Research that is current being conducted by the North-West University’s (NWU’s) research unit for Technology Enhanced Learning and Innovative Education and Training in South Africa (Telit-SA[11] ), have given way to the development of a unique board game for accounting students to address the acquisition of critical skills required in the workplace.
Through the introduction of the board game students are able to apply theoretical concepts – learnt by playing the game – in order to motivate them to deepen their learning.
Heading-up the Board Game research project within Telit-SA is Veruschka Pelser-Carstens, a senior lecturer within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark.
With more than 11 years of teaching experience as a lecturer in accounting sciences, Veruschka believes that her teaching philosophy and her research are interlinked. As such she is passionate about finding innovative ways to enhance teaching practices and outcomes. This research is not only receiving international acclaim, but has the potential to change the way students and lecturers approach the teaching and learning process.
ICCS: Best Paper Award
During the recent 8th International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS) that took place in Durban, Veruschka together with one of her study leaders, Prof Seugnet Blignaut, received the ICSS Best Paper Award for her research paper on a locally bound case study pertaining to the development and testing of a custom made table-top board game for accounting students.
According to Veruschka, accounting students took part in the project as research participants and played a custom made table-top board game and later, by means of a questionnaire, reflected on the experience. “The students indicated that they felt more motivated to learn the specific subject matter through playing the game,” says Veruschka and adds that the game also inspired them to apply the theory the previously learnt in order to progress in and be successful in the game.
“As the game proved to also be conducive to the development of other soft skills, Prof Seugnet and I postulate that the use of a board game could change the way students learn, how students and lecturers interact with one another, as well as how lecturers could adapt their approach to teaching and learning” explains Veruschka. The research further indicated that a board game for accountancy education could contribute towards the redesign of students’ classroom experiences.
Veruschka and her team of fellow researchers will now collaborate with another dynamic unit within Telit-SA, namely Serious Games and Artificial Intelligence to incorporate a virtual and augmented reality in the table-top board game.
