Abstract:

Introduction:
The use of a deep learning approach, in which the student attempts to highly understand the contents in order to connect new ideas and previous knowledge, or the use of a superficial approach, in which students make the least effort in order to do not fail, could be implicated in academic performance in different university degrees.

Objective:
To analyse the relationship between the use of a deep learning approach and a high academic performance in second-year Physiotherapy students at University of Vigo.

Method:
A cross-sectional descriptive study carried on at the beginning of the 2014-2015 academic course with second-year physiotherapy students. The Biggs’ questionnaire on learning approaches was used (Biggs et al., 2001 – original version; Muñoz San Roque and Martínez Felipe, 2012 – Spanish version). The students’ academic records have been accessed, after the informed consents have been obtained, to know their grades in the different subjects of first-year academic course. A sample of 47 students participated in the study (the 74.6% of the enrolled). The average age was 20,28 ± 2,26 years.

Results:
53.2% of the participants were women and the 46,8% were men. For the total sample (47), 39 (82.98%) of them had a deep learning approach, 5 (10.64%) had a balanced learning approach and 3 (6.38%) had a superficial learning approach. In terms of academic performance, no significant differences by gender were observed in grades of the subjects in first-year academic course, or in the average grade of the students’ records. However, negative correlations were observed between “Deep learning approach” and the grades in the subjects “Human Physiology” and “Principles of Physiotherapy”, and the average grade of the students’ records. Additionally, negative correlations were also observed between “Deep motive” and the grades in the subject “Functional Movement in Physiotherapy” and the average grade of the students’ records, and negative correlations between “Deep strategy” and the grades in the subjects “Biochemistry and Biophysics” and “Human Physiology” and the average grade of the students’ records, among others.

Conclusions:
The use of a “Deep learning approach” by second-year physiotherapy students at University of Vigo does not only seem related to their academic performance, but also there seems to be an inverse relation. In future researches, it could be interesting to analyse the other courses of the Degree, and additionally the assessment methodology used within the different subjects of the Degree.

Keywords:

Learning approaches, High Education, Physiotherapy.