Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to document both, the challenges faced by a cohort of postgraduate students undertaking capstone research projects in an Accounting Conversion Master Degree Programme (ACMP), and the strategies used by teachers in response to those challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Design/methodology/approach
Written communications originating from students were analysed to identify areas of difficulties faced by them. These communications were thematically grouped and reflected upon through the lens of constructivist and behaviourist perspectives of learning.
Findings
The study found that students were severely challenged in sense-making with conceptual, application and judgement-related issues and understanding of the administrative requirements of the module. Innovative strategies used by teachers to resolve each of these issues were documented. While some strategies can be replicated in future periods, some are not sustainable as they have ramifications on other aspects of teaching and learning.
Originality/value
There are no known studies in this genre, conducted especially during a pandemic period.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.