Traditional Teaching Methods vs. Teaching through a Game Board In principles of accounting (1) course

The aim of this study is comparing the use of educational games for teaching accounting principles with traditional teaching method. The game is a modified version of Reiss Nitkin (2011) and consists of a board, dice, few cards and nuts. The population of the study was undergraduate students who enrolled in the Accounting Principles (1) in the first semester at 94-95 academic years. The sample of the study is 40 students of a university in Tehran that randomly divided into two groups, as experimental and control group. Data gathered with accounting pre and post-test. Face validity of the tests were checked by five accounting lecturers. The reliability was checked by using Kuder Richardson. Data was analyzed using ANCOVA. Results of ANCOVA showed the serious board game, had positive and significant effect on undergraduate students’ academic performance in Accounting Principle (1) course. Control variables in this study were Pre-test, Age, Gender, high school Field of Study, high school Grade Point Average and employment. Students filled a 5- point likert scale survey on the effectiveness of the game. Three game-based learning experts checked validity of the survey. The reliability was measured by using Cronbach alpha. Most of the students believed that attendance in the game sessions was effective for them and enhanced their understanding of basic concepts, analyzing of transactions, adjusting entries and accounting cycle.