5. Analysis of the
Approaches to Learning by Accounting and Business Students in Australia-
Evaluating the Classroom
Presenter: Robyn Pilcher, Charles Sturt University
Description: The session will
report on results obtained from the first 18 months of a three-year
longitudinal study with a single cohort of business students, using Biggs' and
Kember's Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). An experiment allowing
students to enter into a contract with the lecturer regarding their assessment
format in the second accounting subject was conducted. The students' choices
were analyzed to determine whether deep learners actually do adopt those tasks
designed to encourage a deep approach to learning or whether, in fact, surface
strategies are employed. These results are reported, as is the impact of the
approach to learning on their academic performance. The results are then
compared to a pilot study carried out in 2001.
Key concepts
Deep and surface learning: metacognition; student approaches to learning
inventories; learning context; quantitative and qualitative research;
performance; teacher/facilitator development.
Learning outcomes
How the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) is different from other
student approaches to learning inventories is the fact that it can be used not
only to analyze student learning, but also as an easy tool in evaluating and
researching classrooms and innovative effectiveness.
