Kirsti Lonka

Studying in higher education: students' approaches to learning, self‐regulation, and cognitive strategies

The authors looked at aspects of successful and problematic studying in terms of three different research traditions: students’ approaches to learning, self‐regulated learning and cognitive strategies. These frameworks have been widely applied when explaining university student learning. However, relations among different traditions have not been sufficiently looked at. In this study the authors explored the relations between learning approaches, regulation of learning and cognitive strategies. The subjects were students at the University of Helsinki who filled in the Task Booklet of Learning and the Strategy and Attribution Questionnaire. Their academic achievement was coded from university archives. It was found that approaches to learning, regulation of learning, and cognitive strategies were related to each other, and further, to study success.

Activating instruction: How to foster study and thinking skills in higher education

New instructional procedures have been developed and applied at the University of Helsinki, Department of Psychology since 1986. The aim of these procedures has been to enhance effective study skills. The idea is to stimulate active learning in students by so called activating instruction, which is theoretically based on a combination of Vygotsky’s ideas, applied cognitive science, and process-oriented instruction.In many courses, students have been able to choose a preferred form of instruction among the new and the traditional methods. A six-year longitudinal study was conducted in order to see, what kinds of choices psychology students (N=114) made and how these choices were connected with their academic progress.On the basis of student’s evaluations, the new methods differed significantly from traditional methods. Students associated the development of study skills and understanding more often with activating instruction than with traditional courses. The number of activating courses taken was related to success in final exam and thesis writing. Those who participated in activating instruction studied slower during the first three years of their studying, but were more successful in the long term.

Developing scholarly communities as learning environments for doctoral students

The quality of PhD training can be conceived of as being dependent on the learning environment provided by the scholarly community. Our paper explores PhD students’ ideas about themselves as a part of this community, and their perceptions of their learning environment in the context of the University of Helsinki, Finland. The study is a part of a larger national research project. The present study includes data collected from three faculties: arts, medicine, and behavioral sciences. Altogether, 602 doctoral candidates responded to the survey. Results suggested that both the definitions of “scholarly community” given by the students and their experience of membership in this very community varied considerably. About one third of the PhD students did not perceive themselves as being members of any scholarly community at all. There appears to be an urgent need for more effective means of fostering PhD students’ experience of active agency within scholarly communities. La qualité de la formation doctorale peut être envisagée sous l’angle de sa dépendance à l’égard de l’environnement d’apprentissage mis en place par la communauté académique. Cet article explore les idées entretenues par les doctorants à l’égard d’eux‐mêmes au sein de cette communauté, de même que leurs perceptions à l’égard de l’environnement d’apprentissage. Les résultat d’un sondage effectué auprès de 602 doctorants suggèrent que les définitions de « communauté académique » fournies par les étudiants et leur expérience d’appartenance à cette communauté varient considérablement. Il semble qu’il y ait un besoin urgent de mettre en place des moyens davantage efficaces pour favoriser une expérience de participation active (active agency) des doctorants au sein des communautés académiques. Tiedeyhteisö muodostaa jatko‐opiskelijan keskeisen oppimisympäristön. Tässä artikkelissa keskitymme analysoimaan suomalaisten jatko‐opiskelijoiden käsityksiä omasta tiedeyhteisöstään ja itsestään sen jäseninä. Tutkimusaineisto on kerätty osana laajempaa Helsingin yliopistossa käynnissä olevaa “Jatko‐opiskelijasta tieteelliseksi asiantuntijaksi” – tutkimushanketta. Aineisto kerättiin kyselyllä, johon vastasi yhteensä 602 humanistisen, lääketieteellisen ja käyttäytymistieteellisen tiedekunnan tohtoriopiskelijaa. Tulokset osoittivat, että opiskelijoiden käsitykset tiedeyhteisöstään ja omasta roolistaan sen jäseninä vaihtelivat. Enemmistö opiskelijoista koki kuuluvansa johonkin tiedeyhteisöön. Samanaikaisesti kolmannes opiskelijoista koki itsensä ulkopuolisiksi. Se miten jatko‐opiskelijat oman roolinsa tiedeyhteisössä kokivat, oli yhteydessä opiskelijan kokemaan hyvinvointiin ja opintoihin sitoutumiseen.

Portfolios as a learning tool in obstetrics and gynaecology undergraduate training.

We developed a structured portfolio for medical students to use during their obstetrics and gynaecology undergraduate training. The main objective was to support the learning process of the students. We also wanted feedback information to enhance teaching.

Writing as a learning tool. An introduction

This introductory chapter begins with a brief historical account of the writing-to-learn movement, emphasising especially the significance of the cognitive revolution for the development of both teaming research and writing research. The next section considers those theories of the writing process which have had the most profound impact on writing-to-learn, theories of writing as problem solving. Further on, theories and views of learning are discussed as essential determinants of approaches to writing as a learning tool. it is emphasised that current constructivist and social constructivist views imply the use of writing activities requiring transformations of knowledge, social interaction, and collaboration, as well as the integration of writing with other forms of learning and studying.

The effect of study strategies on learning from text

Abstract This study focuses on study strategies used spontaneously by high-school graduates when learning from text in a medical school entrance examination. The effectiveness of these strategies was assessed in terms of success in qualitatively different essay-type tasks. All subjects (N = 503) were given a short questionnaire about the strategies they used when learning from text, and their test results were analyzed. In addition, notes of a sample of 200 subjects were analyzed. The first hypothesis was that any strategy aimed at learning a minor detail enhances its learning, whereas a central idea is learned regardless of strategies. The second hypothesis was that underlining is related to success in a task requiring synthesis of the text. Third, concept mapping was hypothesized to be successful in a task which calls for critical review of the learned materials. The results supported all hypotheses.

