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Exploring changes in student teachers’ meaning-oriented learning
Abstract
This study reports on changes in student teachers’ meaning-oriented learning during teacher education and their perceptions of what enhances this learning. Students with a meaning-oriented learning pattern view learning as an active process of knowledge construction, are capable of regulating their learning, want to understand a topic thoroughly, form their opinions about it and draw their own conclusions. This study is situated in Dutch academic primary teacher education, covering student teachers’ entire study period. Quantitative data on changes in their learning patterns were collected using a pre-test/post-test design (N = 21). The student teachers’ perceptions of what enhanced meaning-oriented learning were explored by conducting semi-structured interviews after their graduation (N = 9). At the group level, changes were limited to an increasing use of deep processing strategies. At the individual level, changes varied from a moderate decrease to a high increase in meaning orientation. Increases appeared to be related particularly to student teachers’ perceptions of opportunities to learn from their own interests and to regulate their own learning; student teachers who reported having experienced such opportunities increased their meaning-oriented learning. The study indicates that student teachers could benefit from explicating and discussing these opportunities.
... gestión de recursos en la muestra de estudiantes. Estos hallazgos respaldan la idea establecida por Van der Wal et al. 2018 que la motivación intrínseca y las estrategias cognitivas de aprendizaje pueden influir en las rutinas y hábitos de estudio, siendo factores clave para la mejora e incremento del rendimiento académico. La investigación también destaca la importancia de las estrategias organizacionales y la gestión del tiempo como elementos esenciales en el proceso formativo de los estudiantes universitarios. ...
La educación actualmente se encuentra inmersa en un mundo cambiante, lo que sustenta la importancia de implementar diferentes estrategias que prioricen los intereses y fomenten la motivación intrínseca de los estudiantes para alcanzar las metas educativas mediante el uso de técnicas, y estrategias innovadoras como la gamificación, con el propósito de que el conocimiento sea adquirido de manera más activa, participativa, autónoma y dinámica. De esta manera, se potenciará el desarrollo de capacidades y habilidades que aporten de forma significativa a la mejora del rendimiento académico. Para profundizar en este tema se planteó la investigación con el objetivo de desarrollar la motivación intrínseca a través de estrategias de gamificación, evidenciando su incidencia en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes del segundo semestre de la Carrera de Pedagogía de una universidad del Ecuador. El estudio se desarrolló bajo un enfoque cuantitativo, con el método cuasiexperimental del tipo correlacional, abordando una muestra de 129 estudiantes, divididos en dos grupos, uno de control con 65 integrantes y otro experimental con 64. La información se recolectó a través de la aplicación de un pretest y un postest que propició el diseño de una propuesta implementada al grupo experimental. Los principales resultados mostraron que la motivación intrínseca desarrollada con actividades de gamificación se relaciona positivamente con el rendimiento académico, pues es un aporte fundamental a la preparación integral de los estudiantes universitarios.
... While going through the simulated teaching and practicum stages, PSTs are offered different possible selves (i.e., teacher images and roles such as knowledgeable, compassionate, innovative, follower, conformer, etc.) to negotiate and from which to select what will be part of their core teacher identity or what to discard. Previous and recent literary work was sought to understand what factors contribute to, or hinder the process of teacher identity development (e.g., Kayi-Aydar, 2015;Khalid, 2014;Salinas & Ayala, 2018) and student teachers' changing beliefs regarding the teaching profession during their teaching practice (e.g., Maaranen & Stenberg, 2020; Van der Wal-Maris, Beijaard, Schellings, & Geldens, 2019). However, rare are the studies that examined how PSTs experiment with their different possible selves during their teaching practice. ...
... While going through the simulated teaching and practicum stages, PSTs are offered different possible selves (i.e., teacher images and roles such as knowledgeable, compassionate, innovative, follower, conformer, etc.) to negotiate and from which to select what will be part of their core teacher identity or what to discard. Previous and recent literary work was sought to understand what factors contribute to, or hinder the process of teacher identity development (e.g., Kayi-Aydar, 2015;Khalid, 2014;Salinas & Ayala, 2018) and student teachers' changing beliefs regarding the teaching profession during their teaching practice (e.g., Maaranen & Stenberg, 2020; Van der Wal-Maris, Beijaard, Schellings, & Geldens, 2019). However, rare are the studies that examined how PSTs experiment with their different possible selves during their teaching practice. ...
