Accounting students’ learning processes in analytics: A sensemaking perspective

William B. Mesa

Journal of Accounting Education, 2019, vol. 48, issue C, 50-68

Abstract: This paper takes a sensemaking perspective for purposes of better understanding the learning processes of students engaged in data analytics tasks and thus provide an enriched approach to teaching the subject. A sensemaking perspective addresses a gap in the accounting education literature by describing the learning processes associated with conducting data analytics tasks. A case study methodology was used by conducting an exploratory study of students’ sensemaking activities while engaging in an experiential data analytics project. Findings from the study suggest students engaged in data analytics tasks experience states of uncertainty and ambiguity. They also experience behaviors of wrestling to develop findings and insights, experimenting followed by failure, creating solutions, and regularly evaluating their work progress. The variety of these behaviors, which resemble deep-learning processes can pose challenges to teaching data analytics to accounting students.

Keywords: Data analytics; Sensemaking; Experiential learning; Accounting; Analytics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0748575118300034
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joaced:v:48:y:2019:i:c:p:50-68

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaccedu.2019.06.003

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Accounting Education is currently edited by Natalie Tatiana Churyk

More articles in Journal of Accounting Education from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().