One Way to Enhance the Accounting Classroom? Games

You may think of classroom games as the realm of the K-12 arena. Many accounting programs, however, are using games and computer simulations to enhance experiential learning—in other words, creating knowledge through experience—for students of all levels. Accounting educators have used simulations and games in courses on the principles of accounting, intermediate accounting, cost accounting, and more. These activities get students to actively engage with the course material, and are especially beneficial for those students who are unlikely to engage in the traditional classroom.

Research, though mostly anecdotal, shows that students learn the principles of a course more easily when playing games. And, in addition to being enjoyable, games can be an effective means of passing knowledge and skills on to students, researchers have found.

Playing games in the classroom isn’t a new concept. Indeed, some instructional games are over 5,000 years old, from the Chinese game Wei-Hai to the Hindu game of Chaturanga. Sun Tzu, the Chinese military thinker, used dice to introduce chance elements when teaching flanking maneuvers. Serious war games were introduced in the 1600s, while computer war simulations were developed in the 1950s.

Though the educational gaming field is over 60 years old, there’s been very little empirical research into its efficacy. However, one research study did find a statistically significant difference between students who engaged in games versus those who attended only lectures. On standard multiple-choice tests, the students who had also played games scored higher than those who hadn’t.

The Benefits (and Drawbacks) of Games in the Classroom

In addition to improving the quality of accounting education, researchers suggest that using games—such as role plays, puzzles, board games, pen-and-paper activities, and virtual exercises—in the classroom can do the following:

• Establish a classroom climate that’s conducive to student participation.
• Cultivate a group spirit and encourage active learning.
• Help students see how accounting works in the “real world”—useful since many CPAs, CMAs, and other practitioners consider experiential learning to be important.
• Prepare accounting students for licensure examinations such as the CPA or CMA.
• Reward students and create enthusiasm about the course.
• Introduce new topical areas, reinforce lectures, and review material before a test.
• Encourage less motivated students.
• Attract students to the major.
• Prepare students for successful careers in the profession.

Of course, there can also be drawbacks to playing games in the classroom. For one, educators can play too many games, which reduces their impact. For another, games played too close together lose their uniqueness. Finally, not all games are successful with traditional age and nontraditional students. (Our personal experience has shown, however, that older students enjoy the games just as much as the 18- to 22-year-olds.)

In developing more than 100 in-class exercises, we’ve found that only about one in four new games proved successful enough to use again. Instructors should carefully select a few games and play them so infrequently that students request another game.

“People are most themselves when they’re at play.”
--Mikel Tiller, professor, Indiana University

Finding Game Ideas

Ideas for games can be found in unusual places, and often by looking to popular culture. Several of the most effective games we’ve used in accounting classrooms were variations on TV game shows. Think, for instance, of an “Accounting Jeopardy” game that has students reviewing material before a test, with easy answers starting at $200 and increasing in difficulty as the dollar value rises. You can even use a Monopoly board for an accounting game, or do a version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

Check your textbooks, too, as some authors include games in their books or instructors’ manuals. More semester-long accounting computer-enhanced simulations are being introduced to the market as well, with one example being Red Flag Mania.

The authors of one accounting text noted that these kinds of simulations are designed “to afford participants the opportunity to experience making [accounting and finance] decisions in a relatively low-risk environment, instead of having to experiment in the marketplaces where ‘real’ money and careers are at risk.”

You can develop games for virtually every kind of accounting course. Ask your colleagues to share games they’ve developed and modify and use them in a different way for the courses you teach.

While the research on classroom games is limited, we’ve learned from nearly 50 years of combined experience using games, surveying thousands of students, and talking with like-minded colleagues that the best games are:

• Simple. The most successful games have very few rules and easy directions. Students seem to get discouraged if they can't figure out in a minute or two how to play a game. A complex game often defeats the purpose of playing, and in some cases can result in the exact opposite of your objective occurring. Excellent games give choices (e.g., A, B, C, D) or ask students to match a question to the correct answer.

• Relevant. Researchers argue that games played just to “kill time” are most often ineffective. Your game should go along with a lecture or topic being discussed in the classroom. For example, in one of our accounting classes, an “Adult for a Day” game provides scenario-based games to help students learn about financial literacy.

• Flexible. Some of the most productive games are adaptations of exercises with which students already have some familiarity. Using a matching game or crossword puzzle, for instance, is usually more successful than fill-in-the-blanks (although the latter does work in many situations). Students seem to do better when they have choices from which to pick. Active games, such as performing “What is an Asset?” or a scavenger hunt through company financials for certain kinds of information, can also be very constructive.

• Current. Students seem to enjoy games that incorporate new information and/or examples. For instance, “Money Habitudes” introduces students to “real-life” situations, such as the importance of building and maintaining a good credit score. Incorporating real-world events or themes into your games can be a way of introducing new information to your students.

• Real. Playing games is certainly an effective way to make the textbook and lecture material more real to students. By using real-world examples in the classroom games, students are more apt to see the connections between what they’re learning in the classroom and their future careers.

Best Practices for Gamifying the Classroom

Below are some suggestions for playing in-class games, gleaned from our combined 50 years of teaching experience, along with hundreds of written comments from accounting students over the years:

• Break students into groups of three. Students learn from each other, and chances are good that at least one of the three will have read the text. If there are more than three members in a group, one or more will frequently fail to participate.

• Give only one copy to each group. We’ve found that when each person on a team gets their own copy of the game, there’s less group discussion.

• Keep the games to one page. While there are exceptions, generally 26 (A-Z choices) is about the maximum number of questions you should give on a game that covers one particular topic. A single sheet suggests non-verbally that the game isn't going to be long, complicated, or time-consuming.

• Reward students with bonus points. We’ve tried giving out many kinds of prizes—including gifts, candy, certificates, and “the joy of winning” itself—but bonus points on a test or assignment seem to win hands down. Many students are grade conscious and an incentive of a point or two added to a test seems to satisfy the winners sufficiently.

• Play for 10–20 minutes. Researchers have found that the most effective in-class games don’t last the entire period. For some reason, games lasting more than 20 minutes don’t seem as fun for students. Moreover, playing the game toward the end of class seems to motivate students better than at the beginning.

Simulations and games encourage active learning, reinforce concepts from the textbook, and provide a real-world view of accounting. On top of that, they’re also fun. Accounting educators who expose themselves to new ways of teaching, challenge their favorite methods, and implement experiential learning techniques will become the leaders in the practice of excellent accounting education.