The probability evaluation game: an instrument to highlight the skill of reflexive listening

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the development of the Probability Evaluation Game (PEG): an innovative teaching instrument that emphasises the sophistication of listening and highlights listening as a key skill for accounting practitioners. Whilst in a roundtable format, playing PEG involves participants individually evaluating a series of probability terms and then calling out their evaluations amongst fellow players who have done the same. When listening to peers’ responses, any difference in evaluation of the same term confronts players with the knowledge that without skilled, reflexive listening conversations are dangerous playgrounds of miscommunication. The PEG presents a valuable learning opportunity where the potential impact of this issue for accounting and business world can be discussed. This paper details how PEG was developed, its format and how it has been used with students and accounting practitioners. Furthermore emergent, and often intriguing, learning points are discussed and related to accounting and the workplace more generally.

KEYWORDS:

• Accounting
• accounting education
• communication
• employability
• listening
• reflexive listening
• reflexivity

Acknowledgments

Clare would like to thank the following students (now graduates) for their support and enthusiasm throughout the project: Lok Kan (Fortuna) Chan, Joseph Darby, Ben Hair, Loucas Louca, Andreas Minaides, Christos Zantis and Fiona Zhou. To download PEG and meet the project team, please visit: https://peggame.wordpress.com/

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Higher Education Academy, UK [grant number GENTDG162].