Constructivist learning environments and the (im)possibility to change students’ perceptions of assessment demands and approaches to learning

Recent research shows that, as students interpret the demands of the assessment tasks, they vary their approaches to learning in order to cope with the assessment tasks. Three research questions are central in the present paper: (1) Do students who participate in a constructivist learning environment change their perception of assessment demands towards more deep level demands? (2) Do students in a constructivist learning environment change their approaches to learning towards a more deep approach to learning? (3) Is there a relation between change in approaches to learning and change in the perceptions of the assessment demands? Students following the course ‘Education and psychology’ of the teacher training program at the University of Antwerp completed questionnaires during the first, the second and the final lesson of the course. One questionnaire measured their approaches to learning and the other their general perceptions of the assessment demands. The course ‘Education and psychology’ can be labelled as a ‘constructivist learning environment’ with congruent assessment methods. Results of the paired sampled t-tests indicated that students indeed do change their perceptions of assessment demands towards more deep level demands. However, the results also indicated that students did not change their approach to learning towards a more deep approach. On the contrary, students seem to develop more surface approaches to learning during the course. Correlation analyses indicated that only changes of perceptions of assessment demands towards less surface levels are significantly related to changes in approaches to learning, towards a more surface approach. Results of the stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that students’ approach to learning at the beginning of the course seems to have a higher impact on the extent to which they change their approach to learning than how students perceive the demands of the assessment within the course. These results point us to the complexity of the relationship between the learning environment, the students’ perceptions of assessment demands, and students’ approaches to learning.     

Architecture students’ perceptions of their learning environment and their academic performance

Scholars have agreed that the way in which students perceive their learning environments influences their academic performance. Empirical studies that focus on architecture students, however, have been very scarce. This is the gap that an attempt is filled in this study. A questionnaire survey of 273 students in a school of architecture in Nigeria provided data for this pilot study. The perceptions of the students were best defined by the involvement of the students in their studies, the perceived support, and conduciveness of the learning environment. The students’ perceptions of their learning environment varied with their years of study, age and gender. Their perceptions of inflexibility of schedule, positive assessment, and fairness influenced the overall grades of students. The results suggests which aspects of learning environment that can be manipulated by architectural educators to improve the performance of their students. The study of the learning environment of architecture students still appears to be relatively unexplored. The value of this study therefore lies in its exploration of the perceptions of the learning environment from the point of view of students.     

The interplay between teachers’ approaches to teaching,students’ approaches to learning and learning outcomes: a qualitative multi-case study

The interaction between approaches to teaching and students’ learning has been the focus of research for more than 20 years. Previous studies concerning approaches to teaching in higher education have identified two broad categories: content- and learning-focused approaches. Some studies indicate that teachers do not always adopt a consonant teaching- or learning-focused approach, but might employ elements of both, which results in a dissonant approach. Research on how dissonant approaches to teaching and students’ quality of learning are related is scant. This study explored relationships between how teachers’ approaches to teaching and undergraduate students’ self-reported approaches to learning and learning outcomes. The data for this study consisted of 33 semi-structured interviews with students from three courses. Interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The results demonstrated that, when the teacher used a consonant learning-focused approach to teaching, students’ learning outcomes and approaches to learning were of a slightly higher quality than when the teacher employed a dissonant approach to teaching. However, a dissonant approach to teaching did not always result in a lower quality of approaches to learning and learning outcomes.     

The relationship between students’ preferred approaches to learning and behaviors during learning: An examination of the process stage of the 3P model

Student approaches to learning have been a popular area of research in educational psychology. One useful framework for understanding student approaches to learning is through Biggs’ presage–process–product model. The purpose of this study is to examine the process stage of the 3P model. Undergraduate students (N = 67) thought aloud while reading two science texts, then wrote recalls and answered comprehension questions. As hypothesized, a deep approach to learning was positively associated with making connections, examining the logic in the text, and accurate answers to the comprehension questions. Mediation analyses indicated that behavior during the process of learning explained the positive association between a deep approach to learning and accurate answers to the comprehension questions. No hypotheses regarding a surface approach to learning were supported. The findings from this study support the characterization that students with a deep approach to learning engage meaningfully with their course material. These findings are discussed in the context of the 3P model.     