This study aims to explore how English as a Second Language ESL Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) employ adaptation strategies in response to the surrounding constraining context to develop their professional identities. The research question is “How do pre-service teachers (PSTs) employ adaptation strategies to develop their professional identity (PI) during their simulated teaching class and practicum?”. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and classroom observation from PSTs in a Malaysian university and public secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. Findings showed that the positive notions of belonging to a Community of Practice (CoP) proved to be applicable in the simulated teaching class context, so PSTs used their adaptation process of observation-experimentation and evaluation to attempt different teaching practices. Nonetheless, the positive notions of the CoP were inapplicable in the teaching practicum context. Hence, PSTs struggled to construct their Professional Identity (PI) and had to alter their adaptation strategies to negotiate PI construction. The study concludes with some recommendations for further use. Program designers need to consider social interaction and integration within the professional context. That could enable adaptation processes to enhance PSTs’ PI development.
... Similarly, the importance of motivation in the self-regulatory processes should be considered, supporting the results obtained by Ozan et al. (2012) and Sepúlveda et al. (2014), who found associations between self-regulation and learning strategies in relation to self-efficacy and academic performance. Indeed, the research team supported the contemporary vision of crafting strategies that promote the creativity, engagement, and connection aspects of student learners (Van der Wal-Maris et al. 2018;Virtanen et al. 2018). ...
Background and methods: The aim of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Motivation and Learning Strategies Questionnaire-Short Form (MSLQ-SF), using exploratory techniques with university students. The sample was formed by 597 participants aged between 19 and 28 years old (M = 23.04; SD = 3.71), with 156 (26.1%) being male and 441 (73.9%) being female. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted using the FACTOR program. Results: The results indicate that the questionnaire provides high reliability indexes to α = 0.70 for all included dimensions. The factor describing intrinsic orientation towards goal setting was removed following exploratory analysis, while other factors adjusted satisfactorily. All factors were correlated directly and positively (p < 0.01). Conclusions: It can be concluded that the MSLQ-SF fulfils the validity and reliability specifications for use with university students of social sciences and health sciences.
This study aims at increasing elementary school students’ learning motivation in multiplication and division lessons by implementing problem-based learning. This study was qualitative research. Furthermore, the research subjects were elementary school students. Results indicated that students experienced an increased motivation in multiplication and division lessons after implementing problem-based learning because they felt happy during the learning process. In addition, observations, interviews, and documentation studies showed that, with problem-based learning, many students better understood the concepts of multiplication & division and applied them in their daily life. Moreover, students thought critically in solving problems when the learning process was carried out in discussion or groups. This study proves that teachers are the key to success in a learning process and the increased student motivation. Therefore, teachers must be able to choose the right learning method for students to encourage their enthusiasm for learning.
Zusammenfassung. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Entwicklung und Validierung eines Fragebogens zum Studieninteresse am Thema schulische Inklusion vorgestellt, welcher die 3 Facetten persönliche Valenz, affektive Valenz und intrinsischer Charakter berücksichtigt. Vorstudien mit der Methode des lauten Denkens ( n = 4) und mit regulären Fragebogenerhebungen ( n = 328) führten zu einer Skala mit 14 Items, die 551 Studierenden unterschiedlicher Lehramtsstudiengänge zusammen mit weiteren Skalen, z. B. zu Einstellungsfacetten, vorgelegt wurden. Die explorative Untersuchung der Faktorenstruktur am ersten Zufallsdrittel der Stichprobe konnte die angenommene Einfachstruktur bestätigen. Konfirmatorische Analysen zur Kreuzvalidierung anhand der beiden anderen Zufallsdrittel führten zusammen mit weiteren Fitting-Prozeduren zu einem akzeptablen Modellfit, der auch das Niveau der skalaren Messinvarianz für Studierende unterschiedlicher Lehramtsstudiengänge bestätigt. Unterschiede in der zentralen Tendenz zwischen diesen Gruppen werden ebenso berichtet und diskutiert wie Korrelationen zu Einstellungsfacetten, Selbstwirksamkeitserwartungen und Erfahrungen mit inklusivem Unterricht.
