Abstract
This study examines the relationship among civil engineering students’ approaches to learning, their perceptions of the teaching–learning environment, and their study success. The aim was to identify civil engineering students’ approaches to learning and how their approaches to learning are related to their perceptions of the learning–teaching environment and their study success. The data of the study consist of the students’ answers to a questionnaire () and their study success data (), which were gathered from their university’s study register. The study success data consist of the cumulative study credits and weighted averages of their course grades. The students were classified into four clusters according to their approaches to learning. Differences in their perceptions of the teaching–learning environment and study success between the clusters were statistically significant. Students who belonged to clusters that emphasized the deep approach to learning experienced their teaching–learning environment more positively than did other students. Students who belonged to clusters emphasizing organized studying earned more credits and higher marks in their studies than did other students.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Asikainen, H., Parpala, A., Virtanen, V., and Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2013). “The relationship between student learning process, study success and the nature of assessment: A qualitative study.” Stud. Educ. Eval., 39(4), 211–217.
Baeten, M., Kyndt, E., Struyven, K., and Dochy, F. (2010). “Using student-centred learning environments to stimulate deep approaches to learning: Factors encouraging or discouraging their effectiveness.” Educ. Res. Rev., 5(3), 243–260.
Biggs, J. (1979). “Individual differences in study processes and the quality of learning outcomes.” Higher Educ., 8(4), 381–394.
Biggs, J. (2001). “Enhancing learning: A matter of style or approach.” Perspectives on thinking, learning, and cognitive styles, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London, 73–102.
Biggs, J. B. (1987). Student approaches to learning and studying. Research monograph, Australian Council for Educational Research, Hawthorn, Australia.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd Ed., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
Entwistle, N. (1998). “Motivation and approaches to learning: Motivating and conceptions of teaching.” Motivating students, S. Brown, S. Armstrong, and G. Thompson, eds., Kogan Page, London, 15–23.
Entwistle, N. (2001). “Styles of learning and approaches to studying in higher education.” Kybernetes, 30(5/6), 593–603.
Entwistle, N. (2009). Universities into the 21st century: Teaching for understanding at university: Deep approaches and distinctive ways of thinking, Palgrave, London.
Entwistle, N., Hanley, M., and Hounsell, D. (1979). “Identifying distinctive approaches to studying.” Higher Educ., 8(4), 365–380.
Entwistle, N., and McCune, V. (2004). “The conceptual bases of study strategy inventories.” Educ. Psychol. Rev., 16(4), 325–345.
Entwistle, N., McCune, V., and Scheja, M. (2006). “Student learning in context: Understanding the phenomenon and the person.” Instructional psychology: Past, present and future trends, S. Vosniadou, ed., Elsevier, Oxford, U.K., 131–148.
Entwistle, N., McCune, V., and Walker, P. (2001). “Conceptions, styles and approaches within higher education: Analytic abstractions and everyday experience.” Perspectives on thinking, learning, and cognitive styles, R. J. Sternberg and L.-F. Zhang, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London, 103–136.
Entwistle, N. J., and Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning, Croom Helm, London.
Erkkilä, M. (2009). “Strategisesti suorittaen?—Teknillistieteellisen alan opiskelijoiden kandidaattivaiheen opintojen eteneminen, opiskeluorientaatiot ja opiskelukokemukset uudesta kaksiportaisesta tutkintorakenteesta.” Pro Gradu, Univ. of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland (in Finnish).
Fransson, A. (1977). “On qualitative differences in learning. IV: Effects of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic test anxiety on process and outcome.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 47(3), 244–257.
Freeman, S., et al. (2014). “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 111(23), 8410–8415.
Hair, J. F. J., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., and Black, W. C. (1995). Multivariate data analysis, 4th Ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Heikkilä, A., Lonka, K., Nieminen, J., and Niemivirta, M. (2012). “Relations between teacher students’ approaches to learning, cognitive and attributional strategies, well-being, and study success.” Higher Educ., 64(4), 455–471.
Kreber, C. (2010). “The relationship between students’ course perception and their approaches to studying in undergraduate science courses: A Canadian experience.” Higher Educ. Res. Dev., 22(1), 57–75.
Kyndt, E., Dochy, F., Struyven, K., and Cascallar, E. (2011). “The perception of workload and task complexity and its influence on students’ approaches to learning: A study in higher education.” Eur. J. Psychol. Educ., 26(3), 393–415.
Lawless, C. J., and Richardson, J. T. (2002). “Approaches to studying and perceptions of academic quality in distance education.” Higher Educ., 44(2), 257–282.
Lietz, P., and Matthews, B. (2010). “The effects of college students’ personal values on changes in learning approaches.” Res. Higher Educ., 51(1), 65–87.
Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2003). “Broadening an understanding of the phenomenon of dissonance.” Stud. Higher Educ., 28(1), 63–77.
Lindblom-Ylänne, S., and Lonka, K. (1998). “Individual ways of interacting with the learning environment—Are they related to study success?” Learn. Instruction, 9(1), 1–18.
Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Parpala, A., and Postareff, L. (2013). “Challenges in analysing change in students’ approaches to learning.” New perspectives on learning and instruction—Learning patterns in higher education: Dimensions and research perspectives, D. Gijbels, V. Donche, J. Richardson, and J. Vermunt, eds., Routledge, London, 232–248.
Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Trigwell, K., Nevgi, A., and Ashwin, P. (2006). “How approaches to teaching are affected by discipline and teaching context.” Stud. Higher Educ., 31(3), 285–298.
Lizzio, A., Wilson, K., and Simons, R. (2002). “University students’ perceptions of the learning environment and academic outcomes: Implications for theory and practice.” Stud. Higher Educ., 27(1), 27–52.
