How does experiential learning encourage active learning in auditing education?

Abstract

There has been much criticism that audit education has failed to bring real-world experience into the classroom. This claim challenges audit educators to develop learning activities that provide students with the practical experience necessary to become active learners in auditing. This study investigates how students became active learners through the completion of a mini-audit assessment involving all four stages of the widely acknowledged experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984). The learning context involved class lectures, group work, teaching case studies, group discussions and a mini-audit assessment. Student feedback on this learning experience was collected from reflective journals completed by the students as a part of their coursework. This study confirmed that students, completing a mini-audit assessment were active participants in all four stages of the experiential learning cycle, which encouraged them to become active learners. These findings will be of interest to auditing educators seeking to provide their students with active learning opportunities.