Manufacturing Cost Flow Diagrams as an Alternative Method of External Problem Representation - A Diagrammatic Approach to Teaching Cost Accounting and Evidence of Its Effectiveness

Abstract

This paper introduces a new visually-based diagrammatic pedagogical approach that utilizes manufacturing cost flow diagrams as an alternative method of external problem representation. Statistical and graphical analysis of test scores indicate a significant improvement in the performance of undergraduate accounting students when this diagrammatic pedagogical approach is utilized. These results are consistent with previous findings in the cognitive science literature that the use of diagrams may allow students to process relationships and complex data in chunks, thereby processing more effectively