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Students’ adoption of course-specific approaches to learning in two parallel courses

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Abstract

Research on students’ adoption of course-specific approaches to learning in parallel courses is limited and inconsistent. This study investigated second-semester psychology students’ levels of deep, surface and strategic approaches in two courses running in parallel within a real-life university setting. The results showed significant differences in course-specific adoption regardless of approach. However, the strategic approach seemed more stable. Sub-groups of students exhibited substantial variation: more than half of the students adopted similar approaches in both courses while large minorities showed great variability. Students scoring low on the surface approach, high on the deep approach or high on the strategic approach to learning were flexible in adopting different parallel approaches. However, students scoring high on the surface approach, low on the deep approach or low on the strategic approach seemed stable across contexts. This suggests that even smaller variations in teaching and learning environments can influence students’ approaches to learning.

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Correspondence to Maria Öhrstedt.

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Maria Öhrstedt (PhD student). Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: maria.ohrstedt@psychology.su.se

Current themes of research:

My research investigates conditions for teaching and learning, mainly within higher education. This involves the interplay between students’ personal factors and the educational context as well as students’ meta-cognitive strategies and learning outcomes.

Relevant conference presentations in the field of Educational Psychology:

Öhrstedt, M. & Lindfors, P. (2014). Students’ approaches to learning across the transition between psychology courses. Oral presentation at the EARLI SIG Higher Education, Leuven, Belgium, 20–22 August.

Öhrstedt, M. & Scheja, M. (2013) Expressing approaches to psychology studies in higher education. Oral presentation at the European Congress of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden, 10–12 July.

Petra Lindfors (Professor). Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

Current themes of research:

My research investigates how various factors at different levels relate to psychobiological mechanisms, stress, health and well-being in adults and adolescents. My research also covers teaching and learning within higher education, interventions and positive psychology. I am on the Board of the Swedish Society of Behavioral Medicine, member of the Stockholm Stress Center steering committee and Deputy Head of the Division of Work and Organizational Psychology and involved in the International Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Relevant publication in the field of Educational Psychology:

Lindfors, P., Hultell, D., Rudman, A., Gustavsson, J. P. (2014). Change and stability in subjective well-being over the transition from higher education to employment. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 188–93. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.06.043.

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Öhrstedt, M., Lindfors, P. Students’ adoption of course-specific approaches to learning in two parallel courses. Eur J Psychol Educ 31, 209–223 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0256-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0256-7

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