Coping with COVID: pivoting perspectives from teaching a third-year undergraduate financial accounting course

Abstract

Purpose Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused upheaval in university teaching practices. This paper aims to document how the teaching team on a large third-year undergraduate financial accounting course in an Australian university coped with the impact of the virus. Changes in teaching practices when classes shifted from face-to-face to online instruction during the COVID-19 crisis are described and examined using the crisis management process framework of Pearson and Clair (1998). Teaching team members were asked to write brief reflections on their experiences teaching the course during the period from February to July 2020. These were then thematically analysed and included as outcomes within the Pearson and Clair (1998) framework. Design/methodology/approach Description of COVID-19 induced changes to teaching a large undergraduate financial accounting course at an Australian university. Findings Six outcomes emerged: learning new technology; collegiality; the course review; the online delivery experience; redesigning assessments and; time investment; conjectures are offered about the survival of some of the changes made during the year. Research limitations/implications The research only covers one teaching team’s experience but that is the purpose of the special issue. Practical implications Lessons for the future are explored. Social implications The implications of online teaching are explored. Originality/value The paper provides a historical record of how the teaching team on a large undergraduate financial accounting course coped with an unexpected, major event that necessitated rapid and radical changes to teaching methods.