Formative assessment (FA) is an important tool for supporting student learning. It provides learners with information about their learning process and supports them through feedback on how to improve their learning. Although it is recognized by secondary school teachers as crucial to language assessment, the integration of FA in their second language teaching practice has been limited. A participatory action research (PAR) design in the present study offers insights into how the learning process of teachers implementing FA can be encouraged. Teachers involved in this PAR were offered an FA toolbox and the opportunity to learn from their peers as sources of support. The data analysis of semi-structured interviews, action plans, and video coaching sessions shows that the participants react to this support in different ways. Some teachers experience the FA toolbox as a source of inspiration but are less inclined to reflect with colleagues on how to improve the implementation of FA. The majority of the participants indicate that the toolbox raises awareness on a more purposive use of FA. These teachers work with colleagues as critical friends to discuss their vision on teaching and FA implementation. Lastly, a third group of teachers are already using many of the tools offered by the toolbox. In discussions with colleagues they mainly put forward suggestions, take up a coaching role and reflect on the contribution of their actions to the school policy.
Within sixteen Dutch teacher education institutes
for primary school teachers students’ motivation
for teacher education and the teaching profession,
expectations about knowledge acquisition,
learning conceptions and learning orientations at
the start of their study were examined, including
differences between these prospective primary
school teachers in academic and regular trajectories.
For this purpose a survey was conducted.
Results indicate that students in both trajectories
have strong pedagogical, didactic and subject
matter motives. Academic students have less
pragmatic and hedonistic and more innovation
directed motives; they expect more education in
the field of research and innovation and are less
fond of cooperation with peers. Both academic
and regular students expect a strong relationship
between theory and practice in their education
and perceive learning as acquiring knowledge
that can be used or applied.
Hoe leren studenten? Welke leerstijlen zijn er? Hoe kunnen leerprocessen worden gestuurd? Wat betekent dat voor de kwaliteit van het hoger onderwijs? Op dergelijke vragen gaat dit boek in. In het eerste deel beschrijft de auteur een visie op onderwijs en opleiden waarin de wisselwerking tussen interne en externe sturing van leerprocessen centraal staat. Doel is het zelfstandig denkvermogen van mensen te vergroten. In het tweede deel worden de resultaten van acht onderzoeken besproken naar het leren van studenten in de context van hun normale studie, waaraan ruim 1600 studenten hun medewerking verleenden. Daarbij is gebruik gemaakt van zowel kwalitatieve als kwantitatieve onderzoeksmethoden. Onderwerpen die worden onderzocht zijn: leerstrategieën en leerstijlen, mentale modellen van leren, leeroriëntaties, stabiliteit van leerstijlen, samenhangen tussen leerstijlen en persoons- en contextgebonden factoren en tentamenresultaten, en procesgerichte instructie in zelfstandig denken. In het laatste deel worden uit de onderzoeksresultaten conclusies getrokken met betrekking tot de theorie en tot de verbetering van de kwaliteit van leerprocessen in het algemeen en die in het hoger onderwijs in het bijzonder.
Open access naar het gehele proefschrift:
https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/1208661/3955488.pdf
One of the tasks of postgraduate education is to develop students' conceptions and skills necessary for lifelong learning in their profession. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying students' development in self-regulated learning throughout a postgraduate teacher education programme. A longitudinal design with three measurement occasions was adopted. Student teachers' learning orientations were measured with a questionnaire and their regulation activities by means of multiple structured question logs. Longitudinal multilevel analyses showed that student teachers became more passive in their regulation throughout the programme. Furthermore, only one third of the student teachers changed in the direction of independent meaning-oriented learning. This study found little evidence that student teachers became more self-regulating throughout the postgraduate professional programme. This shows that opportunities for directing one's own learning might be a necessary but not a sufficient condition to increase students' conceptions and skills to become self-regulated lifelong learners.
This paper reviews recent research on learning patterns of student teachers and experienced teachers, mostly in the context of educational innovation and teachers' professional development. The discussion is structured along a model of teacher learning patterns comprising learning activities, regulation of learning, beliefs on own learning about teaching, motivations to learn about teaching, learning outcomes, and personal and contextual factors. A learning pattern is conceived as a coherent whole of learning activities that learners usually employ, their beliefs about own learning and their learning motivation; a whole that is characteristic of them in a certain period. Patterns in teacher learning across studies are identified and problematic aspects of teacher learning are discussed. It is concluded that teachers differ in the learning patterns they adopt, and that these patterns differ with regard to the quality of teacher learning and professional development in the context of adaptation to educational change and innovations. Implications for fostering teacher learning are derived.