Lonka, K., and Ketonen, E. (2012). “How to make a lecture course an engaging learning experience?” Stud. Learn. Soc., 2(2-3), 63–74.
Lonka, K., and Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (1996). “Epistemologies, conceptions of learning, and study practices in medicine and psychology.” Higher Educ., 31(1), 5–24.
Lonka, K., Olkinuora, E., and Mäkinen, J. (2004). “Aspects and prospects of measuring studying and learning in higher education.” Educ. Psychol. Rev., 16(4), 301–323.
Lueddeke, G. R. (2003). “Professionalising teaching practice in higher education: A study of disciplinary variation and ‘teaching-scholarship’.” Stud. Higher Educ., 28(2), 213–228.
Marton, F., and Säljö, R. (1976). “On qualitative differences in learning. I: Outcome and process.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 46(1), 4–11.
Marton, F., and Säljö, R. (1997). “Approaches to learning.” The experience of learning, F. Marton, D. Hounsell, and N. J. Entwistle, eds., Scottish Academic, Edinburgh, U.K., 39–58.
Meyer, J. H. (2000). “The modelling of ‘dissonant’ study orchestration in higher education.” Eur. J. Psychol. Educ., 15(1), 5–18.
Meyer, J. H. F. (1991). “Study orchestration: The manifestation, interpretation and consequences of contextualised approaches to studying.” Higher Educ., 22(3), 297–316.
Murphy, K. R., and Myors, B. (1998). Statistical power analysis. A simple and general model for traditional and modern hypothesis tests, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
Nevgi, A., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., and Levander, L. M. (2009). “Tieteenalakohtaiset erot opetuksellisissa lähestymistavoissa.” Peda-forum, 2(9), 6–15 (in Finnish).
Nieminen, J., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., and Lonka, K. (2004). “The development of study orientations and study success in students of pharmacy.” Instructional Sci., 32(5), 387–417.
Parpala, A., and Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2012). “Using a research instrument for developing quality at the university.” Qual. Higher Educ., 18(3), 313–328.
Parpala, A., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Komulainen, E., Litmanen, T., and Hirsto, L. (2010). “Students’ approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment in different disciplines.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 80(2), 269–282.
Postareff, L., Parpala, A., and Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2015). “Factors contributing to changes in a deep approach to learning in different learning environments.” Learn. Environ. Res., 18(3), 315–333.
Prince, M. (2004). “Does active learning work? A review of the research.” J. Eng. Educ., 93(3), 223–231.
Prince, M. J., and Felder, R. M. (2006). “Inductive teaching and learning methods: Definitions, comparisons, and research bases.” J. Eng. Educ., 95(2), 123–138.
Prosser, M., and Millar, R. (1989). “The ‘how’ and ‘what’ of learning physics.” Eur. J. Psychol. Educ., 4(4), 513–528.
Prosser, M., and Trigwell, K. (1999). Understanding learning and teaching: The experience in higher education, Society for Research into Higher Education, Buckingham, U.K.
Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in higher education, Routledge, London.
Richardson, J. C., and Newby, T. (2006). “The role of students’ cognitive engagement in online learning.” Am. J. Distance Educ., 20(1), 23–37.
Richardson, J. T. (2005). “Students’ perceptions of academic quality and approaches to studying in distance education.” Br. Educ. Res. J., 31(1), 7–27.
Richardson, J. T., and Price, L. (2003). “Approaches to studying and perceptions of academic quality in electronically delivered courses.” Br. J. Educ. Technol., 34(1), 45–56.
Rytkönen, H., Parpala, A., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Virtanen, V., and Postareff, L. (2012). “Factors affecting bioscience students’ academic achievement.” Instructional Sci., 40(2), 241–256.
Sadlo, G., and Richardson, J. T. (2010). “Approaches to studying and perceptions of the academic environment in students following problem-based and subject-based curricula.” Higher Educ. Res. Dev., 22(3), 253–274.
Salmisto, A., and Nokelainen, P. (2014). “Knowledge creation and innovation in a civil engineering course for the first-year university students.” Eur. J. Eng. Educ., 40(5), 506–521.
Smith, K. A., Sheppard, S. D., Johnson, D. W., and Johnson, R. T. (2005). “Pedagogies of engagement: Classroom-based practices.” J. Eng. Educ., 94(1), 87–101.
Smith, S. N., and Miller, R. J. (2005). “Learning approaches: Examination type, discipline of study, and gender.” Educ. Psychol., 25(1), 43–53.
Trigwell, K., and Prosser, M. (1991). “Improving the quality of student learning: The influence of learning context and student approaches to learning on learning outcomes.” Higher Educ., 22(3), 251–266.
Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., and Waterhouse, F. (1999). “Relations between teachers’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning.” Higher Educ., 37(1), 57–70.
van Rossum, E., and Schenk, S. M. (1984). “The relationship between learning conception, study strategy and learning outcome.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 54(1), 73–83.
Vermunt, J. (2005). “Relations between student learning patterns and personal and contextual factors and academic performance.” Higher Educ., 49(3), 205–234.
Vermunt, J. D. (1998). “The regulation of constructive learning processes.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 68(2), 149–171.
Watkins, D. A., and Biggs, J. B. (1996). The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological, and contextual influences, Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Zeegers, P. (2001). “Approaches to learning in science: A longitudinal study.” Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 71(1), 115–132.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 143 • Issue 4 • October 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 4, 2016
Accepted: Mar 31, 2017
Published online: Jul 7, 2017
Published in print: Oct 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Dec 7, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.