Abstract:

While there has been some degree of conceptualization of the interrelationships among student approaches to learning (SAL), personality, motivation and course experience (CE), there is little empirical research on a combination of all these constructs together and lesser still on tests of alternative conceptualizations. Two Science course groups of 340 Malaysian science pre-university students each were studied, of which 284 students were common. Using Structural Equation Modelling, this study tested five structural models testing the inter-relationships among student approaches to learning (SAL), personality (Openness, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness), intrinsic motivation and course experience (Workload Appropriateness, Assessment for Understanding, Clear Goals and Standards, Teaching for Understanding).

The models hypothesized that SAL was predicted
(i) directly by personality, motivation and CE (Model 1);
(ii) directly by CE, indirectly by personality and motivation through CE (Model 2);
(iii) directly by CE and motivation, indirectly by personality through CE (Model 3);
(iv) directly by CE and personality, indirectly by motivation through CE (Model 4);
(v) directly and indirectly by personality, motivation and CE (Model 5).

Model testing was done based on data from all 340 students per course and the 284 students common to both courses. Results indicated that Model 1 had the best fit for both Chemistry and Mathematics in all samples tested. For both courses (n = 340), SAL was predicted significantly by Intrinsic Motivation, Assessment for Understanding and Workload Appropriateness. For Mathematics only, SAL was additionally and significantly predicted by Openness, Clear Goals and Standards and Conscientiousness. However, the repeated measures sample (n = 284) for both courses showed that personality did not predict SAL significantly. This study supports the view that SAL is predicted directly by personality, motivation and CE. It also highlights the importance of considering between-subject differences and sample size across differing studies in future work required to cross-validate the model tested and interrelationships estimated in this study.

Keywords:

Student approaches to learning, personality, motivation, course experience, structural equation modeling, teaching approach, workload, assessment.