Students' approaches to learning chemistry

• Main Author: Bun, Chantha
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2006
• Subjects: Chemistry—Study and teaching (Higher)—Cambodia; Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6798
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper presents findings from a study of chemistry students of Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The aim of the research was to determine the predominant student approach to learning for all chemistry students, per year level, and according to gender as measured by a study process questionnaire (SPQ). The questionnaire is viewed as a reliable and valid measure of students’ learning, and has been extensively used with students in higher education in Australia and Hong Kong. The SPQ is a 42-item questionnaire measuring surface, deep, and achieving approaches to learning. It was distributed to 91 chemistry undergraduates of four-year program. Data was converted into categorical data in order to allocate a predominant approach to learning profile of each student. Then, students were categorized into adopting a surface approach, a deep approach, or an achieving approach to learning according to their predominant scores corresponding to that approach. The results indicated that many of the students were taking an achieving or deep approach to learning. Students in each year level were also taking similar approach to learning, an achieving or deep approach. Whereas, many male students were taking a deep approach to learning, and many female students were taking an achieving approach to learning.