Learning to learn at university. The effects of an instrumental subject on learning strategies and academic achievement / Aprender a aprender en la universidad. Efectos de una materia instrumental sobre las estrategias de aprendizaje y el rendimiento académico

Self-regulated learning is very important at university, since students must manage the strategies and abilities necessary to be autonomous and effective in their learning. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of a course designed for this purpose on learning strategies and students’ achievement of first-year university students. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was used, with an experimental group and a control group, applying measurement instruments before starting and after finishing the course. The learning process was analysed on this course, with students being trained in the use of relevant learning strategies — metacognitive strategies, strategies for processing and using information and affective and motivational strategies. The sample consisted of 47 students, 23 of them belonging to the experimental group and 24 of them to the control group, from various degrees at the University of Valencia. The results confirmed significant improvements in the learning strategy scores of the experimental group compared to the control group. There was also an improvement in academic achievement, but in this case the differences were not statistically significant.     

学习观念与学习方法失谐

学生的学习观念与学习方法一旦产生矛盾,便导致失谐。失谐会使学生学习成绩不理想,这一现象最容易发生在大学新生中。研究失谐现象及产生失谐的原因有助于寻求克服学生失谐发生的策略,从而提高学生的学习成绩。     

‘Read a hundred times and the meaning will appear ...’ Changes in Chinese University students’ views of the temporal structure of learning

It has been shown earlier that while some high school students (younger on the average) do not differentiate between memorization and understanding, others (older on the average) do so (Marton, Watkins and Tang, Learning and Instruction 7, 21–48, 1997). Those who do differentiate impose a sequential ordering on the two: When you learn you memorize first and understand subsequently or When you learn you understand first and memorize later. This sequential ordering is expressed both through the students account of their theory of learning and their account of their own study practices. In the current study a group of 20 students of an elite University in mainland China were interviewed about learning, memorization and understanding in the context of their studies upon entering the University and 1.5 years later. It was found that while on the first occasion the predominant mode of talking about memorization and understanding was by discussing them in terms of either of the two above ways of sequentially ordering them. On the second occasion the most frequent way of talking about memorization and understanding was in terms of two simultaneous events, simply two different aspects of the very same learning process. The students spoke about using both repetition and variation in their study practice at the same time. Unlike when you read the same presentation of something several times in the same way and thus repeat the same thing again and again, when you read different presentations of the same thing or when you read the same presentation in different ways, something is repeated and something is varied. To the extent that repetition enhances remembering and variation enhances understanding – as the students seem to believe – they will likely remember that which is repeated and understand that which is varied. And when the two are intertwined they will remember what they understand.     

Variation in Students’ Experiences of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’

This paper examines Oxford University students’ conceptions of the role of the tutorial in their learning. An analysis of interviews with 28 students constituted four qualitatively different conceptions of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’. These ranged from the tutorial involving the tutor explaining to the student what the student did not know, to the tutorial involving the tutor and the student in exchanging different points of view and both coming to a new understanding of the topic under discussion. These different conceptions also appeared to be related to variations in students’ views of the role of the work done in preparation for the tutorial, their view of the student’s and tutor’s roles in the tutorial, and the conception of knowledge that students adopted in relation to the tutorial. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of the relations between students’ conceptions of tutorials and their anticipated learning outcomes and its implications for contexts outside of Oxford in terms of students’ conceptions of academic tasks.     

The Development of Study Orientations and Study Success in Students of Pharmacy

In research literature, two study orientations have been identified: meaning orientation and reproducing orientation. Few studies have examined how study orientations and conceptions of knowledge (epistemologies) interrelate. Further, longitudinal studies of the development of orientations and of conceptions of knowledge in relation to academic achievement are scarce. The study set out:(i) to examine the relationship between study orientations and conceptions of knowledge; (ii) to investigate how these kinds of beliefs change during short, career-aimed studies of natural science; (iii) to explore how study orientations and changes in them are related to study success. The sample consisted of 66 undergraduate students of pharmacy studying at a Finnish university. Participants filled in a questionnaire regarding study orientations and conceptions of knowledge at the beginning of their studies and after 3 years of study. Results showed a relationship between reproducing orientation and dualist conceptions of knowledge. Reproducing orientation and dualism diminished during undergraduate natural science studies. Further, students' reproducing orientation after the last study year was negatively related to their study success. In addition, a favourable development was detected in the group of above-average achievers, who maintained their initial level of meaning orientation while diminishing their level of reproducing orientation. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

Variation in clinical placement supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision in a veterinary internship programme

Good teaching that supports final year students’ learning in clinical placements is critical for students’ successful transition from an academic environment to professional practice. Final year internship programmes are designed to encourage student-centred approaches to teaching and deep approaches to learning, but the extent to which clinical supervisors adopt a student-centred teaching approach is unknown. Survey data (n?=?117) from veterinary supervisors were analysed using phenomenography. The results revealed qualitative differences in supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision. Quantitative statistical analysis was used to investigate relationships between supervisors’ conceptions and approaches. These analyses identified the types of supervisor experiences more likely to encourage students to participate in clinical practice in ways that will help them transition successfully to independent professional practice. The results have value for clinical educators and administrators seeking to improve the quality of placement supervision in a range of professional education programmes.     

Development of first-year students' conceptions of essay writing

Findings are presented from a small-scalelongitudinal study of first-year psychologystudents' learning. Three developmentalhierarchies were derived in the analysis of theinterview data, which described differentaspects of the variation in students' accountsof their conceptions of essay writing. Althoughthe findings did suggest that the students madesome development in their conceptions, itseemed that by the end of the study many ofthem were still unable to describe what wasexpected for their essays in a way which fullymapped onto their tutors' accounts. Theeffects of advice given to students about theiressay writing were also investigated. Studentswere given help that seemed relevant todeveloping their conceptions, but there waslittle evidence in the interviews that thismade an impact on their learning and studentsoften described minimal engagement with adviceand feedback. Two case studies are presented togive a more holistic perspective on thestudents' accounts of their essay writing.These cases suggest the limitations of simplecategorisations, as they emphasise the complexand idiosyncratic nature of students'development.     

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.     

Teaching using the Web: Conceptions and approaches from a phenomenographic perspective

Research undertaken in 2000–2001 in one modernScottish university shows that most currentuniversity teachers' conceptions of andapproaches to using the Web for learning andteaching are far removed from the concept of`networked learning'. The argument is made thatuniversity teachers' preferred approaches toteaching and learning are informed by theirconceptions of teaching and learning. Ifapproaches to using the Web are to move closerto definitions of networked learning, teachers'conceptions need to develop from instructivist,information transmission mode toconstructivist, learning facilitation mode. Therole of experience and contextual factors arediscussed in achieving the development ofconceptions and networked learning.     

教师的教学观--一个重要而崭新的研究领域

教师的教学观是一个重要而崭新的研究领域 ,本文综述了目前国内外教学观研究所采用的研究方法以及所取得的研究成果 ,并对后续的研究进行展望 ,以期对国内学者有所启示。