COGNITIVE STRATEGIES AND STUDY HABITS - AN ANALYSIS OF THE MEASUREMENT OF TERTIARY STUDENTS LEARNING

Summary. This study used Biggs' Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) as a case study to examine some conceptual issues in the learning approaches of Australian teacher education students. A factor analysis of the SPQ indicated that the internal coherence of the surface strategy subscale, in particular, was unsatisfactory. A second study found no relationship between students' surface, deep and achieving strategy scores on the SPQ and their performance on basic and complex tasks using a cognitive strategies framework developed by Weinstein and Mayer. A conceptual reclassification of the strategy items on the SPQ as rehearsal, organisation or elaboration strategies indicated that the Weinstein and Mayer cognitive strategies framework was more consistent with the pattern of factor loadings, and that only elaboration items are adequately represented on the SPQ. It is suggested that the Weinstein and Mayer conceptualisation may provide a richer and more discriminating framework for analysing students' cognitive strategies on learning tasks. 1991 The British Psychological Society