Conception of learning and motivation of Spanish psychology undergraduates in different academic levels

Abstract

Three conceptions of learning (rote, interpretative and constructive), and two aspects of motivation (level and value of motivation) were identified in 258 Spanish psychology undergraduates classified in three different academic levels (initial, intermediate and final course). Results about conceptions of learning showed final-course students are the most constructive and interpretative whereas students in the initial level have higher scores in rote conception. With respect to motivation, level and value are significantly related to one another, with a specific correlation between a high level of motivation and an intrinsic value whereas a low level was related to an extrinsic value. Additionally, intrinsic value in final-course students is significantly higher than in initial and intermediate-course students. Besides, we observed that students with both higher motivation and intrinsic value have a significantly higher score in interpretative and constructive conceptions. With respect to the academic level in psychology, initial-course students with intrinsic value or high motivation have a higher score in the constructive conception of learning. Intermediate students obtain a high score in the constructive conception if they are highly motivated. Final-course students did not show significant differences as regards the conception of learning dependent on motivation.

A cross-cultural analysis of the patterns of learning and academic performance of Spanish and Latin-American undergraduates

“…This project is part of a research group that involves Spain and several countries from Latin America which have been working on analysis and innovation of teaching and learning processes in the university since the late 1990s (Martínez-Fernández 1999, 2004Martínez-Fernández and García-Ravidá 2012;Martínez-Fernández, Villegas and Martínez Torres 2003;Rabanaque and Martínez-Fernández 2009). Thus we know that, in general, university teaching in these regions is characterised by the prevalence of lectures and a final assessment based on exams that usually stimulate the memorising, reproductive, occasional learning processes.…”

Exploring Parents’ Conceptions of Augmented Reality Learning and Approaches to Learning by Augmented Reality With Their Children

“…The causal relationships among conceptions, approaches, and learning outcomes could be further examined based on a structural model. It might be interesting to include other variables such as self-efficacy (Issaieva, 2016), motivation (Rabanaque & Martinez-Fernandez, 2009), or technology literacy (Hohlfeld, Ritzhaupt, & Barron, 2013) in the discussion of users’ conceptions of and approaches to AR learning. In addition to the exploration of parent subjects, it is also suggested that future studies on AR learning examine other cohorts of research samples such as high school students, college students, or teachers.…”

Exploring conceptions about writing and learning: undergraduates´ patterns of beliefs and the quality of academic writing

“…Conceptions of Learning Questionnaire (Martínez-Fernández, 2004;. To determine the students' conceptions of learning were used the CONAPRE questionnaire (Martínez-Fernández, 2004;Rabanaque & Martínez-Fernández, 2009). This instrument comprises fourteen items distributed into three sub-scales: two of them regard the two traditional learning conceptions: rote (e.g., I read information twice, three or four times in order to be able to repeat it), and deep conceptions (e.g., On the basis of new information, I make changes, transform and/or grow personally in the perception of myself as a person); the third one, labelled as interpretative, is related to knowledge application (e.g., I know how to reproduce information and understand its meaning).…”