| Proposal Type: | Individual Paper |
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| Domain: | Higher Education |
| SIG: | Higher Education |
| Scheduling category: | Higher education |
| Type | Submitted Paper |
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Slide projector |
| Paper Details |
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| Paper type | Empirical |
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| Title | Prior knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, and learning strategies as the predictors of study success |
| Abstract | Previous studies suggest that prior knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs predict academic achievement. Additionally, research findings support that learning strategies are related to study success. Our aim was to investigate how prior knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, and learning strategies predict study success at the university chemistry courses. The participants are 312 first (N=204) and second year (N=108) chemistry students who have participated in the courses of organic chemistry I and II. Students filled in the questionnaires of prior knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs in the beginning of the course and the questionnaire of learning strategies in the end of the course. The study success was measured as course grade and information of previous study success was obtained from the university’s student register. The prior knowledge and self-perception chemistry ability predicted statistically significantly the first year study success but not the second year study success. At the second study year, the expectation of success and learning strategies explained study success. Results indicate that students at the first year of studies will benefit from tutorials of learning strategies. |
| Summary | Introduction Research of recent decades indicates that one variable stands out as a key predictor of student achievement: prior knowledge. Previous studies suggest also that besides prior knowledge, academic self-efficacy beliefs have effect on student achievement (Bandura 1997). Research findings also support that learning strategies predict study success. In our previous Pajares & study we have presented the model of prior knowledge and four types of prior knowledge were identified: factual, conceptual, structural and creative knowledge (Hailikari, Nevgi & Lindblom-Ylänne, 2007). The results of our previous research suggest that academic self-beliefs influenced significantly and indirectly through prior knowledge student achievement (Hailikari, Nevgi & Komulainen, 2008). However, other important variables interact with the impact of prior knowledge. We believe that one such variable is students’ academic self-beliefs. Bandura (1997) suggests that people’s beliefs about their capabilities predict their behaviour better than do the skills and knowledge they actually have. It is widely accepted that the academic beliefs students have about themselves are a key determinant of academic success (e.g., Bandura 1997; Schunk 1991). The effect of learning strategies to academic achievement has also been recognised (Weinstein 1986; Biggs 1997; Biggs & Tang 2007; Ramsden 2003) and it is stressed that students should acquire high-quality learning strategies in order to succeed in their studies (Pintrich & Garcia, 1991). The aim of this study is firstly to validate a prior knowledge assessment instrument that differentiates between different components of prior knowledge using another disciplinary context than in previous studies, i.e. chemistry. Secondly, we explore how prior knowledge is related to student achievement in a university chemistry course and particularly, how academic self-efficacy beliefs and students’ learning strategies are related to prior knowledge and study success. Method Data collection. The first data were collected by first questionnaire during the first lessons of the courses. The students had one hour to complete the questionnaire. The teacher of the course marked the prior knowledge test. Second data were collected by the second questionnaire at the last lesson of the course. First questionnaire consisted of four parts: the student number and main subject, the instrument to measure prior knowledge and its components, self-belief statements, and self-evaluation of performance. Second questionnaire consisted of the student number, the instrument to measure learning strategies, self-evaluation of study motivation during the course, self-evaluation of the motivation to learn chemistry, and open questions focusing on the learning experiences at the course. Previous study success was measured by the mean of grades obtained from previously completed courses. Students demographic background consisted of the name, faculty, grade (master, bachelor), and the final grade. The study achievements were gathered retrospectively from the University’s student register. Student achievement was measured by the final grade of the course. Instruments Academic self-beliefs. We assessed students’ self-beliefs with 11 statements that were adapted from an instrument originally developed by Niemi, Nevgi and Virtanen (2003).
Prior knowledge. Prior knowledge was measured by the four tasks which focused on the factual, conceptual, structural and creative knowledge. In creating the tasks, teachers of the chemistry courses applied the prior knowledge model presented to them by the researchers. Results Self-efficacy beliefs consisted of three components; Expectation of success (ES), α = .86 and Self-efficacy (SE), α = .82 and Self-perception of chemistry ability (SPC) α = .79. At the first year of studies, only the self-perception chemistry ability explained the study success. At the second year of studies, the expectation of success, and conceptual prior knowledge explained the study success. Learning strategies were not related to study success at the first year of studies, but the strategy of deepening the knowledge explained study success at the second year of studies Theoretical and educational significance Academic self-beliefs appear to be important variables in learning, and change from the self-perception chemistry ability to expectation of success as strongest explanation of study success during the first study year implies that the students’ experiences as learners of chemistry has effect on their self-efficacy beliefs. Prior knowledge of chemistry and previous experiences of studying chemistry in high school develop the self-perception of chemistry ability. However, during the first study year, the experiences of university chemistry studies affects to self-efficacy beliefs and those with more skilful learning strategies succeeded. The results support that new student starting university studies in chemistry would benefit from the tutorials of learning strategies. References Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. 3rd ed. Berkshire: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Hailikari, T., Nevgi, A., & Komulainen, E. (2008). Academic self-beliefs and prior knowledge Hailikari, T., Nevgi, A., & Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2007). Exploring alternative ways of Niemi, H., Nevgi, A., & Virtanen, P. (2003). Towards self-regulation in web-based learning. Pintrich, P. R., & Garcia, T. (1991). Students Goal Orientation and Self-regulation in the College Classroom. In M. L. Maer, & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement: Goals and self-regulatory processes (pp. 371-42). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, (Vol.7). Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. 2nd ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Schunk, D.H. (1991). Self-efficacy and academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26, 207-231. Weinstein, C.E. & Mayer, R.E. (1986). The teaching of learning strategies. In Wittrock, M.C. (Ed.) . Handbook of research on teaching. 3 Print. New York: MacMillan. 315-327. |
| Keywords | Cognitive Development Higher education Learning styles |
| Appendices | |
| Authors | ||||||
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| Name | Surname | Institution | Country | EARLI Number | Presenting | |
| Anne | Nevgi | University of Helsinki | Finland | anne.nevgi@helsinki.fi | * | |
| Telle | Hailikari | University of Helsinki | Finland | telle.hailikari@helsinki.fi | ||
| Suvi | Raisanen | University of Helsinki | Finland | suvi.raisanen@helsinki.fi | ||
