1. Piyusha Atapattu
Senior lecturer in Physiology
Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo
Sri Lanka
Promoting Optimal Approaches to
Learning and Studying

2. Learning in the medical school
Learning is a continuous process
Learning to learn is a must
There are important differences in
the ways individual students learn

3. “it is imperative for medical students to develop
sound learning habits which will stand them in good
stead throughout their professional life. Such habits
include the selection of what is learnt as well as how
it is learnt”
Bandaranayake (2009)

4. Approaches to learning and studying
‘how students tackle their everyday academic tasks’.

5. Approaches to learning and studying
(Tait & Entwistle, 1996).
Deep approach
Surface apathetic approach
Strategic approach
Deep and surface apathetic approaches are based on how students
extract meaning from text –how students learn
Strategic approach indicates the students’ approaches to studying
(Marton and Saljo,1976, Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983)

6. Deep approach
Intention to seek
meaning
for oneself
Using evidence
and logic
Relating ideas
Interested in
what he learns
Monitoring
learning and
understanding

7. Surface apathetic approach
Intention to cope
minimally with
course
requirement
Routine
memorising
Syllabus-
bound
Not interested
in learning for
himself
Fear of failure
driving
learning

8. Strategic approach
Intention to
achieve the
highest possible
grades
Effort
management
Time
management
Organized
studying Monitoring
studying
Alertness to
assessment
demand

9. Deep approach is more likely to be
associated with higher quality learning
In some subjects such as anatomy, rote-
learning may be a necessary preliminary to
deep approaches to study
The combination of deep and strategic
approaches is more academically
rewarding in courses such as medicine
(Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983, Long, 2003, Mattick et al., 2004)

10. Factors influencing approaches to
learning and studying
Student
factors
Curriculum
and learning
environment
Teacher
factors

11. Student factors
• Students’ conceptions of learning
• Prior study experiences and academic performance
• Relevance of subject matter to their interests
• Deep learning approach more likely with
– female gender
– older age
• Personality traits (Diseth, 2003; Schouwenburg and Kossowska, 1999)
– ‘conscientiousness’ and ‘openness’ - deep approach
– ‘neuroticism’, ‘anxiety’ and inability to cope with heavy workload - surface
approach
• Language skills (Mayya et al, 2004)

12. Curriculum and learning environment
A deep approach is likely to result from a curriculum
providing students opportunity to manage their own
learning, in a non reproduction-centered learning
environment.
Excessive curricular demand and assessment methods
rewarding reproducing information lead to surface
learning
Students may change the learning approaches to suit the
assessment demands, ie. switch to a surface approach if
they feel this is more rewarding (Thomas & Bain, 1984).

13. Teachers
A student-focused approach to teaching
in contrast to a teacher-focused approach
by teachers promotes deep learning
(Trigwell et al., 1999).
Primarily concerned with students
acquiring or developing concepts
Support and enthusiasm of the teacher
positively influences deep learning.

14. How to optimise learning through
better learning approaches
Deep strategic approaches can be promoted directly
or indirectly, at individual level or institutional level,
by emphasizing on several aspects

15. Improving teaching methods &
techniques that promote deep learning
•Utilizing teaching methods that enhance
active learning
•Recognition of problem areas without
implied threat
•Patient explanations
•Teaching with clear aims and objectives
focusing on promoting conceptual change

16. Improving teaching methods &
techniques that promote deep learning
• Courses should be designed to highlight elements which
foster deep learning
– Intrinsic motivation
– active learning
– interpersonal interactions
– well-structured knowledge base
(CNAA, 1992)

17. More time for studying without
excessive curricular demands
Deep learning encompasses seeking meaning and
understanding for oneself, and this requires more time

18. Improving study skills
New students may have unsatisfactory study skills (used to teacher-
centered, didactic learning in school, depending on ‘notes’, unused to
self-directed learning.)
Student who practice a deep learning approach at the beginning of
the medical curriculum have better applied medical knowledge later
(Mattick et al., 2004).

