How reflective professionals design and evaluate financial information management systems courses

Financial Information Management Systems (FIMS) or Accounting Information Systems (AIS) is a cross-discipline subject, often taught by Computing and Accounting disciplines. In recent years, demand for this subject has grown. However, educators have lamented high failure rates among accounting information systems students; professional bodies have reported that graduates lack sufficient meta-cognitive knowledge of information systems to perform their tasks. Quality teaching of FIMS or AIS requires instructors to actively update their knowledge of accounting systems and information technology as well as to reflect on teaching techniques. Reflection and reflective practices are taught within the education discipline, and have grown in popularity among many other disciplines. Yet little has been written about how accounting and IT professionals reflect on their practice and how they apply their reflections to their teaching. This paper explores the research question: how can reflective professionals assist computing and accounting academics in the design and delivery of the FIMS or AIS courses? Through our case study at an Australian university, we provide insights into the application of constructivist theory and reflective practice strategies in teaching FIMS courses. We discuss (1) the rationale for the importance of constructivist theory, cognitive load theory, reflective and action-research in teaching and learning, (2) Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, (3) the applications of Bloom and the reflective concept to design and deliver FIMS courses, (4) reflection on our teaching strategies in applying these concepts and, (5) conclusions on how reflective professionals can assist computing and accounting academics in the design and delivery of FIMS or AIS courses. Our study supports the view that reflection is a strategy; the Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and the PEER Model are tools to assist instructors in designing and delivering courses that enhance participant's learning abilities. We propose the five dimensional reflective cycle to facilitate reflective practice among academic and professional instructors for designing and delivering FIMS and AIS courses.