Ryan Marion T, Irwin Jane A, Bannon Finian J, Mulholland Clive W, Baird Alan W
Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland.
J Vet Med Educ. 2004 Fall;31(3):242-54. doi: 10.3138/jvme.31.3.242.
This study has two purposes. The first is to explore an instrument of evaluation of the approaches to study (deep, strategic, and surface) adopted by students in the pre-clinical years of their veterinary degree program. The second is to examine relationships between these approaches and a broad range of further factors deemed relevant to the veterinary medicine context. We envisage that a greater knowledge of how these students learn will aid curriculum reform in a way that will enrich the learning experience of veterinary students.
A questionnaire consisting of the 52-question Approaches to Study Inventory (ASI) and an additional 49 questions relating mainly to teaching, assessment, and study skills was distributed to 215 veterinary medicine (MVB) students in their pre-clinical years of study. Factor analysis was used to ensure that the ASI section of the questionnaire maintained previously reported structure. The internal reliability of the approaches measured was tested using Cronbach alpha analysis. The approaches were described as frequency distributions. Associations between the parameters (deep, strategic, and surface) and 49 additional context-specific factors were investigated using loglinear analysis.
(1) Factor analysis revealed that the integrity and structure of the instrument in this context was generally comparable to previous studies. (2) The impact of a high workload was evident in the surface approach, with fear of failure becoming a strong motivating factor and syllabus boundness a widely used strategy. (3) Associations made between the approaches and 49 context-specific factors showed strong associations between both workload and lack of prior knowledge with the surface approach. (4) Grades were associated positively with both the deep and strategic approaches but negatively with the surface approach. (5) A range of learning and study skills were associated positively with the deep and strategic approaches and negatively with the surface approach.
The ASI proved to be a reliable and insightful instrument, highlighting specific surface learning tendencies present in the group as well as a deep learning approach, the pattern of which deviates from previous studies on this subject. This study also confirms the value of some teaching practices as a means of supporting deep learning and perhaps challenging surface learning strategies. The prevalent perception of a high workload is notable, as is its positive association with surface learning.
本研究有两个目的。第一个目的是探索一种评估工具，用于评估兽医专业学位课程临床前阶段学生所采用的学习方法（深度学习、策略性学习和表面学习）。第二个目的是研究这些学习方法与一系列被认为与兽医学背景相关的其他因素之间的关系。我们设想，更深入地了解这些学生的学习方式将有助于课程改革，从而丰富兽医专业学生的学习体验。
向215名处于临床前学习阶段的兽医学（MVB）学生发放了一份问卷，问卷包括由52个问题组成的学习方法量表（ASI）以及另外49个主要与教学、评估和学习技能相关的问题。采用因子分析来确保问卷中的ASI部分保持先前报告的结构。使用克朗巴哈α分析测试所测量学习方法的内部信度。这些学习方法以频率分布的形式进行描述。使用对数线性分析研究参数（深度学习、策略性学习和表面学习）与另外49个特定背景因素之间的关联。
（1）因子分析表明，在此背景下该工具的完整性和结构总体上与先前的研究相当。（2）高工作量的影响在表面学习方法中很明显，对失败的恐惧成为一个强大的激励因素，而受教学大纲限制成为一种广泛使用的策略。（3）学习方法与49个特定背景因素之间的关联表明，工作量和缺乏先验知识与表面学习方法之间都存在很强的关联。（4）成绩与深度学习和策略性学习方法呈正相关，但与表面学习方法呈负相关。（5）一系列学习和学习技能与深度学习和策略性学习方法呈正相关，与表面学习方法呈负相关。
ASI被证明是一种可靠且有洞察力的工具，突出了该群体中存在的特定表面学习倾向以及一种深度学习方法，其模式与先前关于该主题的研究不同。本研究还证实了一些教学实践作为支持深度学习和可能挑战表面学习策略的手段的价值。高工作量的普遍认知值得注意，其与表面学习的正相关关系也是如此。
