The paper will discuss some research results on the application of recent descriptions of student learning (specifically by Pask and Marton) to students' normal academic methods of studying. The study to be discussed differs from the original studies in that it attempted to analyse a number of real working situations for a group of about 30 students, obtaining as much detail as possible on all aspects of the students' perceptions of their work in those situations. The major conclusion from the study is that students' styles and strategies of learning are context-dependent: rather than applying to individual students, dichotomised descriptions of learning are more readily applicable to students in particular learning situations. The paper will discuss some of the implications of this conclusion for further research on student learning. In particular, it may be possible to develop a hypothetical model of student learning, both to clarify existing results, and provide a framework for further research. © 1979 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.
