Developing education students' conceptions of the learning process in different learning environments

Changes in conceptions of the learning process of 31 educational psychology students were examined in a constructivist and in a traditional learning environment. The study was carried out in a course which dealt with theories of learning and development and consisted of three text books. At the beginning of the course all students wrote a short essay, ''My conception of learning'', after which the participants were divided in two groups. The traditional learning group studied the books individually, listened to the lectures and took an exam while the constructive learning group worked with different writing assignments, discussed the topics in groups and wrote an extensive essay instead of taking an exam. After the course all students again wrote a short essay about their learning conceptions. The essays written before and after the course were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenographic procedure. As a result of the study, seven categories of description of the students' conceptions of the learning process are presented. The students' conceptions appeared to change similarly in both groups with the exception that at the end of the course the students in the constructive learning group emphasized more often the role of critical thinking and other student activity in learning. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.