APPROACHES TO LEARNING, THEIR CONTEXT AND RELATIONSHIP TO ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

Relationships between approaches to learning, as measured by the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ), prior knowledge of subject area, and performance on a multiple-choice test following a 15 × 2 hour unit in basic psychology were investigated. Subjects were 105 first year tertiary students, of mean age 19.9 years, and predominantly female (82.9%). Approaches to learning were unrelated to assessment performance, and prior knowledge did not relate to a deep approach although it did predict performance. The findings were interpreted in terms of additional elements in the teaching-learning process, and the role of the SPQ was seen as a stimulus to thinking about that process. © 1991, Kluwer Academic Publishers. All rights reserved.