Research on learning pattern development during pre-service teacher education is scarce. In a cross-sectional (study 1) and
longitudinal study (study 2) the development of learning patterns of student teachers is analysed. Participants in study 1
were 646 first-year and 350 third-year student teachers enrolled in an initial pre-service teacher education programme. 236
student teachers participated in study 2. Vermunt’s’ Inventory of Learning Styles was used to assess differences in learning
patterns. By examining intra-individual changes in learning patterns we expected to find developmental trends within learning
patterns. Results show that meaning oriented learning increases over time and undirected learning decreases. Some learning
patterns are however more subject to change than others. The development of learning patterns was found to be relative and
dependent on the learning pattern which students have already mastered in the first-year of a teacher education programme.
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.
Within two Flemish institutes of pre-service and inservice teacher education, the relationship between the learning styles
and preferences for learning environments of pre-service teachers were examined. Results indicate that some components of
pre-service teachers' learning approaches (learning conceptions, learning strategies and learning orientations) are predictors
for preferences for constructivist learning environments. Differences in learning approaches and preferences for learning
environments are also related to the type of teacher education that pre-service teachers followed.
This study was aimed at clarifying relations between the way students learn and personal, contextual and performance variables. Students from seven different academic disciplines completed the Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS). Besides, data about their age, gender, academic discipline, prior education and exam performance were gathered. Regression and correlations analyses were used to analyse the data. The results showed that students learning patterns were indeed associated with personal and contextual factors such as academic discipline, prior education, age and gender, but that the different learning patterns had different sources. Second, students learning patterns proved to explain an important part of the variance in their academic performance. However, the results also revealed that exams as usually used in the first years of higher education hardly capitalise on students use of critical, analytical and concrete processing strategies.
Studies of expertise in teaching have been informative, despite problems. One problem is determining the relative roles of talent vs. deliberate practice in the acquisition of expertise. When studying teachers, however, a third factor must be considered, that of context. The working conditions of teachers exert a powerful influence on the development of expertise. A second problem is that of definition because expertise in teaching takes different forms in different cultures, and its characteristics change by decade. A distinction is drawn between the good teacher and the successful teacher, characteristics of expertise that are often confused. A prototypical model of expertise is described and found to identify teachers who were both good and successful. Discussed also is the importance of understanding adaptive or fluid expertise, automaticity and flexibility. Finally, the development of teacher expertise is seen as an increase in agency over time.
Preface The Inventory of Learning Styles in higher education is one of the outcomes of a research project on the learning styles of students in higher education. The project was carried out by the Department of Educational Psychology of the Tilburg University. The scoring key is available as a separate document, also on ResearchGate. The theoretical background and empirical findings are reported in, amongst others:
- Vermunt, J.D., & Vermetten, Y.J. (2004). Patterns in student learning: relationships between learning strategies, conceptions of learning, and learning orientations. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 359-384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-004-0005-y;
- Vermunt, J.D., & Donche, V. (2017). A learning patterns perspective on student learning in higher education: State of the art and moving forward. Educational Psychology Review, 29(2), 269-299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9414-6; Vermunt, J. D. (2020). Surveys and retrospective self-reports to measure strategies and strategic processing. In D. L. Dinsmore, L. K. Fryer, & M. M. Parkinson (Eds.), Handbook of strategies and strategic processing. (pp. 259-274). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429423635-16; - Shum, A., Fryer, L. K., Vermunt, J. D., Ajisuksmo, C., Cano, F., Donche, V., Law, D. C. S., Martínez-Fernández, R., Van Petegem, P., & Yu, J. (2023). Variable- and person-centred meta-re-analyses of university students' learning strategies from a cross-cultural perspective. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01062-4
Many teachers see major difficulties in maintaining academic standards in today's larger and more diversified classes. The problem becomes more tractable if learning outcomes are seen as more a function of students’ activities than of their fixed characteristics. The teacher's job is then to organise the teaching/learning context so that all students are more likely to use the higher order learning processes which “academic” students use spontaneously. This may be achieved when all components are aligned, so that objectives express the kinds of understanding that we want from students, the teaching context encourages students to undertake the learning activities likely to achieve those understandings, and the assessment tasks tell students what activities are required of them, and tell us how well the objectives have been met. Two examples of aligned teaching systems are described: problem-based learning and the learning portfolio.
A conceptual framework for assessing student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom is presented. The framework is based on a self-regulatory (SRL) perspective on student motivation and learning in contrast to a student approaches to learning (SAL) perspective. The differences between SRL and SAL approaches are discussed, as are the implications of the SRL conceptual framework for developing instruments to assess college student motivation and learning. The conceptual framework may be useful in guiding future research on college student motivation and learning.
