Ways of Coming to Understand: metacognitive awareness among first‐year university students

This paper presents a phenomenographic study of conceptions of how understanding comes about. In‐depth interviews with 30 first‐year university students were carried out, dealing with questions about learning, understanding and knowledge. The analysis presented here focuses on the experience of how understanding arises. The subjects came from teacher education, cultural studies and chemistry economics. Data were analysed according to phenomenographic principles. Three main categories of conceptions were found: coming to understand by (1) experiences, (2) mental construction and (3) merging with reality. The order of the categories is interpreted as a progression in ‘metacognitive awareness’. The results are compared with other phenomenographic studies of conceptions of understanding. Finally, they are related to constructivist models of learning and some philosophical views. It is suggested that such a recontextualisation of students’ conceptions can be made part of the curriculum in order to stimulate a ‘deep approach’ to study and learning.     

Students' conceptions of learning in different educational contexts

The aim of this study is to investigate students' conceptions of learning in different educational contexts, and analyze to what extent conceptions are contextually dependent. Student nurses and car mechanic students are chosen as two groups, and qualitative similarities and differences between the students are described and explained in terms of the educational contexts: nursing education and car mechanic education.The study is 'qualitative by its nature, and the phenomenographic approach and grounded theory are taken as the points of departure. Data for the cross-section study were collected through individual interviews with student nurses (n = 60) and car mechanic students (n = 54). Different groups of students were interviewed at the beginning and at the end of the educational programs.As a result of the analysis, qualitative similarities and differences in students' conceptions were found. Differences among students within a program were, however, fewer than differences among students participating in different programs. In comparing groups of students within the programs, similar trends of development could be identified. Students within both programs used more developed conceptions at the end than at the beginning of the programs. The differences found within and between the student groups could be explained in terms of educational contexts. The results thus showed that conceptions were to some extent contextually dependent.     

Pedagogy of Learning and Teaching: A Phenomenographic Perspective from Selected Classrooms in Rural South Africa

Abstract

Classroom practitioners are expected to facilitate effective learning under the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South Africa. During this facilitation process, educators are required to become more resourceful in terms of their learning and teaching strategies. This article is based on a case study – within the phenomenographic paradigm – of Grade 9 educators and learners in four rural schools in North West, South Africa. The study focussed on a specific economics and management sciences (EMS) topic relating to the understanding of the value or price determination of the South Africa rand on the foreign exchange market. The article is divided into three parts: firstly, the concepts of phenomenography and the variation theory of learning are explored and constituted as the conceptual framework; secondly, educators’ experiences with the variation theory as a classroom resource for learning; and thirdly, the impact of educators’ classroom experiences with the variation theory on learners’ quantitative and qualitative learning outcomes. The results showed an improvement in the learners’ understanding of the EMS topic studied.     

Students' Understandings of Gravity in an Orbiting Space-Ship

We report on an investigation of students' ideas about gravity after a semester of instruction in physics at university. There are two aspects to the study which was concerned with students' answers to a carefully designed qualitative examination question on gravity. The first aspect is a classification of the answers and a comparative study of the ways the problem was tackled by two large groups of students who had different backgrounds in physics and were exposed to different teaching styles. The second aspect is to investigate how students link concepts to solve the problem. We used a phenomenographic analysis of student responses to extract patterns of reasoning and alternative conceptions behind the solutions. We found no differences between the classes of answers given by students in the two courses. Our analysis also identifies a hierarchy in the complexity of the hypothetical reasoning pathways, which we interpret as reflecting the ways in which students may link concepts and resolve conflicts as they solve the problem. The hypothetical reasoning pathways may help educators to develop instructional material or lecture room dialogue in order to tease out key issues. An unexpected finding is that there is a discrepancy between our conclusion that the two groups of answers are similar and the distribution of marks awarded by the examiner – which implies that the quality of the answers is different for the two groups.     

