Sabbatical/FIL Project Report Template

Transcription

1 Sabbatical/FIL Project Report Template Name, Faculty Rank, Department: Marsha M. Huber Associate Professor of Accounting Lariccia School of Accounting and Finance Williamson College of Business Administration Title of Sabbatical/FIL Project: Neuroaccounting: Applying Neuroscience to Advance Accounting Education Abstract/Overview of Project: My proposal is to spend a semester (spring, 2014) at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, as a Visiting Fellow to study the latest in neuroscience and the brain, specifically related to how individuals learn and perform accounting. Going to Harvard will entail conducting research with Harvard faculty in the Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) program, auditing (or taking) 2-3 classes, and writing a paper on neuroscience and accounting education. This paper will be submitted for presentation at the 2014 American Accounting Association (AAA) meeting and ultimately submitted for review and publication in Issues in Accounting Education. Sabbatical/FIL Results: I will address the results of my FIL by discussing the goals set forth in my proposal, my professional activities at Harvard, and the external reporting requirements with a personal note. Proposal Goals I am in process of meeting the goals of my FIL proposal. I attended Harvard during the January interterm and spring semester, living in Boston from January 2 to June 2, I was invited to Harvard as a Visiting Scholar by Dr. Kurt Fisher, Director of the MBE program. I sat in his cognitive development class and met with him every two weeks to discuss applications of neuroscience to accounting education. During the semester, I worked on different research ideas until settling on a research project in May.

2 During the semester, I learned the latest in cognitive science from Kurt. He taught me that science supports: (1) there is no such thing as a standard learner therefore we need to teach to the edges to reach more learners, (2) students learn in context, and (3) forgetting is part of learning. As a result, I added another Harvard class to my schedule that taught how to apply cognitive science to teaching to the edges. As I sat in Kurt s class, I had several neuroaccounting research ideas. I finally decided to to use the EEG to investigate the development of accounting expertise in the subconscious mind. Kurt introduced me to a Ph.D. student, Chen Chen, who is partnering with me on the EEG study. In addition, YSU Assistant Professor, Amanda Roby, is also joining us to help collect EEG data for the study at the YSU sleep lab. We have three potential studies planned. The first study investigates the timeline of the development of expertise in accounting students. We plan to look at the subconscious knowledge of experts versus novices. If this study is successful, we have discussed a second study investigating neuro-ethics and a third study looking at the idea of numbersense. Because I took federal medical leave (FMLA) in the fall semester, we were not able to start the study as originally planned. We started the study this spring completing the study design. We are submitting our protocol to IRB next week for approval. We will begin the first phase of the study in the late spring, and it will take about six months to collect the data. 1 My original plan at Harvard was to audit 2 3 classes. I ended up sitting in seven classes and taking one class for a grade (Table 1). Harvard has so many great classes, and I audited as many as I could. TABLE 1 Harvard Coursework Course Professor Time Psychological Resiliency Shelley Carson Jan. term, M-F Cognitive Development, Education, & the Brain Kurt Fisher MW (10 12) The History and Science of Emotions Susan Lanzoni MW (12 2) Stress, Vulnerability, and Mental Illness Brandon Abbs TR (4 5:30) Leading Professional Services Firms Bob Eccles & RF (1 3) Heidi Gardner Impediments to Excelling: Social Threat, Allison Seitchik M (3 5) Ostracism, Anxiety, and Choking Applying Cognitive Science to Learning and Tina Grotzer F (9-11) Teaching Magazine Writing 2 Martha Nichols T (8 10pm) 1 I was awarded a URC grant for $2,000 to fund this study. 2 I took this class for a grade. Since I was at Harvard, I could meet the residency requirement if I took a course for a grade for the Masters in Journalism program. Because of this, I am now a candidate for the journalism degree which I am completing over the next five years to improve my existing skill set.

