Student Approaches To Learning Research Articles

The Mediating Role of Learning Analytics

Researchers in learning analytics have created indicators with learners’ trace data as a proxy for studying learner behaviour in a college course. Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) is one of the theories used to explain these behaviours, distinguishing between deep, surface, and organized study. In Latin America, researchers have demonstrated that organized approaches to learning could be more effective in higher education, leading to better performance and course approval. However, further analysis of student behavioural data is needed to understand this relationship and inform interventions targeting study habits and academic performance. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between student approaches to learning and their final grade in six college courses, using behavioural trace data as a mediator variable. Specifically, we conducted a quantitative study in two Latin American institutions where data of different granularity was collected from their Learning Management Systems. We observed that most learning analytics indicators do not mediate the effect between approaches to learning and course performance. However, there was evidence for fine-grained indicators acting as total mediators. Implications are discussed at methodological and pedagogical levels, aiming to inform the advancement of learning analytics in the region and its use for supporting student learning.

A Longitudinal Examination of Student Approaches to Learning and Metacognition

Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) mainly consists of two contradictory approaches (surface and deep learning) to learning that have been extensively studied in educational research. Metacognition, which refers to the process of thinking about one’s thinking, has been shown to play a crucial role in helping students shift from a surface to a deep approach to learning. The current study collected data using two questionnaires (RSPQ-2F& MAI) from 1329 students. Both metacognition and learning approaches showed medium correlations and an effect of the year of study. A crossed-lagged model shows no effect of deep learning on metacognitive knowledge or regulation, although this does increase significantly over time. Overall, the study’s findings suggest a complex yet clear relationship between student learning approaches and their final grade outcomes. Students will lean towards more surface learning as their (perceived) workload increases and assessments become more challenging. These findings suggest that teachers and policy makers should seek ways to increase deep learning methods, possibly using metacognitive skills training.

Which course resources and student approaches to learning are related to higher grades in introductory biology?

Undergraduate students in large enrollment gateway courses like introductory biology are often inundated with different study resources to enhance their success on course exams. A good performance on these exams as measured by course grades is a strong determinant of their downstream success in the biology major and ultimately retention in STEM fields. Previous studies have suggested best-practices like pre-class reading guides or Supplemental Instruction. However, many of these studies do not also corroborate student course outcomes with Student Approaches to Learning (SAL). We investigated the association between specific resources and how they correlated with higher exam grades. We further investigated the degree to which SAL also correlated with student outcomes. We collected data over a span of two years from a large introductory biology course (N= 307) from a southeastern university by using a post-semester resource questionnaire. This questionnaire asked the students to describe the study resources they had utilized during the course of the semester and further assessed SAL via the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). Our results indicate that students who earned a higher overall grade in the course were significantly more likely to self-report higher attendance in optional peer-led Supplemental Instruction meetings and, unexpectedly, were less likely to use pre-class reading guides. These students were more likely to report finding course material interesting, whereas students with lower overall final grades were more likely to report trying to memorize course material. However, we also found that students with higher course grades and high previous college GPAs also reported using rote memorization. Given that the efficacy of resources can vary based on the student, we not only encourage the promotion of resources supported by empirical evidence, but also encourage a deeper understanding of the SAL which shapes resource use.

Student Approach to Learning and Visuospatial Ability as Independent Predictors of Academic Performance in Human Anatomy

