A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
The interplay between teachers’ approaches to teaching, students’ approaches to learning and learning outcomes: a qualitative multi-case study
Authors: Kaire Uiboleht, Mari Karm, Liisa Postareff
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Learning Environments Research
Journal name in source: Learning Environments Research
First page : 1
Last page: 27
Number of pages: 27
ISSN: 1387-1579
eISSN: 1573-1855
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9257-1
The interaction between approaches to teaching and students’ learning has been the focus of research for more than 20 years. Previous studies concerning approaches to teaching in higher education have identified two broad categories: content- and learning-focused approaches. Some studies indicate that teachers do not always adopt a consonant teaching- or learning-focused approach, but might employ elements of both, which results in a dissonant approach. Research on how dissonant approaches to teaching and students’ quality of learning are related is scant. This study explored relationships between how teachers’ approaches to teaching and undergraduate students’ self-reported approaches to learning and learning outcomes. The data for this study consisted of 33 semi-structured interviews with students from three courses. Interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The results demonstrated that, when the teacher used a consonant learning-focused approach to teaching, students’ learning outcomes and approaches to learning were of a slightly higher quality than when the teacher employed a dissonant approach to teaching. However, a dissonant approach to teaching did not always result in a lower quality of approaches to learning and learning outcomes.