3 Two Harvard faculty members also gave me access to their classes to study at a later date including Introduction to Educational Neuroscience and Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Challenge of Individual Differences. Professional Activities While at Harvard, I became involved in the professional activities and surrounding culture. Every day held a new adventure for me with my attending events once or twice a week. First, I attended professional development workshops that enhanced my stage presence, voice, and communication skills. Experts worked with faculty on how to stand, introduce ourselves, pitch, think quickly on our feet, and deal with a hostile audience. I had to practice talking about myself with others and describing myself as an expert. Second, innovation events permeated every college at Harvard as well as throughout Boston. During my second week, I attended a design thinking workshop at Harvard Business School introducing me to the innovation culture in Boston. After that, I attended numerous innovation events hosted at Harvard, MIT, Microsoft, and in the Boston area. I also began learning about social enterprises and innovative ventures in education. At these events, I made several important connections including meeting, Julia Kirby, an editor for Harvard Business Review, Nigel Jacob, a leader of a technology think tank for the Mayor of Boston, and David Golingorsky, a consultant at IDEO. In addition, I developed relationships with two Harvard faculty members, Shelley Carson, Psychology, and Srikant Datar, Accounting. I attended following professional activities: TABLE 2 Jan. 7-9 Feb. 3 Feb. 19 & 26 Feb Feb. 26 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 26 March March 27 Professional Meetings Attended Design Thinking and Innovation seminar at Harvard Business School (HBS) with Dr. Srikant Datar Harvard thinks Big at Harvard Graduate School of Business (HGSE) Public Speaking as a Performing Art at Harvard College The Op-Ed Project, Simmons College MIT Enterprise Forum, Innovation Series event What is New in Innovation? MIT Enterprise Forum, Innovation Series event Beyond What s Hot Opportunities Away from the Herd Thinking Fast and Speaking Well with Dale Deletis, Colleges of the Fenway How to Make a Million Dollars, Harvard Extension School Finance and Insurance Analytics, Analytics Week Sandbox Summit Conference, Innovation by Design A Conversation on Civic Technology, Microsoft NERD Center

4 TABLE 2 Professional Meetings Attended March 28 Discussant, Significant Landscapes, Education Research in a Dynamic Era, HGSE March 24 The Good Opening with Holly Weeks, HKS March Social Enterprise Conference, HBS and HKS March 31 User Friendly Speech Frameworks with Holly Weeks, HKS April 1 How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal, HKS April 3 What Faith Communities can teach Psychiatrists about Depression, Harvard Medical School April 3 Giving Emotional Meaning to the Quantified Self, Harvard Innovation Lab. April 6 HBS Hospitality and Travel Conference April 7 Dealing with a Hostile Audience with Holly Weeks, HKS April 9 MIT media lab April 17 Innovation Showcase, NERD Center, Microsoft April 23 The Modern Black Male Athlete: A Panel on Race, Justice, & Sports, Harvard College. April 29 Innovation Imperative: Enhancing the Talent Pipeline, Northeastern University May 1 Presenter, Neuroaccounting Continuing Education Seminar, Ohio Region American Accounting Association May 3-4 MIT Design Thinking Workshop in Education May 7 MIT Enterprise Forum, Innovation Series event The 5 th Annual Auto ID & Sensing Solutions May May Meaning Meeting, hosted by St. Thomas and Yale University in Owatonna, MN May 28 LearnLaunchX Demo Day, Boston s Eductech Business Incubator May 29 IDEO, tour and interview with David G. External Reporting I have presented twice pertaining to what I learned at Harvard. I conducted a ½ day seminar the 2014 Ohio Region American Accounting Association meeting on Neuroaccounting in May, 2014, I presented, A Little More like Harvard: Becoming a Better You and Making an Impact, at the Faculty Development Conference at YSU in Jan. 7, I will be presenting Using Design Thinking to Improve Happiness Levels at Work, at the Spirit of Women in Business Conference at Kent State University on March 4, Finally, I will be presenting the results of my FIL to the WCBA in April, Articles have not yet been submitted for publication since my neuroaccounting project is still in progress. I also have invitations for publications in two additional journals. The Journal of Accountancy has invited me to write an article on design thinking and David Stout, editor of Journal of Accounting Education, has invited me to write an article on faculty development.

5 Personal Note I want to thank my mentor, Kurt Fisher, for opening the door for me to go to Harvard. My life has been enriched by my time there. My conversations with Kurt and other professors gave me a new view of what I can do with my life. In our last conversation, I asked Kurt if I was doing too much. He said, I don t think so. You are going to do a lot of good in this world. I didn t know if I heard him right, and I asked him to repeat it, and I heard him correctly. I went to Harvard to pioneer neuroaccounting research, not expecting an introduction to the world of innovation and the personal development that would follow. As a result, I have seen changes in the way I relate to students, in meetings, and with audiences. I want to thank YSU for the support in granting me this FIL. It has been truly life-changing, and I will pay it forward