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Approaches to learning, their context and relationship to assessment performance

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Abstract

Relationships between approaches to learning, as measured by the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ), prior knowledge of subject area, and performance on a multiple-choice test following a 15 × 2 hour unit in basic psychology were investigated. Subjects were 105 first year tertiary students, of mean age 19.9 years, and predominantly female (82.9%). Approaches to learning were unrelated to assessment performance, and prior knowledge did not relate to a deep approach although it did predict performance. The findings were interpreted in terms of additional elements in the teaching-learning process, and the role of the SPQ was seen as a stimulus to thinking about that process.

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Beckwith, J.B. Approaches to learning, their context and relationship to assessment performance. High Educ 22, 17–30 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02351197

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