Individual differences in working memory capacity and attention,and their relationship with students’ approaches to learning

Past research has shown that working memory capacity, attention and students’ approaches to learning are all important predictors for educational achievement. In this study the interrelations between these three variables are investigated. Participants were 128 university students. Results show a negative relationship between attention and deep approaches to learning: students with a lower level of attention seem to use more deep approaches to learning than students with higher levels of attention. It was also found that students with a high working memory capacity score lower on both the surface and deep approaches to learning than students with a low working memory capacity. A possible explanation is that these high capacity students might not need a consistent profound strategy to be successful because they are very good at acquiring, processing and integrating all types of new information before moving it to storage.     

The role of students’ interests in self-regulated learning: The relationship between students’ interests, learning strategies and causal attributions

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between students’ interests, their use of certain specific learning strategies and causal attributions which they made for their academic achievement. In this manner, we attempted to explore the relationships between some important variables from three different, but connected phases of self-regulated learning: the forethought phase (interests), the performance control phase (learning strategies) and the self-reflective phase (causal attributions). Results confirmed the presumption that learning strategies could be a potential mediator in the relationship between students’ interests and their academic achievement. Also, results indicate that the causal dimension of controllability could have a partial mediating role between students’ academic achievement and their interests. Generally, our findings indicate a dynamic and cyclical nature of learning process — interest is an integral part of this process and it could be conceptualized as both a consequence and an antecedent of cognitive aspects of learning.     

Relationships between Hong Kong students’ perceptions of the learning environment and their learning patterns in post-secondary education

The present study aims to analyse the complex relationships between the relevant constructs of students’ demographic background, perceptions, learning patterns and (proxy measures of) learning outcomes in order to delineate the possible direct, indirect, or spurious effects among them. The analytical methodology is substantively framed against the studies of Richardson (British Journal of Educational Psychology 76:867–893, 2006, Higher Education 54:385–416, 2007) that utilised a regression-based methodology to infer the possible causal relationships among the relevant learning constructs. A composite research instrument, written in Chinese and derived from the Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) and the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), was used to collect students’ feedback on their perceptions of the learning environment and their learning patterns. Valid responses were obtained from 1,572 students studying at six institutions in the post-secondary education sector in Hong Kong, a new response-context for both the CEQ and the ILS. In adapting the research instruments to a new Chinese response-context, the findings are generally consistent with those reported in other published works (e.g. no relationship between students’ demographic background and their satisfaction with the programme, and a significant relationship between students’ exhibition of undirected learning patterns and low expected performance), but there are also some noteworthy discrepancies. The findings therefore buttress the confidence with which an ILS-based General Theoretical Model of student learning, adapted from Richardson (British Journal of Educational Psychology 76:867–893, 2006, Higher Education 54:385–416, 2007), may be used to conceptualise and interpret the dynamics of variation across different cultural response-contexts. While the CEQ provides some valuable complementary insights, it is an instrument that requires further development in the response-context of the present study.     

Effects of perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to learning on Chinese undergraduates’ learning

This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of the learning environment, high school performance, approaches to learning, and learning outcomes (generic skills development and course satisfaction). A sample of 74,687 undergraduates from 39 full-time regular universities in China responded to a questionnaire comprising four self-constructed scales. The results supported the reliability and validity of the instruments. A structural equation model showed that approaches to learning mediated the relationship between perceptions of the learning environment and learning outcomes. Specifically, deep approach was found to positively predict learning outcomes. Good teaching positively predicted deep and surface approaches, as well as learning outcomes. Student-faculty and peer interactions were strong predictors of learning approaches and learning outcomes. High school performance had weak effects on learning approaches and learning outcomes. These findings highlight the need of developing new instruments for assessing Chinese undergraduate students’ learning and have implications for improving undergraduate teaching in China.     

The relationship between engagement in the scholarship of teaching and learning and students’ course experiences

While there has been a good deal of discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning, and models have been developed to understand its scope, the effects on students’ learning of academics engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning are unclear. In the context of initiatives to develop the scholarship of teaching and learning in a large research‐intensive university in Australia, this paper discusses the relationship between faculty performance on a set of scholarly accomplishments in relation to teaching and learning from 2002 to 2004, and changes in students’ course experiences from 2001 to 2005. The paper provides evidence of the relationship between the scholarship of teaching and learning and students’ course experiences and demonstrates the effectiveness of institutional strategies to encourage the scholarship of teaching and learning.     

