EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE AND PROBLEM-BASED TEACHING METHODS ON PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN CORPORATE ACCOUNTING IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST ZONE, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

Teaching methods comprise of principles and techniques used for instruction. Since the introduction of business education as a course of study into Nigeria universities, various teaching methods have been adopted by lecturers. These teaching methodsused have produced some levels of successes, butpresently, due to expansion in terms of knowledge, developmentin business education, specifically those relating to company accounting, the increased use of technology and the complexity in the world of work, these various teaching methods need to be re-evaluated in line with the current realities. Discussing the future of accounting education in business education, Albrecht and Sacks (2010) argued that there are various innovative teaching practices that should be adopted to improve the educational aspect of the accounting education discipline especially in the universities.

A key requirement for lecturers in the universities is to prepare students using methods that make them to take responsibility for their learning. These methods have attracted the attention of many educators and constitute what seem to present a good alternative to the traditional teaching methods. Among these methods are cooperative and problem-based teachingmethods.

Cooperative teachingmethod is an instructional method in which students are grouped into small groups of learners to work together on a mutual task. Cooperative teaching isthe use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other‘s learning. Students are assigned to groups of two to five members by the instructor for the purpose of achieving academic or social projects.Interaction and effective communication between students is critical during cooperative work assignments. Group members equally share the specified task

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and tutor and work with other students in the group to complete the tasks. Each student is responsible and accountable for learning the assigned task while helping others learn the task. Cooperative teaching changes students’ and teachers’ roles in classrooms. The process of teaching and learning is shared by groups of students and is not the sole responsibility of the teacher.

EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE AND PROBLEM-BASED TEACHING METHODS ON PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN CORPORATE ACCOUNTING IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST ZONE, NIGERIA