This manual describes the theory behind the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and explains what the subscale and scale scores mean. The SPQ is a 42-item self-report questionnaire used in Australia to assess the extent to which a tertiary student at a college or university endorses different approaches to learning and the motives and strategies comprising those approaches. The SPQ yields scores on three basic motives for learning and three learning strategies, and on the approaches to learning that are formed by these motives and strategies. The three important approaches to learning are categorized as: (1) surface--meeting the minimum requirements; (2) deep--an intrinsic interest in what is learned; and (3) achieving--enhancing ego and self-esteem through the competition for grades. The SPQ operationalizes these approaches and their constituent motives and strategies in terms of scale and subscale profiles representing an individual's general orientation toward learning. Directions for administering, scoring, and interpreting scores are given, with suggestions about how they may be used by teachers and counselors. Statistical information about reliability and validity, four data tables, five figures, and 16 tables of norms are provided. Norms are given separately for males and females; for colleges and universities; and for faculties of arts, education, and science. The SPQ is enclosed. (SLD)
The report offers policy makers a fine-grained analysis of which particular learner characteristics are prevalent in different countries. It also identifies differences between the approaches of various groups, including male and female students, and those from more and less advantaged backgrounds.
How can university teachers improve the quality of student learning? Prosser and Trigwell argue that the answer lies in determining how students perceive their unique learning situations. In doing so they draw upon the considerable body of educational research into student learning in higher education which has been developed and published over the past three decades; and they enable university teachers to research and improve their own teaching. This book outlines the key principles underlying successful teaching and learning in higher education, and is a key resource for all university teachers.
Learning Patterns in Higher Education brings together a cutting edge international team of contributors to critically review our current understanding of how students and adults learn, how differences and changes in the way students learn can be measured in a valid and reliable way, and how the quality of student learning may be enhanced. There is substantial evidence that students in higher education have a characteristic way of learning, sometimes called their learning orientation (Biggs 1988), learning style (Evans et al. 2010) or learning pattern (Vermunt and Vermetten 2004). However, recent research in the field of student learning has resulted in multi-faceted and sometimes contradictory results which may reflect conceptual differences and differences in measurement of student learning in each of the studies. This book deals with the need for further clarification of how students learn in higher education in the 21st century and to what extent the measurements often used in learning pattern studies are still up to date or can be advanced with present methodological and statistical insights to capture the most important differences and changes in student learning. The contributions in the book are organized in two parts: a first conceptual and psychological part in which the dimensions of student learning in the 21st century are discussed and a second empirical part in which questions related to how students’ learning can be measured and how it develops are considered. Areas covered include: Cultural influences on learning patterns Predicting learning outcomes Student centred learning environments and self-directed learning Mathematics learning This indispensable book covers multiple conceptual perspectives on how learning patterns can be described and effects and developments can be measured, and will not only be helpful for ‘learning researchers’ as such but also for educational researchers from the broad domain of educational psychology, motivation psychology and instructional sciences, who are interested in student motivation, self-regulated learning, effectiveness of innovative learning environments, as well as assessment and evaluation of student characteristics and learning process variables.
[B]ecause of the thoroughness of the literature reviews and the comprehensive coverage of the chapter topics, [this book] should be required reading for any scholar working in related areas of personality or intelligence."--PsycCRITIQUES "This book is a masterly attempt to bring order and cohesion to a field that for many years has been riven with claims and counterclaims. The editors and authors are to be congratulated for addressing a very complex task so helpfully." John Biggs, PhD Honorary Professor of Psychology University of Hong Kong "If you are interested in intellectual stylesópeople's preferred ways of processing informationóthen this book belongs on your bookshelf." Richard E. Mayer, PhD Professor of Psychology University of California, Santa Barbara "For more than half a century, the construct of styleówhether designated as cognitive, thinking or learningóhas been in or out of fashion in the history of psychology and education. The editors of the present Handbook have invigorated the style construct in the form of intellectual styles, and have brought together a distinguished international panel of chapter authors who offer up-to-date surveys of the assessment, development, correlates, and educational and organizational applications of intellectual styles. For those seeking to familiarize themselves with current theory and research in an intellectually exciting field, the present Handbook is essential." Nathan Kogan, PhD Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology New School for Social Research, New York, NY The concept of intellectual styles has had a controversial history based on diverse philosophical and theoretical foundations. Most recently, the idea of intellectual stylesóan umbrella term that covers such closely related constructs as "cognitive styles," "learning styles," "teaching styles," and "thinking styles"óhas gained momentum as an explanation for why different people succeed in different professional and organizational settings. Previously, it was thought that high-achievers simply had more innate abilities than their less successful peers, but research has shown that individuals have different intellectual styles that are better suited for varying types of contexts and problems. Based on the most current and expansive research, this handbook is the first to provide a comprehensive review of research on the construct of intellectual style, from its foundations and development, to its relations to allied constructs, its roles in school and job performance, its applications in various populations, and its future.. This understanding of intellectual styles as a valid concept for both individuals and groups has far-reaching implications for researchers in cross-cultural psychology, multicultural education, organizational behavior and work performance, and many other academic disciplines, as well as practitioners in education and beyond. Key Features: Provides a comprehensive review of intellectual styles from multiple perspectives Written for students and scholars in diverse academic arenas, as well as practitioners in education and other fields Includes contributions from researchers from diverse disciplines, such as psychology, business, education, and health sciences
This book identifies strategies that are consistently associated with good teaching and presents them within a theoretical framework that explains how they promote students' active and meaningful learning. The book promotes teachers' pedagogical knowledge and their perception of teaching as scholarly, intellectual work, and provides extensive practical advice.
"Contains an overview of how adult learning theory relates to clinical education and practical strategies for implementation. It discusses stages of student growth and development along the continuum towards interdependence, case examples and cautions to using suggested strategies" -- Pref. p.viii.
The Emotionally Intelligent Online Tutor foregrounds the tutor within online and blended learning environments, and focusses on desirable skills, qualities and attributes for effective tutoring. It analyses these qualities in relation to prominent psychological constructs, such as emotional intelligence, and the exploration of their value in practice. This book is focussed on the tutoring of adult learners undertaking study within higher education, commonly on a part-time basis whilst studying vocationally relevant degree programmes. However, the contents are applicable and generalisable to those tutoring within informal environments, such as Massive Open Online Courses. Prominent social constructivist models of e-learning are critiqued with alternative actions provided for tutors now practicing in a digital age. The book provides a conceptual model that represents an interpretation of effective practice in a blended learning context. This book will be of great interest for academics, scholars and postgraduate students in the field of education and for e-tutors delivering online and blended courses. Furthermore, it will be useful for those undertaking teacher training, psychology and counselling courses.
This book aims to mark fifteen years of contributions to the field of style research in cognition and learning presented at the annual conference of the European Learning Styles Information Network. The style field is a multidisciplinary, global community made up of researchers in several domains of knowledge including education, psychology, business, computer science, information systems, management, human resources and other related fields. The book will be relevant for readers who are interested in differences in thinking and learning, covering a wide range of style-related themes with appeal to readers seeking an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Interested practitioners will include professionals working in the areas of HR Management, Organizational Learning, Business Management and all phases of Education. The application of style differences, for example, impacts widely upon work and human performance in areas of policy-making, team-management and project development (sports, social agency, and medicine). New or alternative research paradigms facilitating revision and consensus in the field of style differences are presented. The aim of integrating research and practice is developed to achieve consensual theory for style differences in human performance. Style Differences in Performance is a timely and field-defining volume that will change the way academics and practitioners across international and disciplinary boundaries think and talk about the field of learning style and its implications for human achievement.
