Influences of learning strategies on assessment experiences and outcomes during the transition to university

ABSTRACT

During the transition to university, early summative assessments may serve as powerful indicators of academic performance and perceived competence by students. How students learn in preparation for these assessments may be determinants of task-related experience and outcomes. The current study investigated the influences of learning strategies on anxiety, grade, and academic self-efficacy upon completing an early summative assessment at university. With a sample of New Zealand university students (n = 233), a hypothesized model was tested predicting the influences of rehearsal and elaboration strategies on assessment-related experience and outcomes. Results showed rehearsal strategies to have a positive influence on state anxiety and, to a lesser degree, academic self-efficacy; by comparison, elaboration strategies had no influence on state anxiety but a strong, positive influence on academic self-efficacy. State anxiety had a negative influence on both task grade and academic self-efficacy. The benefits of academic support during the university transition are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning
• motivation
• self-efficacy
• anxiety
• transition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ako Aotearoa: National Centre for Tertiary Teaching [grant number S1601].