Reading Richardson

‘Students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching in higher education’. Richardson (2005)

Summary of content.

Richardson's paper brings together a number of theories and research that looks at how learners and teachers approach education. He notes that past research has stated that learners adopt difference approaches depending on the demands of the course, the quality of the teaching and the nature of the assessment, but also brings into play a discussion around their understanding/conceptions of learning. Back in week four we started thinking about this and highlighted that a personals social background/ history/ how learners have been taught before may affect the way they see learning. So we pick up these ideas again with Richardson asking if student’s contextual factors effect their perceptions of learning. This also picks up on some of the discussions in week 11 on the global digital divide, and whether some social inadequacies need to be overcome before one worries about educational digital divides.

Theories

‘Interview-based research carried out in Britain and Sweden during the 1970s had identified three predominant approaches to studying in higher education: a deep approach, based upon understanding the meaning of course materials; a surface approach, based upon memorising the course materials for the purposes of assessment; and a strategic approach, based upon obtaining the highest grades.’(p674, Richardson,2005)

Richardson then picks up a number theories from Marton (1976), Säljö (1979) and Kember (1997).

Marton (1976) – deep approach students take a more active role and see learning as something they do (possible links here with the Participation metaphors). Surface learners take a more passive role, and often see learning as something that happens to them. (acquisition?)

Säljö (1979) – Conceptions of learning

1. increase of knowledge
2. memorizing
3. acquisition of facts o procedure
4. abstraction of meaning
5. interpretative process aimed at understanding reality

1 – 3 >surface learning; 2-5 >deep learning, and possibly seen more in older learners.

(Van Rossum & Taylor(1987) added a 6. conscious process, fuelled by personal interests and directed at obtaining harmony and happiness and changing society – which could be linked to Marton et al (1993) changing as a person)

Kember (1997)

Teachers conceptions of teaching:

1. imparting information
2. transmitting structured knowledge
3. an interaction between teacher and student
4. facilitating understanding on part of student
5. bringing about conceptual change and intellectual development in students

Prosser and Trigwell (1993)

Deep understanding – teachers tend to be student focused. Also these teachers tend to report departments that value teaching, lower class sizes and control over what they taught. (this mirrors some of the discussion in week one, about what education is for, and that organizational structures and environments can effect the perceived quality of teaching. Less flexibility tends to impede teachers becoming more student focused even if they want to be)

Research methods

Richardson also introduces us to a number of research tools.

Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983)

Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987).

Course Experience Questionnaire (Ramsden, 1991) (australian example 2001)

Approach to Teaching Inventory (Prosser and Trigwell, 1993)

Richardson, J.T.E. (2005) ‘Students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching in higher education’, Educational Psychology, vol.25, no. 6, pp.673–80;