Can we Relate Conceptions of Learning to Student Academic Achievement?

Abstract

The conceptions of learning that students hold and how these change are dependent on several factors, including their schooling, personal traits of students and the academic environment of the tertiary institute (e.g. departmental policies, attitudes and behaviour ofstaff). This document discusses whether the conceptions oflearning students (in this case, second year medical students) hold can be related to their academic ability. From a phenomenographic perspective (Marton et al., 1993), it would appear that students who were selected in the present study for their good academic record expressed more transformative conceptions of learning than did their less academically achieving peers, who appeared to rely on memorisation and recall. Based on the results of this study, ‘academic ability’ might then be a re?ection of the conceptions of learning students hold. It would be interesting to extend this study to include students in other disciplines, experiencing other curricula and at different year levels.