Pedro R. Garfella Esteban

Learning styles and approaches to learning in excellent and average first-year university students

We assessed the learning approaches and learning styles of a sample of 148 excellent students selected from 11 degrees from nine centers of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), and we compared the results with those of a sample of 133 average students from the same centers. We found that excellent students took deeper approach than average students and that they preferred reflective and theoretical learning styles. Average students adopted a more surface approach, and they preferred active and pragmatic learning styles. Greater academic achievement was related to the deep approach and to the reflective and theoretical learning styles. Poorer academic achievement was related to the surface approach and an active style. University professors may reinforce the deep approach by placing high aims for students which go well beyond reproducing knowledge but use other complementary methods other than expository teaching: problem solving, case studies, designing projects, raising questions, discussion and negotiation in the classroom, etc. To accomplish this, teachers must encourage students to be committed, and these methods help do that. It also helps to introduce more demanding evaluation procedures which do not merely involve repeating what has been learnt, but include training guidance that offers students feedback.

Métodos centrados en el aprendizaje, estrategias y enfoques de aprendizaje en estudiantes universitarios

espanolLos metodos centrados en el aprendizaje parecen mas adecuados para favorecer el aprendizaje del estudiante y sus capacidades de autorregulacion. En este trabajo se pretendia valorar la incidencia de metodos centrados en el aprendizaje sobre las estrategias de aprendizaje y los enfoques de aprendizaje de tres grupos de alumnos de 1o de los grados de Pedagogia y Educacion Social de la Universidad de Valencia en la asignatura Teoria de la Educacion, de 1o curso. La muestra estaba constituida por 133 alumnos. Se utilizo un diseno preexperimental, con medidas de pretest y postest, tomadas mediante los cuestionarios CEVEAPEU y CPE; ademas los alumnos valoraron los metodos utilizados por sus profesores con un cuestionario cuantitativo. Tambien se recogieron datos cualitativos de los estudiantes para disponer de una perspectiva mas integradora: se realizo un grupo de discusion para analizar los metodos y tambien alumnos de los tres grupos los valoraron por medio de un cuestionario cualitativo abierto. Los profesores de los tres grupos acordaron la metodologia, centrada en el aprendizaje y en el alumno. Los metodos docentes utilizados integraban metodologia expositiva, preguntas, discusion en clase, practicas de aula, trabajo cooperativo, elaboracion de un trabajo de investigacion y exposicion ante la clase, y un sistema de evaluacion que hacia uso de procedimientos formativos que devolvian feedback a los estudiantes (dos entregas de portafolios, evaluacion de las exposiciones orales en clase, rubricas, coevaluacion, autoevaluacion y pruebas escritas). Se encontraron mejoras significativas en las estrategias de aprendizaje en el postest y en las puntuaciones de enfoque profundo. Los alumnos valoraron positivamente los metodos utilizados en comparacion con otros mas tradicionales. Este trabajo es relevante por los resultados positivos debidos de un planteamiento mas integrador a nivel metodologico que en otros estudios analizados. EnglishThe learner-centered methods seem more appropriate to promote student learning and self-regulation skills. We wanted to assess the impact of learningcentered methodology on learning strategies and learning approaches of three students? groups. They were first year students from the degrees of Pedagogy and Social Education at the University of Valencia, in the subject of Educational Theory. The sample consisted of 133 students. A pre-experimental design was used with pretest and posttest measures by means of the CEVEAPEU and CPE questionnaires; besides, the students assessed the methods used by their professors by means of a quantitative questionnaire. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected from the students to provide a more integrated perspective: a focus group was carried out with some students to analyze the methods, and some students from the three groups also assessed them by means of an opened questionnaire. The professors from the three groups agreed the methodology, learner-centered. The teaching methods included expository methodology, questions, classroom discussion, classroom practices, cooperative work, development of a research work and presentation in the classroom, and an evaluation system that made use of training procedures that returned feedback to students (two portfolios, assessment of oral presentations, rubrics, coevaluation, self-assessment and written tests.). Significant improvements in learning strategies and in deep approach scores were found in the posttest. The students positively assessed the methods used compared with more traditional methods. This work is relevant for the positive results due to a more integrative methodological approach than in other studies analyzed.