Several indices have been investigated for their accuracy as predictive metrics of students’ performance in anatomy courses. Both student approaches to learning (SAL) and visuospatial ability (VA) have been shown to be predictive of learning outcome achievement. However, far less anatomy‐specific evidence exists for SAL than for VA, and their respective predictive strength has yet to be examined.The present study investigated the relationship between SAL and VA as predictive metrics for student academic performance, as measured by laboratory‐based assessments. In addition, the predictive strength of each metric was evaluated to determine which of the two was most effective at quantitatively assessing anatomy learning environments. It was hypothesized that the variation in grades could be partially explained by both SAL and VA, and that the latter would have a stronger relationship to performance.Undergraduate students enrolled in an anatomy course at McGill University were surveyed for this study (total n = 138; 76.8% female; average years of age = 19.46, SD = ±1.04). Students were from kinesiology (58.0%), physical therapy (19.6%), occupational therapy (19.6 %), and other (2.9%) programs. In addition to collecting demographic data, the survey included the Revised 2‐factor Study Process Questionnaire to collect SAL on deep and surface scales, and the Mental Rotations Test to quantify VA.A multiple linear regression model was used to assess deep and surface approach to learning scores and VA as covariates that influence grades, while controlling for age, sex, and program of study [F(6,131) = 7.741, P < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.228]. Data analyses revealed that both VA (β = 0.802, SEM = 0.284; P = 0.006) and deep approach scores (β = 0.776, SEM = 0.246; P = 0.002) had significant positive correlations with grades; however, surface approach scores (β = ‐0.399, SEM = 0.280; P = 0.157) were not significantly correlated at P ≤ 0.05. Based on the coefficients, a one‐point increase on the deep approach scale was slightly more beneficial than the same point‐increase on the Mental Rotations Test; however, the advantage was minimal (+0.026%).These findings assert that SAL and VA can independently predict performance on laboratory‐based assessments in human anatomy – with VA representing a personal presage factor, and SAL representing a process factor. A deeper understanding of these metrics allows for better quantitative assessment of success when implementing curricular changes intended to improve anatomy learning environments. Therefore, both metrics should be used for a more comprehensive approach to evaluating educational interventions in anatomy.

Student Learning Approaches: Beyond Assessment Type to Feedback and Student Choice

Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) have been the focus of much research, typically linking different approaches, e.g., surface and deep, to different assessment types. However, much of the previous research has not considered the different conditions under which different types of assessment occur and the different types of feedback they typically attract. In the current study, UK university students were allocated to one of two assessment conditions (Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) or short essay). Half of the participants were then given the choice of receiving a grade or written feedback, whilst the other half were randomly allocated to one of the two feedback types. Participants were required to learn specific material and complete an assessment. Study time, assessment time, grade and notetaking approaches were analysed along with SAL, measured using the Study Process Questionnaire. Results indicated that participants performed better when they completed MCQs and expected to receive written feedback. There were no significant differences in feedback preferences between the two assessment types. There was no relationship between assessment, feedback type and SAL, however, interaction effects suggest that where students have a choice, those who choose written feedback exhibit deeper learning. This study is the first to demonstrate, albeit in an artificial learning activity, that the type of feedback students expect to receive may impact on their outcomes and the SAL in advance of receiving the feedback. Furthermore, the relationship between feedback and SAL may be moderated by student choice. Whilst further research is needed, this study indicates that the relationship between assessment, feedback and choice is complex.

Validation of competing structural models of inter-relationships in the teaching–learning ecosystem for two Malaysian STEM courses

This study reported the results of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses on 13 competing structural models on the inter-relationships among academic achievement and student- and course-related attributes. The samples were Malaysian pre-university students enrolled in two STEM courses (biology, n = 326; mathematics, n = 339; biology only, n = 92; mathematics only, n = 105; biology and mathematics, n = 234). For both courses, interdisciplinary cross-validation was observed for four models which hypothesized that current academic achievement could be predicted (1) directly by prior academic achievement (high school grades) and student approaches to learning (SAL), and (2) directly and/or indirectly by personality, intrinsic motivation and course experience (CE). For at least one course, all constructs (except intrinsic motivation, clear goals and standards, openness and conscientiousness) significantly and directly predicted current academic achievement. The strongest predictor of current academic achievement was prior (high school) academic achievement, with the largest effect sizes, followed by SAL. Current academic achievement was significantly and positively predicted by all CE constructs (except clear goals and standards) for only mathematics, with moderate and large effect sizes. Only one personality construct (neuroticism) significantly and moderately predicted current academic achievement (biology). SAL partially mediated relationships between current academic achievement with workload appropriateness, assessment for understanding and neuroticism for at least one course. Generally, the strongest predictors of SAL were assessment for understanding, workload appropriateness and intrinsic motivation. Multigroup invariance analysis revealed differences in five hypothesized paths, attributable almost entirely to significant paths found in mathematics but not biology (prior [high school] to current academic achievement, conscientiousness to surface approach to learning, intrinsic motivation to deep and surface approaches to learning). Therefore, this study is the first to report course-nuanced differences in the presence of reduced interpersonal differences. The implications of this study is that, besides the importance of prior high academic achievement which might not be within educators’ control, factors in the teaching–learning ecosystem within educators’ control which influence current academic achievement are strongly mediated by SAL, which is itself influenced most by assessment, workload and intrinsic motivation.

The relation between cognitive and metacognitive processing: Building bridges between the SRL, MDL, and SAL domains.

