Mobile App for Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis-An Interdisciplinary Student Project for promoting Active Learning in Managerial Accounting and IT

Active learning methodology is a pro-active teaching/learning strategy which involves dynamic participation by students and teachers through an experimental process. Active learning occupies students by enabling them to do things at the same time thinking about the things that they are doing; thus, resulting in learning-by-doing. Such leaning-by-doing inculcates a deeper level of subject or domain understanding in students and the students are likely to retain such knowledge for a longer period. Adopting the strategy of active learning, faculty members from two departments at Higher Colleges of Technology conceptualized an interdisciplinary student project - development of mobile application for Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis involving their students from respective departments of Business Studies (Managerial Accounting specialization) and Information Technology (Business Solutions specialization). This project was a collaborative learning process involving first year Undergraduate students enrolled in Managerial Accounting course, a core course in Business and. final year CIS students enrolled in Mobile Application course. In this project the business students played the role of functional experts, thus specifying the requirements of the CVP analysis application. The IT students assumed the role of technical experts, responsiblefor the development of the fully functional and tested application for the CVP analysis. The faculty involvement was on peripheral level at all phases of the project. The outcome of this collaborative effort was positive on multiple fronts - successful development of a fully functional software application, successful attainment of cognitive skills and knowledge transfer skills for students from both departments and finally successful creation of knowledge through process of innovation. Students from both disciplines confirmed higher confidence levels on successful completion of the interdisciplinary project.