Spontaneous concept maps aiding the understanding of scientific concepts

This study evaluated concept maps spontaneously constructed by applicants (N = 502) in a medical school entrance examination. In all, 36 maps were produced. Concept maps were evaluated for content of relevant terms and for the number of interrelationships indicated. The aim was to determine whether including relevant ideas on a concept map is related to the learning of those ideas. Because concept maps are effective tools for making the structure of knowledge explicit, it was hypothesized that the quality and content of spontaneously made maps would be related to improvement in the comprehension of text material. Understanding was assessed in terms of success in essay-type tasks designed to measure the ability to define, explain, and apply statistical knowledge. The results indicated that merely including the relevant concepts in a map has little effect on the comprehension of those concepts, whereas the extent and complexity of concept maps plays a powerful role in the understanding of scientific texts.

Dissonant Study Orchestrations of High-Achieving University Students.

This study focuses on the dissonant study orchestrations of high-achieving university students. Advanced psychology students’ dissonant study orchestrations were compared with previous findings of advanced medical students orchestrations. Further, the relation of study orchestrations to study success was examined. The subjects were 28 advanced psychology students at the University of Helsinki, Department of Psychology who returned a task booklet of learning; of these, 24 students completed a questionnaire concentrating on the students’ interests, expectations and evaluation of the curriculum. All students were high achievers who had gone through a demanding selection process. The subjects completed three questionnaires concentrating on their study practices, conceptions of knowledge, expectations, and evaluation of the instruction in the Department of Psychology. The results showed that seven out of 28 students expressed a dissonant study orchestration. The results further showed that students’ individual study orchestrations were not related to study success. A comparison between advanced medical and psychology students showed that although the profiles of dissonant study orchestrations were technically similar among medical and psychology students, content analyses revealed that reasons for the development of dissonant study orchestrations were different.RésuméL’étude est centrée sur les dissonantes ‘orchestrations de leurs études’ par de bons étudiants d’Université. Les auteurs comparent les ‘orchestrations dissonantes’ d’étudiants avancés en psychologie à des résultats antérieurs d’étudiants avancés en médecine. Ils examinent ensuite les relations entre ‘orchestration des études’ et réussite dans les études. L’étude a porté sur 28 étudiants de psychologie avancés du département de psychologie de l’Université d’Helsinki ayant rempli un livret concernant leur approche de l’apprentissage, leur régulation et leurs conceptions de l’apprentissage. Parmi eux, 24 étudiants ont rempli un questionnaire concernant leurs intérêts, leurs expectations et l’évaluation de leur curriculum. Tous les étudiants étaient de très bons étudiants ayant été soumis à un processus sévère de sélection. Les sujets ont rempli trois questionnaires concernant leurs pratiques d’études, leurs conceptions de la connaissance, leurs expectations et l’évaluation de leur formation dans le département de psychologie. Les résultats montrent que 7 des 28 étudiants expriment une orchestration dissonante de leurs études. Les résultats montrent également que l’orchestration des études n’est pas liée à la réussite. La comparison entre les étudiants avancés de médecine et de psychologie montre que les profils d’orchestration sont techniquement similaires chez les deux catégories d’étudiants. En dépit de cette similarité, les analyses de contenu révèlent cependant que les raisons du développement de l’orchestration des dissonances dans les études sont différentes.

MED NORD–A tool for measuring medical students’ well-being and study orientations

Background: The relationship between medical students’ well-being, motivation, and their conceptions of learning and knowledge has not been previously explored. Aims: This study aimed to validate a research instrument intending to measure medical students’ (n = 280) (1) experiences of stress, anxiety and disinterest, (2) motivational (thinking) strategies, (3) conceptions of learning and knowledge (epistemologies), and (4) approaches to learning. Methods: We developed an instrument, MED NORD, which is a composition of scales measuring different theoretical constructs that previously have shown good predictive value, validity and reliability. A principal component analysis with Varimax-rotation was performed in order to see how the scales related to each other. Results: The internal consistency reliability was found to be satisfactory or good for each scale. The results showed five factors: Dysfunctional Orientation, Collaborative Knowledge Building Orientation, Cookbook Orientation, Social Orientation, and Individual Abilities Orientation. These study orientations were related to how medical students perceived their learning environment. Conclusions: The new tool showed consistency and validity and was judged appropriate for future use in measuring medical students’ well-being and study orientations.

The anatomy of learning anatomy

The experience of clinical teachers as well as research results about senior medical students’ understanding of basic science concepts has much been debated. To gain a better understanding about how this knowledge-transformation is managed by medical students, this work aims at investigating their ways of setting about learning anatomy. Second-year medical students were interviewed with a focus on their approach to learning and their way of organizing their studies in anatomy. Phenomenographic analysis of the interviews was performed in 2007 to explore the complex field of learning anatomy. Subjects were found to hold conceptions of a dual notion of the field of anatomy and the interplay between details and wholes permeated their ways of studying with an obvious endeavor of understanding anatomy in terms of connectedness and meaning. The students’ ways of approaching the learning task was characterized by three categories of description; the subjects experienced their anatomy studies as memorizing, contextualizing or experiencing. The study reveals aspects of learning anatomy indicating a deficit in meaningfulness. Variation in approach to learning and contextualization of anatomy are suggested as key-elements in how the students arrive at understanding. This should be acknowledged through careful variation of the integration of anatomy in future design of medical curricula.