ABSTRACT
Investigating how students approach learning is important for designing effective teaching programmes and to ensure better retention and application of information learned. The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) is a widely used instrument for assessing approaches to students’ learning, but its ability to distinguish between dynamic and stable aspects of students’ learning has not been examined using an appropriate methodology. Generalisability theory (G-theory) is a robust method to differentiate between stable and dynamic patterns and establishing reliability in psychometric measurement. G-theory was applied to longitudinal data of 123 medical students who completed the R-SPQ-2F at three time points with 6-month intervals. Temporal reliability of the full scale was higher (Gr = 0.76) compared to individual subscales, suggesting that there is an overarching trait of optimised learning that involves shifting between deep and surface approaches to achieve the best academic outcome. Accordingly, deep and surface motivation and surface strategy facets displayed characteristics of a reliable state measure and can be used to evaluate the degree of applying these dynamic aspects of learning.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all participants who participated in this longitudinal study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethics approval
The University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee approved this study (Reference number 9758).
Consent to participate
Participation was voluntary and informed consent was obtained from each participant.
Consent for publication
All authors gave their consent for publication of this study.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.