Abstract:

Students' approach to learning is variable based on various factors related to the student, the context, and their perception of the context. Two main approaches have been identified: the deep and the superficial approach, which are related to the involvement of the student in their learning. Assessment of students’ approach to learning can help teacher to choose the most suitable methodology to improve students’ performance and seek a deeper understanding. This communication analyses the influence of the subject, the language of instruction and gender in two first-year subjects of the degree in Biotechnology in two different universities (Chemistry at the Universitat de València and General Genetics at the Universitat Politècnica de València) on the learning approach using the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire. The questionnaire was submitted to the students in the language of instruction of each to the groups of each subject. Differences between them were analysed according to the gender, language of instruction and subject of the students, and main scales of the questionnaire studied (Deep approach and Surface approach) and secondary scales (Motivation and Strategy). The results show a deeper than superficial approach in both subjects which implies a high involvement of the students in both subjects. However, the difference is higher in the subject of General Genetics than in Chemistry subject. The different discipline of both subjects can explain the results, although more studies are needed in different years to confirm the results as not only is the subject different in both universities, but also different teachers and methodologies were used. No differences were found depending on the language of instruction and the gender of the student. The reliability of the questionnaire is high for the main scales but lower for the secondary scales of the questionnaire. Future studies are needed to assess the influence of the methodology and teacher influence in the student approach to learning.

Keywords:

R-SPQ-2F, Deep approach, Surface approach, Chemistry, Genetics.