Theories of self-regulated learning assume that learners flexibly adapt their learning process to external task demands and that this is positively related to performance. In this study, university students (n = 119) solved three tasks that greatly differed in complexity. Their learning processes were captured in detail by task-specific…

Peer assessment is very various in its implementation. Six studies of peer assessment are reviewed, four of them in higher education. A literature review is followed by five empirical studies. Strengths and weaknesses of each study are considered and issues are raised. Variables in peer assessment needing further exploration are extricated--in…

This study investigated the effects of team-skills training on collaborative learning in a university setting. Groups worked under one of three conditions: (1) groups received team-skill training as a group and remained in that group (Trained-Together), (2) groups received team-skills training, but were then reassigned into new groups…

In this study, we aimed to investigate whether different dimensions of topic-specific epistemological beliefs predict students' understanding of seven texts representing partly conflicting views on climate change. A sample of 157 undergraduates responded to questionnaires on prior knowledge and topic-specific epistemological beliefs before they…

Studied the conceptions of formal learning held by 22 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from 3 Australian universities, a group with a high attrition rate in tertiary education. Results show that these students view and approach university learning in much the same way as other students, but the strategies these students used did not…

Forty college students in a first-year biology course were randomly assigned to a learning journal (experimental) or scientific report (control) group. Results showed that the experimental group used more metacognitive strategies and more sophisticated cognitive strategies during a learning task. (SLD)

Studied the construction of explanations in a social situation of science learning in which 18 university students in Finland participated. Introduced an analytic tool for untangling the processes of explanation building that takes a synchronous and diachronic approach to communicative and cognitive processes of student discourse. Data show how…

Explored the effect of different review opportunities on students' memory awareness and schematization. Findings for 88 college students in phase 1 and 140 in phase 2 show that students are more likely to shift from "remembering" to "learning" if they have the opportunity to review learning material regularly and in different…

Changes in conceptions of the learning process were studied for 31 Finnish educational psychology students in constructivist and traditional learning environments. Conception changes were similar in both groups, although by the end of the course, those taught in the constructivist environment put more emphasis on critical thinking. (SLD)

Statistics is known to be a difficult subject, demanding students to perceive interrelations between numerous highly abstract concepts. Many students approach the subject with an evasive attitude, often resulting in rote learning yielding little conceptual understanding of statistics. Working from a constructivist paradigm, we aimed to stimulate…

Developed an integrated view of learning from verbal and pictorial representations and analyzed the effects of different kinds of multiple external representations on the structure of mental models. Results from 60 college students indicate that the structure of graphics affects the structure of the mental model. (SLD)

Studied the extent to which collaborative knowledge construction can be fostered by providing students with visualization tools as structural support. Results for 32 college students working in dyads show that providing a content-specific visualization tool improves both the process and the outcome of the cooperative effort. (SLD)

The extent to which the expectancy of a teaching demand influences learning results was studied with 36 education majors who learned from worked-out examples with or without the expectation that they would have to teach similar examples. Teaching expectancy decreased the superficiality of studying the worked-out examples. (SLD)

Studied the relationship between learning and understanding and the meaning of memorization with 78 distance learners at the University of the South Pacific through interviews. Identified two meanings of memorization, one with understanding and one without. Discusses the implications for distance education. (SLD)

A person-oriented approach was used to study the types of achievement strategy students apply in university environments and how these are associated with academic achievement, related satisfaction, and personal well-being. Results with 254 undergraduates over 2 years found academic achievement associated with 4 types of achievement strategy, each…