The main aim of this commentary was to connect the insights from the contributions of the special issue on the intersection between depth and the regulation of strategy use. The seven contributions in this special issue stem from three perspectives: self-regulated learning (SRL), model of domain learning (MDL), or the student approaches to learning (SAL). Prior to combining insights from different studies, the definition and operationalization of cognitive and metacognitive processing in the seven contributions is described. Subsequently, the grain size and statistical methods used in these contributions are discussed. This information allows us to - albeit cautiously - combine the results from the different studies regarding the relation between cognitive and metacognitive processing. Deep processing and self-regulation/monitoring showed a strong correlation, regardless of the theoretical framework or data collection method chosen. The strength of the correlation between surface processing and metacognitive processing differed, however, between the studies. Pathways for future research on students' cognitive and metacognitive processing are suggested, at the methodological level as well as regarding the conceptualization of unregulated learning and surface processing.

Multiple regression analysis of epistemological beliefs, learning approaches, and self-regulated learning

Introducción. Investigaciones recientes de la psicología educativa han explorado los Enfoques al Aprendizaje de los Estudiantes (en ingles, SAL) y las creencias epistemológicas, en el marco teórico del aprendizaje auto-regulado. Estas investigaciones pretenden explorar la capacidad predictora de los enfoques al aprendizaje y las creencias epistemológicas sobre los procesos autorreguladores del alumno.Método. 603 (266 mujeres, 337 varones) alumnos del primer curso de la Universidad del Pacífico Sur participaron en esta investigación. El Revised Study Process Questionnaire, el Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire, y varios cuestionarios sobre estrategias autorreguladoras se emplearon para medir las creencias de los alumnos sobre sus propios conocimientos, sus enfoques al aprendizaje, y sus procesos autorreguladores.Resultados. El análisis de factores manifestó unos patrones claros de creencias de los alumnos en cuanto a la naturaleza del conocimiento y del aprendizaje. Varias dimensiones de las creencias epistemológicas tenían que ver con las creencias de auto-eficacia de los alumnos, una orientación hacia la meta de dominio, y el uso de estrategias autorreguladoras. Motivos profundos para el aprendizaje estaban relacionados positivamente con los procesos motivacionales y estratégicos, mientras una estrategia profunda se relacionaba con las creencias de auto-eficacia del alumno.Conclusión. Los hallazgos de este estudio son importantes al apoyar la propuesta y la evidencia empírica para incluir tanto los enfoques al aprendizaje como las creencias epistemológicas de los alumnos dentro del marco de la autorregulación.

Toward an Integrated Model of Student Learning in the College Classroom

In the last special issue devoted to this topic, Pintrich (Educ Psychol Rev 16:385–407, 2004) provided an in-depth critique of his conceptual framework on self-regulated learning (SRL), comparing and contrasting it to Biggs’ student approaches to learning (SAL) perspective. Since then, there have been a number of advances in the study of learning in higher education. To that end, the purpose of this article is to provide a critical analysis of three distinct yet overlapping streams of research in higher education, namely SRL, patterns of learning (including SAL), and student engagement. The theoretical bases of each of these approaches are outlined followed by a review of recent trends. Finally, an integrative model of student learning is proposed, which draws on the strengths of each of these traditions.

¿Cómo aprenden los alumnos en su primer año de universidad al inicio y al final del curso?

Las investigaciones sobre enfoques de aprendizaje desde el paradigma SAL (<em>Students Approaches to Learning</em>) ofrecen la posibilidad de conocer cómo los alumnos llevan a cabo su aprendizaje. Los objetivos propuestos en este estudio son dos: 1) conocer los enfoques de aprendizaje de los alumnos universitarios cuando llegan a primer curso y al finalizar éste; 2) identificar aspectos relacionados con dichos enfoques que contribuyan a entender y mejorar los procesos de enseñanza. El estudio central consiste en un análisis cuantitativo longitudinal de un año, al principio y al final del cual se miden los enfoques de aprendizaje de los sujetos. Además, al final del curso también se realiza un análisis cualitativo basado en preguntas abiertas relacionadas con los enfoques de aprendizaje y el contexto educativo. El instrumento utilizado es el R-SPQ-2F (Biggs, Kember y Leung, 2001) validado en su adaptación al euskera (García, 2011) y la muestra del estudio longitudinal comprende 188 estudiantes de la Facultad de Humanidades y Educación de Mondragon Unibertsitatea. Los resultados muestran que si bien al comienzo del curso no prevalece un enfoque de aprendizaje determinado, durante el primer año los estudiantes evolucionan positivamente, aumentando su enfoque profundo y reduciendo su enfoque superficial hacia el aprendizaje. El presente estudio forma parte de una investigación longitudinal de mayor magnitud sobre los mismos alumnos, llevada a cabo al finalizar éstos el cuarto curso del título de grado. Dicha investigación se halla actualmente en proceso de análisis de datos y próximamente conoceremos los resultados.