The study explored factors explaining changes in a deep approach to learning. The data consisted of interviews with 12 students from four Bachelor-level courses representing different disciplines. We analysed and compared descriptions of students whose deep approach either increased, decreased or remained relatively unchanged during their courses. We also explored the effect of the teaching-learning environment on these changes. Individual factors (such as investing time and effort in studying regularly during the courses, the goals set for the courses, study skills and skills in regulating one’s own learning) most clearly explained the changes in one’s deep approach, while students’ experiences of the teaching-learning environment and how they perceived the quality of teaching provided no clear explanation of the changes. An exception was the way in which students experienced the challenges presented by the courses, which was more clearly related to the deep-approach changes.
A Chinese translation of the 100-item Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) is shortened as a 60-item instrument (which comprises 20 three-item scales) by removal of items that make the least contribution to the ILS scales from both alpha value and factor loading perspectives. The reliability and validation for administering the resultant 60-item ILS in the context of Hong Kong post-secondary education were assessed via analysis and re-analysis of results collected from two studies. The first study involved 1572 students enrolled in different kinds of post-secondary programmes in 2005; the second study involved 206 students enrolled in a special one-year, post-secondary programme in 2010. The internal consistency of most of the scales in the 60-item ILS was found to be good or satisfactory, except for three scales for which a need for further investigation or refinement is indicated. The exploratory factor analyses conducted in the two studies found factor patterns that closely resembled each other, with defining features comprising an active meaning-directed learning pattern that is mixed with reproduction-directed elements, an undirected learning pattern and different versions of a passive idealistic learning pattern. Overall, the current research provides qualified support for the reliability and validity of the shortened ILS for application in the context of Hong Kong post-secondary education.
It is argued that learning and instruction could be conceptualized from a process-analytic perspective. Important questions from the field of learning and instruction are presented which can be answered using our approach of process analyses. A classification system of process concepts and methods is given. One main advantage of this kind of process research is the possibility to study trajectories of learning over time. It also allows the performing of intraindividual analyses. A number of empirical examples are presented which demonstrate the advantages of our approach to performing process analyses. The examples regarding individual trajectories deal with evaluation data of a training program to enhance self-regulated learning. In the discussion, limitations of the approach are described in reference to alternative ways of analyzing processes.
This article responds to the concerns raised by Haggis in 2003 regarding the use of approaches to learning theory in higher education. It is argued that the misrepresentations of the theory observed in the literature are not a reason for discarding the theory entirely. This article reasserts key features of the theory, argues for its relevance to mass higher education, and suggests that the incorporation of other theoretical perspectives would be appropriate.
This paper reviews the research conducted in the last decade on patterns in student learning, mostly in higher education. More specifically, the review focuses on a series of studies that have in common (a) the use of the Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS), an instrument aimed at measuring several components of student learning, namely, cognitive processing strategies, metacognitive regulation strategies, conceptions of learning, and learning orientations; and/or (b) an integrative learning theory focussing on the interplay between self-regulation and external regulation of learning processes as a theoretical framework. Aspects a and b are closely connected, because the development of the instrument was based on the theory. The review covers the following themes: The theoretical framework and conceptualization of student learning; a description of the instrument; the internal structure of learning strategies, conceptions, and orientations in different educational contexts; developments in learning patterns during the school career; consistency and variability in students' use of learning strategies; dissonance in students' regulation of learning processes; relations between learning patterns and personal and contextual factors; relations between learning patterns and learning outcomes; and process-oriented instruction.
The subjects (N = 175), freshmen and fifth year students in psychology (n = 59) and medicine (n = 116), described their modes of studying by answering open-ended questions and Likert-type questions, presented to them within a task booklet. They were first asked to write down their own subjective definitions of learning. Scales to classify the answers were adopted from Lonka et al. (1990). Second, subjects were given a comprehension monitoring probe adopted from Ryan (1984). Responses were analysed to determine the specific comprehension criteria the student employed. Third, students rated a set of 71 statements concerning learning styles, regulation of learning, and conceptions of learning (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Vermunt & van Rijswijk, 1988). Embedded in the last set of statements were seven items that were used to classify students as dualists or relativists (Perry, 1968; Ryan, 1984).