High school students’ approaches to learning physics with relationship to epistemic views on physics and conceptions of learning physics

Background and purpose : Knowing how students learn physics is a central goal of physics education. The major purpose of this study is to examine the strength of the predictive power of students’ epistemic views and conceptions of learning in terms of their approaches to learning in physics. Sample, design and method : A total of 279 Taiwanese high school students ranging from 15 to 18?years old participated in this study. Three questionnaires for assessing high school students’ epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics and approaches to learning physics were developed. Step-wise regression was performed to examine the predictive power of epistemic views on physics and conceptions of learning physics in terms of their approaches to learning physics. Results and conclusion: The results indicated that, in general, compared to epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics are more powerful in predicting students’ approaches to learning physics in light of the regression models. That is, students’ beliefs about learning, compared with their beliefs about knowledge, may be more associated with their learning approaches. Moreover, this study revealed that the higher-level conceptions of learning physics such as ‘Seeing in a new way’ were more likely to be positively correlated with the deep approaches to learning physics, whereas the lower-level conceptions such as ‘Testing’ were more likely to positively explain the surface approaches, as well as to negatively predict the deep approaches to learning physics.     

The relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of school culture

This research examined the relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of their school’s culture. Teachers’ ability to change their school’s culture might be limited by their inability to interpret and respond appropriately to student behaviour. As teachers’ empathic abilities increase, it seems likely that they would be better able to understand and respond appropriately to their students. Teachers’ perspective‐taking was positively associated with their positive perceptions of student–peer relations, school norms and educational opportunities. Teachers’ personal distress was negatively related to student–peer relations. Empathy was unrelated to student–teacher relations. It is postulated that it takes more than just empathy to be able to negotiate the complex relationship between student and teacher. With teacher training programmes currently focusing on teacher dispositions, such programmes need to focus more on training future teachers to recognise and exercise their cognitive and emotional empathic capacities.     

The effect of technology-assisted and project-based learning approaches on students’ attitudes towards mathematics and their academic achievement

Education and Information Technologies - The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of Technology-Assisted Learning (TAL) and Project-Based Learning (PjBL) approaches upon...     

The structure of pre-adolescents’ perceptions of their teacher’s interpersonal behaviours and their relation to pre-adolescents’ learning outcomes

Previous studies have offered indications that the way pre-adolescents (fifth and sixth graders) structure their perceptions of their teacher’s interaction in terms of Agency and Communion differs from adolescents. The purpose of this study was to delineate previous findings by thoroughly examining the structure of pre-adolescents’ perceptions of their teacher’s interpersonal behaviour, and by investigating the extent to which this structure relates to pre-adolescents’ learning outcomes. A mixed methods research design was implemented including a qualitative instrument adaptation procedure followed by a quantitative large-scale administration. Participants for the latter were a random sample of 504 pre-adolescents (from 10 to 13 years old) and 36 teachers. Results showed that participants placed significantly more emphasis on their teachers’ Communion behavioural dimension and this emphasis was illustrated on the association of perceived teacher interaction and students’ learning outcomes. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.     

Students’ conceptions of and approaches to knowledge building and its relationship to learning outcomes

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among students’ conceptions of knowledge building, approaches to knowledge building, knowledge-building behaviors and learning outcomes. A total of 48 primary school students (from grades 3 and 4) who had experienced knowledge-building activities participated in the present study. After analyzing the students’ interview responses using the phenomenographic method, qualitatively different and hierarchically related conceptions and approaches were revealed. The results indicated that the students with fragmented conceptions tended to use surface approaches to knowledge building while those with cohesive conceptions tended to adopt deep approaches. The findings also indicate that the students with cohesive conceptions or deep approaches were more likely to have better learning outcomes than those with fragmented conceptions or surface approaches.     

Students’ assessment preferences, perceptions of assessment and their relationships to study results

The purposes of this study are to gain more insight into students’ actual preferences and perceptions of assessment, into the effects of these on their performances when different assessment formats are used, and into the different cognitive process levels assessed. Data were obtained from two sources. The first was the scores on the assessment of learning outcomes, consisting of open ended and multiple choice questions measuring the students’ abilities to recall information, to understand concepts and principles, and to apply knowledge in new situations. The second was the adapted Assessment Preferences Inventory (API) which measured students’ preferences as a pre-test and perceptions as a post-test. Results show that, when participating in a New Learning Environment (NLE), students prefer traditional written assessment and questions which are as closed as possible, assessing a mix of cognitive processes. Some relationships, but not all the expected ones, were found between students’ preferences and their assessment scores. No relationships were found between students’ perceptions of assessment and their assessment scores. Additionally, only forty percent of the students had perceptions of the levels of the cognitive processes assessed that matched those measured by the assessments. Several explanations are discussed.     