Enhancement of Quality Learning: Capitalizing on the Student Approaches to Learning Framework

Quality learning in higher education is an impetus and major objective for educators and researchers. The student approaches to learning (SAL) framework, arising from the seminal work of Marton and Saljo (1976), has been researched extensively and used to predict and explain students’ positive (e.g., critical reflection) and maladaptive behaviors (e.g., work avoidance). It is prudent for educators to cultivate and encourage students to actively construct and make sense of their own learning, rather than to simply memorize and reproduce contents for assessment purposes. In this review, we revisit and examine the SAL theorization within the contexts of higher education. We scope the importance of quality learning and propose three major elements in our discussion, which may foster deep, meaningful learning inclination: assessment strategies, the classroom milieu, and alignment of learning objectives. We conclude this theoretical article with an offering of issues for continuing research development. This focus, in our view, is significant as we believe the SAL framework is not robust in its explanation of students’ learning behaviors in different sociocultural settings.

Future time orientation and learning conceptions: effects on metacognitive strategies, self-efficacy beliefs, study effort and academic achievement

During the past decade, research on the constructive learning process has been conducted mainly from two perspectives: student approaches to learning (SAL) and self-regulated learning (SRL). The SAL perspective has highlighted the role of learning conceptions with respect to other topics involved in constructive learning processes, whereas recently the SAL perspective has emphasised the effects of the future time perspective (FTP) and self-efficacy beliefs about these topics. Based on these two lines of research (SRL and SAL), using path analysis, we explored the direct and indirect effects of FTP and learning conceptions on self-efficacy, metacognitive strategies, effort and academic performance. Likewise, we identified some patterns that combine specific factors related to these variables. Participants in the present study were 100 (84% females, 16% males) Spanish fourth year university students enrolled in the Social Sciences Degree Programme. The ages of the students ranged from 18 to 49 (M = 22.02; SD = 3.68) and their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Likert-scale inventories were used to obtain data from students: FTP; learning conceptions; metacognitive strategies scale; and self-efficacy beliefs for SAL. On the one hand, the path analysis showed interesting indirect and direct relationships between topics with regard to key constructs of each of these research perspectives (SRL/SAL). However, these results do not coincide with the body of knowledge about FTP. On the other hand, results obtained using cluster and discriminant analysis revealed three specific patterns: a meaning orientation to learning and the future, a reproductive orientation to learning and the present, and an unusual pattern explained by the influence of historical-cultural characteristics on learning practices in educational contexts. We consider that this last pattern presents relevant implications for educational practice.

The Chinese learner in the New Zealand university environment

There are increasing numbers of Chinese students in New Zealand tertiary institutions. These students are challenged to adjust to new learning environments but, at the same time, staff are challenged to adjust to their teaching to include these students. The Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) theory provides a means to consider literature that is relevant in understanding the motives and strategies that these students bring to New Zealand and the process of change in a new learning environment. This knowledge may allow tertiary educators to consider their role in facilitating desirable approaches to learning in diverse student groups.

Interrelations between self‐efficacy and learning approaches: a developmental approach

Two major theoretical frameworks in educational psychology, namely student approaches to learning (SAL) and self‐efficacy have been used extensively to explain and predict students’ learning and academic achievement. There is a substantial body of research studies, for example, that documents the positive interrelations between individuals’ self‐efficacy beliefs and their approaches to learning. In particular, evidence ascertained from structural equation analyses suggests both a positive sense of academic self‐efficacy and deep learning approach combined to influence students’ academic achievement. More recently, albeit limited, research has focused on the study of developmental changes of these two constructs over time. As a contribution to this approach, we used latent growth curve modelling (LGM) to explore the initial states and trajectories of self‐efficacy and the two major learning approaches – surface and deep – over a two‐year period. Furthermore, we regressed both gender and academic experience as possible external correlates that could account for the change in the two theoretical frameworks. Two hundred and fifty‐two (116 females, 136 males) university students were administered Likert‐scale inventories on three occasions. SPSS AMOS showed a few major findings – notably, for example, the negative impact of academic experience on the change in self‐efficacy and the positive impact of academic experience on the initial states of self‐efficacy and surface learning approach.

