Abstract:

Students' approaches to learning can be influenced by various factors, including the subject and teaching-learning environment, as teachers play a significant role in shaping their approaches. Students' initial expectations when enrolling in a subject may not be met, leading to decreased motivation due to workload and other conditioning factors. To improve student motivation, teacher performance and teaching and assessment methodologies should focus on fostering a deep approach to learning, which can enhance learning outcomes and academic performance. In this study, we measured students' approaches to learning using the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire at the beginning and end of the subject. Our results show that students exhibited a high deep approach and low surface approach at the start of the subject, which was maintained until the end. Notably, there were no differences in deep approach according to student gender, although males showed a higher surface approach than females. We found minimal correlations between deep and surface approaches, but significant correlations between main and secondary scales of the questionnaire, supporting the hypothesis that only main scales are significant in our conditions. The results suggest that the methodology used in the subject is effective in maintaining students' initial deep approach and provide opportunities for improvement to increase overall performance.

Keywords:

R-SPQ-2F questionnaire, deep and surface approach, assessment, teaching methodologies.