Abstract
ABSTRACTStudents’ approaches to learning are central to the process of learning. Previous research has revealed that influencing students’ approaches towards deep learning is a complex process and seems much more difficult than expected, even in student-activating learning environments. There is evidence that learning approaches are impacted not only by the learning environment, but also by how students perceive it. However the nature of the links between the environment itself, the way in which it is perceived by students and students’ learning approaches is poorly understood. This study aimed at investigating the relationships between students’ perception of their educational context and learning approaches in three learning environments differing by their teaching formats (lecture or problem-based-learning PBL) and integration level of the curriculum (traditional or integrated). We tested the hypothesis that a PBL format and an integrated curriculum are associated to deeper approaches to learning and that this is mediated by student perception. The study sample was constituted of 1394 medical students trained respectively in a traditional lecture-based (n = 295), in an integrated lecture-based (n = 612) and in an integrated PBL-based (n = 487) curricula. They completed a survey including the Dundee-Ready-Educational-Environment-Measure (students’ perceptions of the educational environment) and the Revised-Study-Process-Questionnaire (learning approaches). Data were analysed by path analysis. The model showed that the learning environment was related to students’ learning approaches by two paths, one direct and one mediated via students’ perception of their educational context. In the lecture-based curricula students’ used deeper approaches when it was integrated and both paths were cumulative. In the PBL-based curriculum students’ did not use deeper approaches than with lectures, due to opposite effects of both paths. This study suggested that an integrated lecture-based curriculum was as effective as a PBL curriculum in promoting students’ deep learning approaches, reinforcing the importance of integrating the curriculum before choosing the teaching format.
Highlights
Learning approaches are central to students’ learning
This study aimed at investigating in a multiinstitutional natural environment the relationships between students’ perception of their educational context and learning approaches in three learning environments differing by their teaching formats and integration level of the curriculum
Students’ perceptions of their educational context as well as their learning approaches were statistically different in the three educational contexts on all dimensions (Table 2)
Summary
The concept of learning approaches was initially proposed by Marton and Säljö [1] and later extended [2,3,4]. These authors defined that students had different intentions when starting a learning task and used different learning processes and strategies to deal with it. Students were defined as ‘deep learners’ if they tried to understand the meaning of what they were learning, related information to prior knowledge, looked for underlying principles and critically evaluated their knowledge and the conclusions they draw These students were driven by an intrinsic interest. Students’ use of deep approaches were considered desirable since they were impacting students’ learning outcomes [5]: several authors showed that students’ use of deep approaches predicted their academic performance, and that students who passed their exams very well had used deeper approaches than those who had done less well [6,7,8]
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