Students' Approaches to Assessment in Accounting Education: The Unique Student Perspective

In accounting education, most Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) research has investigated the relationship between students' performance and their approaches to learning. Relatively limited research has been conducted on how assessment practices influence the quality of students' learning from the students' perspective. This paper seeks to address this gap in the accounting education literature. The research is centred on a large Australian undergraduate accounting degree delivered in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Focus group interviews were conducted with students across the three locations. The research results reveal that: (1) it is the English competency of students that has the most important impact on students' completion of set assessment tasks and thus their approach to learning; (2) it is the way in which assessment is designed and written and the way lecturers convey their expectations about how assessment will be undertaken that is crucial to how students from various countries perform in that assessment; and (3) students' approaches to assessment and their preferred assessment tasks are not homogeneously based on cultural background.

STUDENT APPROACHES TO LEARNING: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

In this study, the partial least square approach (PLS) is applied to investigate students’ approaches to learning in the framework of online or hybrid courses. A total of 140 valid responses from students who have finished or are currently enrolled in at least one MIS online or hybrid course were analyzed using a structural equation model and the results are presented herein.

Reading Strategies and Approaches to Learning of Bilingual Primary School Pupils

The research reported here investigated primary school pupils' use of reading strategies. The study differed from most of the previous studies on reading strategies in that (1) the participants were young bilinguals in multicultural Singapore; (2) the data were examined within the Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) framework developed by John Biggs (1993). Analyses of think-aloud data revealed that successful pupils made more frequent use of deep-level processing strategies (e.g. inferencing, prediction, reconstruction, questioning of the text) while less successful pupils more often deployed surface-level processing strategies (e.g. paraphrasing, re-reading, questioning the meaning of a word or phrase). The findings suggest that children's reading efficacy is affected by their use of learning strategies and that teachers should integrate the training of deep level reading strategies into their reading instruction. They should direct their pupils' attention towards the intentional content of the reading material (what is signified) rather than towards learning the text itself (the sign) in their actual teaching practice.

The revised learning process questionnaire: A validation of a Western model of students' study approaches to the South Pacific context using confirmatory factor analysis

Research evidence seems to suggest that the social and cultural environments influence students' approaches to their study. This social and cultural contention has led to the rethinking and reconceptualization of theories (e.g. Biggs, 1987; Marton & Säljö, 1976) pertaining to student approaches to learning (SAL) in academic settings. The present research discusses two separate empirical studies on student learning approaches situated in the South Pacific region with two respective cohorts of secondary students. Study I involved the examination of secondary Pacific Islands students in their learning approaches using a modified version of Biggs' (1987) original Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ). Study II involved the administration of a revised version of the LPQ (R-LPQ-2F; Kember, Biggs, & Leung, 2004) to another cohort of secondary Pacific Islands students. The first sample included 2,150 (1,285 girls, 865 boys) students and the second sample included 2,295 (1,363 girls, 932 boys) students. The factor structures of approaches to learning were examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the LISREL program. Different a priori models were hypothesized and tested. Results of Study I indicated a two-factor structure solution to Biggs' LPQ, supporting Richardson's (1994) theoretical model of learning and emphasized the factors of Reproducing and Meaning. Study II indicated a hierarchical organization of two main study approaches - deep and surface - that are structured as higher-order factors and a defined by four first-order factors. The results from the two studies accentuate the important argument for the rethinking and reconceptualization of learning approaches, as well as for the redevelopment and modification of learning inventories such as the LPQ. They also suggest the importance of situating the theoretical paradigm of learning approaches in a social and cultural environment.

A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in College Students

A conceptual framework for assessing student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom is presented. The framework is based on a self-regulatory (SRL) perspective on student motivation and learning in contrast to a student approaches to learning (SAL) perspective. The differences between SRL and SAL approaches are discussed, as are the implications of the SRL conceptual framework for developing instruments to assess college student motivation and learning. The conceptual framework may be useful in guiding future research on college student motivation and learning.

First Year Engineering Students' Approaches to Study

Student approaches to learning (SAL) and the levels of understanding they achieve are critically linked and closely related to motivation. This paper reports the results of a study involving first year higher education engineering students using the ASI-32 questionnaire to investigate approaches to study and end of year achievement.