Abstract

This paper reviews Bernt Arne Bertheussen’s recent article published in this journal which offers a promising new approach to teaching undergraduate finance courses. Bertheussen (2014) presents a comprehensive approach which argues that a greater emphasis on the use of spreadsheets satisfies the students’ desires to develop increased experience, familiarity and skill in working with information and communication technology. Such a practice, suggests the author, would also nurture a deeper, more enduring understanding of the underlying finance concepts covered. The current review of this innovation offers Bertheussen substantial credit for an important innovation in finance pedagogy. However, this review does draw attention to and analyzes the substantial limitations in the approaches that Bertheussen utilizes to measure the effectiveness of this innovation. Alternative approaches to gauge the effectiveness of this new teaching method which might serve to persuade more instructors of the utility of such a pedagogical advancement are discussed.

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