Constructing Images of Ourselves? A Critical Investigation into ‘Approaches to Learning’ Research in Higher Education

Abstract

This article focuses on the surprising lack of critique in the pedagogical literatures of higher education in relation to the use of ideas surrounding deep and surface approaches to learning. The article explores problems with the assumed relationships between ‘conceptions of learning’, ‘perceptions of the learning environment’, ‘approaches to learning’ and ‘learning outcomes’, and suggests that whilst the model may be successful in creating a generalised description of the ‘elite’ goals and values of academic culture, it says surprisingly little about the majority of students in a mass system. After exploring research in the area of academic literacies as an alternative approach to understanding student learning, it is suggested that higher education is going to have to find new ways of conceptualising its core values and activities if it is to become truly accessible to the widest possible range of ‘lifelong learners’.

Challenging the Western stereotype: do Chinese international foundation students learn by rote?

“…Other approaches, such as strategic learning, have also been noted although more attention tends to be given to deep and surface approaches (Tait & Entwistle 1996). This Western research to approach of learning has outlined desirable and less desirable behaviours and tendencies that are seen to be linked to success and failure at university (Haggis 2003), i.e., deep approaches to learning are more likely to result in high quality learning outcomes and recognised achievement so many seek to encourage it amongst students.…”

“…Since the 1970s there has been research into conceptions of learning initiated by Marton and Säljö (Marton et al 1996, Haggis 2003, Tan 2011) which has significantly influenced higher education in the UK. Learning was seen broadly to have two basic approaches: (1) a deep approach, based upon understanding the meaning of course materials; (2) a surface approach, based upon memorising the course materials for the purposes of assessment.…”

“…Indeed the Chinese learning style is more complicated than it looks on the surface and it has puzzled many Western educators and researchers who have accorded much attention to it over the past two decades (Rao and Chan 2010). Moreover, while the Western model of learning may be successful in creating a generalised description of 'elite' goals and values of academic culture, little study has been carried out on how the majority of Western students learn (Haggis 2003). Therefore, one may ask whether Eastern and Western students really are learning in fundamentally different ways.…”

Awareness Is Not Enough: Pitfalls of Learning Analytics Dashboards in the Educational Practice

“…This is the most represented category through self-regulated learning (SRL), 16 papers citing the works of Zimmerman [48], Pintrich [33] or Winne [44]. Deep vs surface learning theory explains different approaches to learning, where deep learners seek to understand the meaning behind the material and surface learners concentrate on reproducing the main facts [21]. EC2: Constructivism cluster is rooted in the assumption that learners are information constructors and learning is the product of social interaction [1].…”

What have we been thinking of? A critical overview of 40 years of student learning research in higher education

“…Despite its influence and success, however, the bulk of this research, although taking a first step in this direction, has arguably avoided many of the really difficult questions about the nature of 'universities themselves'. Focusing largely upon the cognitive processes of individual students, one of the main concerns of this research has been to find out what is wrong with students who do not engage in the ways that their tutors wish them to (Haggis 2003). In response to the repeated finding that large numbers of students appear not to be taking a deep approach, the question implied by the research seems to be 'why do so many *Email: tamsin.haggis@stir.ac.uk students take a surface approach to learning?'…”