Active methodologies in the university classroom: Motivation towards learning in accounting disciplines

Abstract

[EN] Currently, the student is the centre of the teaching-learning process, focusing studies on the competences that the recent graduate should possess and enhancing the student's know-how.Thanks to the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), active learning methodologies have been developed, since, through virtual scenarios and mobile digital devices, teacher-directed activities are reduced in favour of independent or collective activities.Although the concept of motivation is broad, most authors who study the learning process differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation allows a strong involvement with the content, from which new ideas can be connected to previous content, data can be related to conclusions and the logic of arguments can be examined. Extrinsic, on the other hand, is related to getting good grades, gaining recognition from others, avoiding failure, etc.The use of active learning as a teaching methodology in accounting subjects is very useful, because its use improves student attention and motivation, in addition to experiencing cognitive gains, specifically in topics related to critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making.The aim of this study is to empirically validate student motivation towards learning through the implementation of active methodologies. For this purpose, a descriptive quantitative research has been carried out in a group of students of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Valencia, during the academic year 2020-2021. In order to objectively quantify the assessments of this group, the Learning Strategies and Motivation Questionnaire (LSMQ) was used, which was completed anonymously in a digital format.