It was found that constructivist conceptions of learning were the most typical of (advanced) psychology students, whereas learning was more often seen as intake of knowledge by the medical students. Highest dualism scores were obtained by the first year students, especially medical students. In general, dualists were more likely to report knowledge comprehension criteria to test their understanding than were relativists, and dualists' conceptions of learning were also more passive. Four principal components were identified that reflected qualitatively different approaches to learning and knowledge: externally regulated and reproduction-directed learning (PC1), self-regulated, meaning-directed, and goal-oriented learning (PC2), constructivist epistemology (PC3), and active professional orientation (PC4). Medical students scored higher on variables related to PC1 and PC4, whereas psychology students scored higher on scales associated with PC2 and PC3.
Libro de metodología cualitativo para investigación en las ciencias sociales. La utilización de la computadora, el uso de datos y la recolección de los mismos. Se describen detalladamente numerosos métodos de datos y análisis.
University students' approaches to learning have been demonstrated to affect learning outcomes across a wide range of courses, favouring the use of a deep approach. Interventions to promote the use of deep approaches have had mixed success, with the most successful interventions involving large-scale course redesign.
This paper describes a study in which contextual modifications were implemented in an existing preservice teacher education programme to increase students' use of deep approaches to learning and reduce their reliance on the use of surface approaches, without the need for major redesign. Students' perceptions of their competence in performing the tasks of teaching (personal teaching efficacy) were also expected to improve in response to improvements in quality learning.
Three cohorts of students (N = 134), enrolled in a preservice teacher education degree programme at a rural university in New South Wales, Australia participated in the study.
A longitudinal quasi-experimental design was used, with Cohort 1 acting as a control while Cohorts 2 and 3 represented treatment groups. Repeated measures were taken on Biggs' (1987b) Study Process Questionnaire, a modified version of Gibson and Dembo's (1984) Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Academic subscale within Lefcourt's (1981) Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale. An action research paradigm was embedded to enable the development and refinement of the altered teaching approaches.
Results indicated that the modifications to teaching methods, task requirements and assessment processes applied to the treatment group encouraged changes in students' approaches to learning by firstly reducing their use of surface approaches and later increasing the use of deep approaches. While both treatment and contrast groups exhibited equivalent growth in teaching efficacy, differences between cohorts were noted in the sources that informed personal teaching efficacy at the conclusion of the course.
These findings suggest that the study succeeded in its major goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning in this teacher education programme. The results conform to the findings of previous research and are consistent with learning approach theory. While the specific contextual modifications used in the current study may not necessarily be transferable to other settings, the processes employed in the generation of those modifications could find wider applicability.
Vermunt's (1994) Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) integrates four components of learning: processing strategies, regulation strategies, mental models of learning and learning orientations. Using explanatory factor analysis, Vermunt (1998) identified four different learning styles, meaning-directed, reproduction-directed, application-directed and undirected, which displayed characteristic patterns of factor loadings across the four components of learning.
The aims of the current study were to test the generalisability of Vermunt's integrated model of learning with a sample of students from a British university and to establish whether different learning styles were associated with different academic outcomes.
A total of 273 students from a British university took part.
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test Vermunt's four-factor model of learning styles and compare it with alternative models. Interrelationships between components of the ILS were examined in more detail using regression analyses. The relationship between learning style and academic outcome was also examined.
Fit indices indicated that Vermunt's four-factor model of learning styles provided the best fit for the current sample. Path estimates associated with meaning-directed and reproduction-directed learning styles loaded across components as described by Vermunt but application-directed and undirected learning styles loaded mainly on conceptions and orientations components. Undirected learning style had a low negative association with academic performance, while the meaning-directed learning style had a low positive association with academic performance.
Although the ILS did identify Vermunt's four learning styles, different learning environments influence the precise characteristics of each learning style.
Leerstijlen en het sturen van leerprocessen in het hoger onderwijs.” [Learning Styles and the Regulation of Learning Processes in Higher Education
- J D Vermunt
Challenges in Analyzing Change in Students' Approaches to Learning
- S Lindblöm-Ylänne
- A Parpala
- L Postareff
Lindblöm-Ylänne, S., A. Parpala, and L. Postareff. 2014. "Challenges in Analyzing Change in
Students' Approaches to Learning." In Learning Patterns in Higher Education, edited by
D. Gijbels, V. Donche, T. E. Richardson, and J. D. Vermunt, 232-248. London: Routledge.
Dissonance in Student Learning Patterns: When to Revise Theory?
- J D Vermunt
- A Minnaert
Vermunt, J. D., and A. Minnaert. 2003. "Dissonance in Student Learning Patterns: When to Revise
Theory?" Studies in Higher Education 28 (1): 49-61. doi:10.1080/03075070309301.