Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development: the redesign of an Economics module

Decker, Sallyanne (2006) Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development: the redesign of an Economics module. Investigations in university teaching and learning, 4 (1). pp. 24-36. ISSN 1740-5106

Abstract

This paper elucidates proposals for the redesign of a compulsory Certificate-level module within the BA Accounting and Finance degree, “Economics for Accountants”. Several issues raised by the teaching team and students initiated the redesign. The primary concern was the 100% exam assessment strategy in which half of the marks are allocated to multiple choice questions (MCQs) and the other half to essays. A review of exam scripts showed that performance in the essay section was very poor and many students were able to pass just by their performance in the MCQ section. A comparison with similar modules revealed this was the only one with a 100% exam assessment strategy.

From an educational standpoint, this asymmetric performance raised the concern that the module may have been encouraging surface learning, limiting opportunities for providing formal feedback and/or not adequately supporting the development of students’ economic literacy and communication skills. To address these issues, the teaching team successfully applied for a modification to the assessment strategy so as to include a coursework element as well as an exam.

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