What have we learnt about student learning?

Abstract

The potential value of student learning research to applied fields cannot be overstated. Research needs to inform educationalists on how students learn with a view to improving teaching/learning systems. This brief review examines the work of major contributors such as Biggs, Marton, Schmeck, Entwistle and in particular Pask, who have looked at both the immediate orientations of learning strategies and at the more permanent phenomena of approaches and learning styles. The author has focused on the early work of these researchers to illustrate the foundation stone on which the research area has been built. Methodology will be examined and the degree to which a balance has been achieved between the conflicting demands of scientific rigour and ecological validity. It is argued that the subtle distinctions and insights drawn within both short term strategies and long term orientations to study were most usefully identified by Gordon Pask.

A Longitudinal Examination of Student Approaches to Learning and Metacognition

“…Competency may also play a role in how effectively students use either approach. For example, a student following a deep approach who is not particularly competent would likely not perform as well as one exhibiting a highly organized and well-planned surface approach (Tickle, 2001). A further complicating factor is that students will tend to have an overall predisposition for their favoured learning approach, thus limiting their ability to switch between tasks requiring the application of different approaches.…”