Course design, teaching method and student epistemology

Abstract

Previous research into student learning in departments of higher education has shown that links can be established between students' approaches to studying and their perceptions of the academic environment. It has also been found that students with differing study orientations are likely to define effective teaching in ways which reflect those orientations. The study reported here began by identifying different types of student epistemology and then investigated those factors within the academic environment which appeared to influence their incidence. Employing a naturalistic methodologyobservations, interviews and case studies -the study was conducted in four departments in one institution of higher education: two arts and two science. Through a process of progressively focusing upon emergent issues, the study evolved through three stages, culminating in a model of the factors appearing to influence the development of student epistemology. It is found that the development of student epistemology is influenced by the interrelated factors of student learning approach, perception of the academic environment and lecturers' theories of teaching, which tends to uphold previous findings. It is also found, however, that students' conceptions of knowledge and their learning approaches are influenced by the ways in which knowledge is structured and presented within departments. Most particularly, a relationship was found between historical and philosophical studies, the methods of teaching them, and the development of student epistemologies.

Impacts of Teaching Approaches on Learning Approaches of Construction Engineering Students: A Comparative Study between Hong Kong and Mainland China

“…The findings for the HK group were consistent with those of previous studies (Gow and Kember, 1993;Trigwell, Prosser, and Taylor, 1994;Sheppard and Gilbert, 1991): teacher-centered approaches (transferring and shaping) encourage students to adopt a surface learning approach, and student-centered approaches (traveling and growing) are correlated with a deep learning approach (see Table 9). The study also revealed that the HK students' preferred learning approach (achieving motivation and surface strategy) (Leung, Ng, and Li, 2004) is affected by the transferring, shaping,…”

“…Sheppard and Gilbert (1991) and Gow and Kember (1993) found that the development of student epistemology was influenced by both the students' learning approaches and their perceptions of their learning environment (i.e., teaching orientation). Literature suggests a relationship between teaching orientations, teaching approaches, and student learning.…”

Factores que influyen en los enfoques de aprendizaje universitario. Una revisión sistemática

“…Además, se detecta asociación entre las creencias epistemológicas y las creencias sobre el aprendizaje (Brownlee, 2001;Sheppard y Gilbert, 1991), de ahí que las creencias estén asociadas con los enfoques y los resultados del aprendizaje. Así, las creencias relativistas/sofisticadas están relacionadas con el enfoque profundo o transformativo y la reflexión metacognitiva.…”

Learning Approaches of Successful Students and Factors Affecting Their Learning Approaches

“…Alanyazın incelendiğinde bu bulgunun alanyazınla kısmen örtüştüğü görülmektedir. Özellikle öğretmen ve öğretme yöntemi ile öğrencilerin öğrenme yaklaşımları arasındaki ilişkiyi sistematize etme adına Trigwell, Prosser ve Taylor (1994, s. 78-83), Sheppard ve Gilbert (1991), Trigwell, Prosser ve Waterhouse (1999, s. 60) ve Elstad, Christophersen ve Turmo (2012) çalışmalar yapmış ve bu çalışmalarda öğretme yaklaşımları ile öğrencilerin öğrenme yaklaşımları arasında ilişki olduğu da ifade edilmiş ve öğretmen merkezli yaklaşımlarla yüzeysel öğrenme yaklaşımı arasında öğrenci merkezli yaklaşımlarla derinlemesine öğrenme yaklaşımı arasında bir ilişki olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bu bağlamda üniversite sınavında yüzde bir dilimde olan başarılı ve başarıya odaklanmış öğrencilerin çalışma yaklaşımlarının öğretmenlerin kullandıkları öğretme yöntemleri tarafından etkilenmediklerini ifade etmeleri etkili öğrenme kapsamında, öğrencilerin hedeflerini belirlemiş ve kendi öğrenmelerinin sorumluluğunu üstlenen öz-düzenleyici öğrenenler olmalarından sınav ve başarı odaklı çalışmayı merkeze almış olmalarından kaynaklanabilir.…”