"UNTYING THE ACCOUNTANCY KNOT: THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERACTIVE ANIMATIONS AND SIMULATIONS TO SUPPORT UNDERPERFORMING 1ST YEAR ACCOUNTANCY STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH DYSLEXIA"

Students who perform well in any subject are empowered and motivated while those who consistently under perform are not. Many first-year students at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) taking required accountancy modules have no background in the subject area, and as a result they struggle with the content and consistently under perform. Furthermore, a subset of this group is those registered as dyslexic with DIT's Disability Services. This project is an innovative cross-faculty and cross-function collaboration to design, develop and implement interactive animations and simulations to enhance the learning experience of under performing first-year accountancy students, including those with dyslexia, giving them a real opportunity to apply their existing knowledge in the area, and control the pace of their learning while receiving immediate feedback, ultimately leading to a more enjoyable, motivating, and rewarding learning experience. It has been inspired by lecturers anxious to improve and enhance the learning experience of all first-year accountancy students, particularly those experiencing difficulty DUe to dyslexia; defended by the huge body of research available 0on the constructivist approach to learning and teaching, and the educational value of simulations and games for learning; and finally spurred on by the positive feedback from the students who pilot tested a sample first simulation. This poster will give a little background to the project before demonstrating the activities created to date and giving details as to how they will be extended, piloted and disseminated amongst any interested parties.