The relationship between writers’ perceptions and their performance on a field-specific writing test

Writing performance is greatly affected by task-related elements such as topic familiarity, difficulty, task-type, and subject matter of the prompt, which are perceived differently by each individual writer. Yet, little has been reported on the direct relationship between writers’ perceptions of a prompt and their actual performance on the prompt. The present study explored possible associations between students’ perceptions of a writing prompt and their actual writing performance on a field-specific (FS) English for academic purposes (EAP) writing test, compared to those on a general-topic test. Each of the 124 students produced two writing samples, one on an assigned regular topic and the other on one chosen from the four FS prompts. The writers also responded to a survey of their perceptions of the FS prompts and the FS test in general. The subjects’ performances on the two tests were compared across the four prompt subgroups, and analyzed against their survey responses. It was found that students’ performances were not statistically different on the two different tests or across the prompts chosen on the FS EAP writing test. Further analysis revealed that student subgroups varied in their perceptions of the degree of prompt familiarity. Based on the results, future research implications are proposed for EAP testing and L2 writing research.     

Assessors’ approaches to portfolio assessment in Assessment of Prior Learning procedures

In an effort to gain better understanding of the assessment of prior informal and non‐formal learning, this article explores assessors’ approaches to portfolio assessment. Through this portfolio assessment, candidates had requested exemptions from specific courses within an educational programme or admission to the programme based on their prior learning. The assessors judged the portfolios according to set rating criteria, and subsequently discussed their approaches. Their decision‐making processes, perception of portfolio use in the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL), deciding factors in portfolio assessment and use of the rating criteria were key elements in this discussion. The results show that they do use the rating criteria as an indicator in decision‐making, but have mixed perceptions regarding the fairness of APL portfolio assessment. They perceive the portfolio evidence in combination with sound argumentation as the deciding elements in portfolio assessment.     

The relationship between second language college students’ perceptions of online feedback on draft-writing and academic procrastination

Reading and Writing - Though essay writing is an essential part of postsecondary education, it can be challenging for second language learners, who are required to organize ideas coherently in a...     

Relationships between students’ conceptions of constructivist learning and their regulation and processing strategies

The present study investigated relationships between students’ conceptions of constructivist learning on the one hand, and their regulation and processing strategies on the other hand. Students in a constructivist, problem-based learning curriculum were questioned about their conceptions of knowledge construction and self-regulated learning, as well as their beliefs regarding their own (in)ability to learn and motivation to learn. Two hypothesized models were tested within 98 psychology students, using a structural equation modelling approach: The first model implemented regulation and processing variables of the Inventory of Learning Styles [ILS, Vermunt (Learning styles and regulation of learning in higher education – towards process-oriented instruction in autonomous thinking, 1992)], the second model of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire [MSLQ, Pintrich and de Groot (Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33–40, 1990)]. Results showed that structural relations exist between conceptions of constructivist learning and regulation and processing strategies. Furthermore, students who express doubt with regard to their own learning capacities are at risk for adopting an inadequate regulation strategy. A three-tiered structure of conceptual, controlling, and operational level appeared valid for the MSLQ variables, but not entirely for those of the ILS.     

Relations between students’ perceptions of the teaching-learning environment and teachers’ approaches to teaching: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, a constructivist view of learning has triggered a change in teaching-learning environments (TLEs). Teacher-centred TLEs have been replaced by student-centred ones where the teachers’ approaches to teaching are more learning- than content-focused. Previous research exploring the relationship between student-centred TLEs and the quality of learning has shown contradictory results. Previous studies also indicate that various elements of TLEs may influence students’ learning. This study explored course-level types of elements, enhancing or hindering, related to TLEs, which the course students described. The TLEs of the courses varied because the teachers adopted different types of approaches to teaching. The data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students (N = 33) from three compulsory courses. The interviews were designed so that students could describe their perceptions of the course as well as their learning experiences and processes. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results revealed that when the teacher employed a consonant learning-focused approach to teaching, the students perceived almost all elements of the TLE as enhancing. When the teacher’s approach to teaching was identified as dissonant, the students perceived several elements of the TLE as hindering. This study revealed that inclusion of student-activating teaching-learning activities is important when designing TLEs, but that it is also crucial to design elements which guide and structure students’ learning.

Abbreviation: TLE: teaching-learning environment