Students’ Views of Learning in Vocational Education

The aim of this study was to investigate students’ conceptions of learning and approaches to learning within vocational education. A group of car‐mechanic students (n = 30) were interviewed at the end of their programme. The phenomenographic approach was used as the point of departure, and, as a result of the analysis, qualitative similarities and differences in students’ conceptions and approaches were found. The distribution of conceptions and approaches showed that half of students were classified as representing a quantitative view of learning and as favouring a surface approach. However, in order to encourage students to develop a qualitative view of learning and to use deep approaches, more attention must be paid to the ways in which students conceive learning within the school context and how they actually do in order to meet the demands they experience within their education.     

Evaluation of the degree of coherence found in students' conceptions concerning the particulate nature of matter

Students' conceptions are characterized by some authors as having a high degree of coherence while, in the minds of others, they show little coherence and great heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to throw light on this problem by reference to the particulate nature of matter, a topic where great discrepancies have been observed in the degree of coherence shown by students. We interviewed 43 students aged 9–22 years to evaluate the coherence of their replies, using a questionnaire in which different methodological strategies are incorporated, as will be explained below. A qualitative analysis of the students' replies to the interviewer's questions permitted a group of empirical categories to be established, which were then arranged hierarchically. The quantitative analysis of these categories gave rise to new categories, which we call structural categories. These permitted us to select the most significant variables, to identify the different types of conceptions held by the subjects and to assign to each a given level of conceptualization. They also revealed the high degree of coherence in the replies given to different tasks. The usefulness of the proposed method for studying students' conceptions and for evaluating their degree of coherence is confirmed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 577–598, 2006     

Engineering students’ conceptions of entrepreneurial learning as part of their education

The purpose of this study was to examine what kinds of conceptions of entrepreneurial learning engineering students expressed in an entrepreneurship course integrated in their study programme. The data were collected during an entrepreneurship course in Estonia that was organised for fourth-year engineering students, using video-recorded group interviews (N?=?48) and individual in-depth interviews (N?=?16). As a result of the phenomenographic analysis, four qualitatively distinctive conceptions of entrepreneurial learning were discerned. Entrepreneurial learning was seen to involve (1) applying entrepreneurial ideas to engineering, (2) understanding entrepreneurial issues in a new way, (3) action-oriented personal development, and (4) self-realising through collective effort. These qualitatively distinct categories differed from each other in four dimensions of variation: nature of learning, response to pedagogy, relation to teamwork, and learning outcomes.     

Students’ conceptions about a fair assessment of their learning

The objective of this study is to know the conceptions of primary and secondary school students about what constitutes a fair assessment. To achieve this aim, a phenomenographic study was carried out with 32 students. In a broad sense, the results showed that there were two types of conceptions. On one hand, a conception of fair assessment related to equality, transparency, objectivity, and evaluation of class content; that is, an egalitarian conception of fair assessment. On the other hand, a conception associated with ideas such as adaptation, diversification of tests, and qualitative assessment, even taking into account students' effort and attitudes, which define a conception of fair assessment linked to equity. These conceptions are associated with the concepts of legal justice and social justice, respectively and they contrast with the nature of external evaluations currently carried out.     

Biology Undergraduates' Misconceptions about Genetic Drift

This study explores biology undergraduates' misconceptions about genetic drift. We use qualitative and quantitative methods to describe students' definitions, identify common misconceptions, and examine differences before and after instruction on genetic drift. We identify and describe five overarching categories that include 16 distinct misconceptions about genetic drift. The accuracy of students' conceptions ranges considerably, from responses indicating only superficial, if any, knowledge of any aspect of evolution to responses indicating knowledge of genetic drift but confusion about the nuances of genetic drift. After instruction, a significantly greater number of responses indicate some knowledge of genetic drift (p = 0.005), but 74.6% of responses still contain at least one misconception. We conclude by presenting a framework that organizes how students' conceptions of genetic drift change with instruction. We also articulate three hypotheses regarding undergraduates' conceptions of evolution in general and genetic drift in particular. We propose that: 1) students begin with undeveloped conceptions of evolution that do not recognize different mechanisms of change; 2) students develop more complex, but still inaccurate, conceptual frameworks that reflect experience with vocabulary but still lack deep understanding; and 3) some new misconceptions about genetic drift emerge as students comprehend more about evolution.     

