Effects of metacognitive skill training upon academic performance in accounting

Accounting practitioners have strongly criticized accounting educators for teaching students facts but not developing critical thinking skills. Metacognitive skills are a component of critical thinking skills. The purpose of this study was to test the effect upon academic performance of computer-based instruction modified to increase metacognitive skills in accounting. The sample contained 58 students in four intact financial accounting classes at a large southwestern community college. Two instructors each taught two of the four classes. An existing financial accounting software program was modified to include suitable learning strategies and prompts to increase learners' metacognitive skills. The Multiple Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to measure changes in metacognitive skills. The treatment group received the modified software and the control group received the original software. Three research questions were investigated: (1) Would students who use software modified to include metacognitive skill training significantly increase metacognitive skill levels compared to students who do not use modified software; (2) Would students who use software modified to increase metacognitive skill levels achieve significantly higher performance on an accounting test than students who do not use modified software; and (3) Will the increase in metacognitive skills be positively correlated with the increase in academic performance among students using software modified to include metacognitive skill training? The statistical method used was analysis of covariance. Although none of the research questions were answered affirmatively. some significant differences were found. Control group scores were significantly higher for the metacognitive skill of effort regulation and the motivation scale of control of learning beliefs. Treatment group scores were significantly higher for seeking help from peers. Recommendations for future research are provided.