realized today that my self-assessment at the end of the course is supposed to include stuff about my classmates’ blogs. I haven’t really read any of them! Y’all might not hear from me for a couple weeks since I have to devote some time to reading my friends’ works. LATER HOMIES!

Hello my freezing friends- hope the recent upswing in the B.C. weather is for real!

I can’t tell you how many personal biases came into play as I searched for an article which somehow fit the criteria of being “one trend you see in adult education”. Actually, you know what, I can. This tangent is going to push me way over the 100 word recommendation again, but I’m sure one Ms. Brooke won’t dock too many marks 😉

So, getting back on point here (to my off-topic story), after a long day of making lecture notes followed by a gym workout, I plopped down in front of my laptop to conquer the first of two blog entries due this week. I immediately realized that my choosing of an article was going to be highly biased to my own life. Let me count the ways:

1. I am a student in a continuing studies program centered around adult learning– This should immediately tell you that I am a believer in taking control of your own development. To make matters even more biased, I have three major qualifications already. Someone with significant first-hand experience with learning (and paying for it out of his own pocket) very likely sees big-time value in pursuing higher education.
2. I teach at two post-secondary institutions– Ever heard that people should “follow their passions”? Well, I guess I liked school so much that I’ve made a career out of it. Given this, I would be inclined to select an article which would center around adults enrolling in College/University programs.
3. I am an avid follower of North American political and economic issues– With the U.S. election taking place recently, someone sympathetic to the middle class issues which dominated the election would likely want to analyze professional development of today’s workforce. I’ll stop my list here, even though I can think of a whole bunch of other factors which “pushed” me to this particular article.

So what is my article of choice? It’s Incentives – and pressures – for U.S. workers in a ‘knowledge economy’ by Lee Raine.

Mr. Raine started this article off the right way- with an eye catching statistic which gave reason for reading the rest of the article- 63% of workers and 36% of all adults have attempted to upgrade their skills and knowledge in the past year. This served as the “WOW! What?” of the article. Obviously, that is a HUGE percentage and doesn’t follow our traditional view of someone developing a set of skills at young age and then using them to earn a living until retirement.

The statistic was backed up by a graph with weighting of five reasons why full-time and part-time workers decided to upgrade their skills (the accountant in me couldn’t help noticing that the percentages didn’t add up to 100%) and some testimonials from workers themselves. This was actually a depressing read, as people seemed very concerned about their careers. Losing their jobs due to automation or globalization seemed like a legitimate fear out there.

However, the article did get become more upbeat as I read on. People’s motivation to learn ranged from improved self-worth to a stronger ability to serve others. The desire to “prove others wrong” was also stated by some of those surveyed. The author stressed that survey participants generally had a positive view of learning and experienced reward from self-development.

I personally have mixed feelings about all of this. On one hand, I am not a fan of companies which don’t see value in long-term investment in their employees, be it through professional development or job security. It feels like most big corporations no longer value their employees as much as they used to and our governments are doing very little to balance the scales for workers. Unions are less prevalent now and good paying jobs are disappearing.

That said, I am happy to see people taking the initiative to direct their own development and careers. This attitude gives workers more flexibility in their lives- what they want to do, how they want to work, how much work they want to do, how much they wish to earn, etc. Having options reduces reliance on your employer and you gain freedom to explore your passions. Having worked temp jobs for about two years, I know how it feels like to lack job security. However, if I had been stuck in one workplace all these years, I would never have had the chance to develop such a diverse set of skills, nor discover my passion for teaching others.

I may be biased in saying this, but I would strongly urge anyone who wants to learn something new- just go out and do it. You will be glad you did.

Just hitting that magical time of the year, folks! Yes, it is indeed almost year-end. All around the workplaces, accountants are scurrying about, gathering juicy tidbits of information to carefully stash inside their precious books. Whispers of profits, losses and year-end bonuses are spreading from the water-coolers to the quiet cubicles at the far end of the office. Tis the most wonderful time of year- may we all savor our remaining two weeks of fifteen-hour days in 2016.

However, if a slip or spill on our icy commutes to work were to interrupt our caffeine fueled productivity- fear not, I bring you a trusty resource. For all our paper-cuts and sore necks, here is Caroline Pichner’s first-aid blog to the rescue!

Hello again, my beloved followers! It has been a while since we (I) last spoke (earlier today)!

After posting (and editing several times) by first ever blog post, I came across an unconventional but interesting study. Read all the goodness here:
Teaching Accounting: Setting the Right Tone with a Tune

This article’s title immediately caught my attention, as both a music and accounting-teaching buff. After shaking off my initial visions of head-banging to classic rock music with my students à la Dewey Finn (Jack Black- may he rock forever) in School of Rock, I dove into the article itself. The two authors, Matthew A. Phillips and Jacob T. Crowley, do a great job of adding a quick personal touch before getting into the scientific mumbo jumbo. The fact that a qualified industry professional has already successfully accomplished the great feat of not having his audience fall asleep during an accounting presentation added immediate credibility to everything I was going to read. Throw in a bit of rock-and-roll and I was totally hooked to this article!

The second element (it’s Helium btw- no need to go look for that periodic table from your high school Chem class) which I really liked about this article is that they addressed the usual accounting stereotypes such as it being a boring, difficult, and tedious subject. As someone who frequently experiences sleepy and disinterested students, it’s always somewhat gratifying to have someone else blame the subject and, by extension, not me- the instructor. The hypothesis that music could help “soothe” the learning anxiety experienced by students certainly made sense to me, since I spent the majority of my High School and University life plugged into noise-cancelling headphones and avoiding social interaction- music was always my great excuse to avoid people and, consequently, anxiety.

Finally, I reached the “meat and potatoes” portion of this study where the regular students were compared to the rocking ones. There were several learning benefits to including tunes in the lecture, in addition to anxiety-reduction. One example discussed in the study was playing the song Photograph to help hammer home the idea that a Balance Sheet is a “snapshot” of a company at a specific point in time. In my personal case, this likely would have pushed my existing  knowledge of balance sheets right out of my noggin (Nickelback, ugh). Music also axed the negative stereotypes about accounting and fired up the students’ creative juices to the point where they actively questioned how a particular song was related to a concept- as we were taught early on, no question is a bad one in the classroom.

Overall, I give this study a solid 9/10- great work Mr. Phillips and Mr. Crowley! Sorry- I had to take away a point for using Nickelback when you could have easily gone with Def Leppard.

A very emphatic “Hola!” to my readers and fellow bloggers!

Since this is my first blog (and first blog post) ever, I’ll start with the customary quick intro. I’m your typical accounting instructor currently struggling with the usual annoyances of new technology adoption. Why, you might ask? Because I am required to start a blog as part of my PIDP 3100 course at VCC 🙂

By following this blog, you will get the distinguished privilege of receiving the latest and greatest accounting, finance, and teaching information out there. From this day forward, I will be keeping close tabs on the internet and redistributing the funniest, interesting-est, and helpful-est relevant information out there. Why, you might ask? Because that’s what accountants and instructors do 😉

So settle in, friends, and enjoy a wild ride on my blog!