Students’ experiences of clinic‐based learning during a final year veterinary internship programme

This study investigated veterinary students’ experiences of clinic‐based learning (CBL) during a comprehensive final year internship programme. Open‐ended surveys (n = 93) were used to gather qualitative data about students’ conceptions of what is learned during CBL and their approaches to learning in clinics. Phenomenography was used for detailed analysis of the variation evident in students’ responses. Relationships between qualitative differences in students’ conceptions and approaches were then evaluated using quantitative statistical analysis. Links to achievement during final year were examined. Close associations were found between the quality of students’ experiences of CBL and achievement during the internship programme.     

Students' conceptions of learning in an engineering context

Research on student learning in higher education has highlighted the central role that students' conceptions of learning play in influencing their approaches to learning. This article reports on a study of conceptions of learning among engineering students on a one-year foundation course. Students were interviewed about their conceptions of learning at three intervals during their academic year. The data was analysed using a phenomenographic perspective and from the data five qualitatively different conceptions of learning were identified. The resulting characterisation of these conceptions of learning is presented using excerpts from the interviews and some implications for student learning are discussed.     

Critical aspects of student teachers’ conceptions of learning

The aim of this phenomenographic study was to discover the educationally critical aspects of learning conceptions among health education student teachers (N = 20). The qualitative data consisted of written essays and semi-structured interviews. Six qualitatively distinctive conceptions of learning could be discerned, namely learning as 1) the reproduction of acquired health knowledge, 2) the application of health knowledge, 3) developing personal meanings on health matters, 4) the transformation of individual thinking, 5) personal growth, and 6) collective meaning-making. These qualitatively distinct categories were reflected through three themes, which embodied critical aspects: the nature of the knowledge involved, the nature of the reflection involved, and the role of the social environment. In bringing new insights into the existing literature, this study confirms a need for research on learning conceptions across different cultural and educational contexts.     

Conceptions of learning science among high school students in Taiwan: a phenomenographic analysis

Educators and psychologists have evidence that students’ conceptions of learning have a profound influence on the learning process, and thus are related to learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper was to explore the conceptions of learning science held by 120 Taiwanese high school students. The interview data gathered from these students, analysed by a phenomenographic method, revealed seven categories of conceptions of learning science, including: learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating and practising tutorial problems, the increase of knowledge, applying, understanding, and seeing in a new way. The educational contexts or curricular programmes in which these high school students enrolled also played a role in their conceptions of learning science. This study finally proposed a framework to describe the variations of the conceptions of learning science, consisting of the following features: the forms of knowledge acquisition, motivational orientations, and standards of evaluating learning outcomes. How to change students’ unfruitful conceptions of learning science was also discussed.     

An integrated analysis of secondary school students’ conceptions and beliefs about learning

Students’ conceptions and beliefs about learning are constructs that have been proposed in two independent lines of research, phenomenographic and metacognitive, and analysed using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, respectively. The present research examines and integrates in a single study both constructs and methodologies. Data were collected through an open-ended task (Tynjäla, 1997) and an epistemological questionnaire (Schommer, 1990), administered to a sample of 1,200 secondary students. Three major statistically significant findings emerged. First, students’ conceptions of learning and epistemological beliefs changed from simplistic to more complex as they progressed through school. Second, the two constructs were linked to each other. The most advanced category on the ‘dimension of depth’ of learning conceptions corresponded to the highest scores at the complex pole of the belief system. Third, learning conceptions as well as epistemological beliefs were predictors of academic performance. The more capable students were of constructing meaning, the better their academic achievement appeared to be. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed with regard to further research, classroom instruction, and the value of combining both research methodologies in order to deepen our understanding of students’ learning experience.     

生物教学中学生课堂参与现状分析及其对策研究

从生物课堂教学的实际出发,对学生的课堂参与状况进行调查分析,提出了改善和提高生物教学中学生课堂参与的"激发参与兴趣,培养参与意识"、"创设参与氛围,提高参与质量"、"激励学生质疑问难,培养参与能力"等教育策略。