19. Designing assessments to reward
deep learning
Assessment – major influence on approaches to
learning and studying
Examinations testing higher levels in the cognitive
domain promote deep learning
MCQs and SAQs mostly - surface approach.
More open forms of assessments (eg. essay and
projects mostly - deep approach.
Well-designed MCQs show a significant positive
correlation with deep and strategic approaches
(Reid et al, 2007).

20. Peer and
social support Study groups
Facilities for
self-study
Financial
assistance
Conducive
physical
environment
Improving the educational and
related environment

21. Improving English proficiency
English is the language of instruction in medical schools in SL (secondary
education usually in mother tongue)
Students, especially those facing a ‘triple challenge’ when lectures are
conducted in their second language, favour lecture handouts (McMillan,
2007).
Handouts and translations at the initial stages may be important, so
that more time could be spent on understanding lectures, rather than
trying to write notes in English, which would promote a deep approach

22. Summary
Approaches to learning and studying is only one factor influencing the
quality of learning achieved in university
Three main approaches to learning and studying are identified (eg. Deep
approach, Surface apathetic approach and Strategic approach)
To optimize learning, it is necessary to understand the learning processes
that make high-quality learning outcomes possible.
The whole teaching-learning environment, particularly the assessments,
has a significant impact on how students learn.
Appropriate actions should be taken to promote deep and strategic
learning and studying approaches to achieve optimum learning.

23. Thank You

24. 1. Bandaranayake, R. (2009). Study skills. In Dent, J.A., and Harden, R. M. (Eds). A practical Guide for Medical
Teachers. Edinburgh: Elsevier.
2. CNAA (1992). Improving student learning project. Oxford Centre for Staff Development, Oxford.
3. Diseth, A. (2003). Personality and Approaches to Learning as Predictors of Academic Achievement. European
Journal of Personality,17,143–155.
4. Entwistle N. J., and Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning. London: Croom Helm.
5. Entwistle N.J., and McCune, V. (2004). The Conceptual Bases of Study Strategy Inventories Educational
Psychology Review, 4, 25-345.
6. Long, W. F. (2003). Dissonance detected by cluster analysis of responses to the approaches and study skills
inventory for students. Studies in Higher Education, 28(1), 21–35.
7. McMillan, W., J. (2007). “Then you get a teacher”—Guidelines for excellence in teaching. Medical Teacher, 29
(8), e209 - e218
8. Marton, F., Saljo, R. (1976) On qualitative differences in learning. I: Outcomes and process. British Journal of
Educational Psychology, 46, 4-11.
9. Mattick, K., Dennis, I., and Bligh, J. (2004). Approaches to learning and studying in medical students: validation
of a revised inventory and its relation to student characteristics and performance. Medical Education, 38, 535–
543.
10. Mayya, S.S., Krishna Rao, A., and Ramnarayan, A. (2004). Learning approaches, learning difficulties and
academic performance of undergraduate students of physiotherapy. The Internet Journal of Allied health
Sciences and Practice, 2(4) 1-6. Accessed at http://ijahsp.nova.edu.
11. Reid, W.A., Duvall, E., and Evans, P. (2007). Relationship between assessment results and approaches to
learning and studying in Year Two medical students. Medical Education, 41, 754-762.
12. Schouwenburg, H.C., and Kossowska, M. (1999). Learning styles: Differential effects of self-control and deep-
level information processing on academic achievement. In Mervielde, I., Deary, I.J.,De Fruyt, F., and Ostendorf,
F. (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (7) (263–281).Tilburg: University Press.
13. Tait, H., and Entwistle, N. J. (1996). Identifying students at risk through ineffective study strategies. Higher
Education, 31, 97-116.
14. Thomas, P.R., and Bain, J.D. (1984). Contextual dependence of learning approaches: The effects of assessments.
Human Learning, 3, 227-240.
15. Trigwell, K., Prosser, M. & Waterhouse, F. (1999) ‘Relations Between Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching and
Students’ Approaches to Learning’, Higher Education 37: 57–70.
References