CONCEPTOS BÁSICOS

Students’ affinity for the Deep Approach increased following the research intervention.

Re-orienting towards the deep approach may be attributed to students acknowledging deficits in their learning methods highlighted through the research intervention, thereby prompting a change in their study patterns, in order that their learning improve. More specifically, questions relating to the statistically significant subscales ‘Seeking meaning’ and ‘Relating ideas’, identified at the Post-intervention analyses, may have provoked this awareness (Table 31, Chapter 5, Section 5.4.5). The modification in their ATL preference may have resulted from the final year participants’ awareness that their 3rd

year assessment grades contribute significantly towards their degree classification. Additionally, the increased affinity for the deep approach may have stemmed from participants exploring research on the ATL Theory (Diseth et al, 2010; Baeton et al, 2013; Lindblom-Ylӓnne et al, 2013), and realising that by altering their previous ATL to the deep approach, their learning ability would improve. This would grant them greater opportunity to embed their knowledge and transmit this learning when called for in clinical practice, as well as being academically successful. Moreover, as developing healthcare professionals, students may have weighed up that by embracing the principles of the deep approach, their judgement and decision-making capacity may improve and enhance their clinical proficiency. The increase in the adoption of the deep approach and the corresponding decrease in the use of the surface approach, suggests a change in students’ personal belief regarding the importance of their learning. Biggs’ (1985) definition of meta-learning as “being aware of and taking control of one’s own learning” (p. 204) strengthens the argument that participation in this study and awareness of the ATL Theory, resulted in students changing their learning behaviours. Chin and Brown’s (2000), qualitative analyses of science students’ ATLs, support that students’ alter their ATL following contextual changes to their

course as well as self-reflection. The significant effect of reflectivity and reflexivity could be aligned to deep approach subscales ‘Relating ideas’ from past experiences to the current learning situation as well as ‘Seeking meaning’ in the learning content. Participant Cathy’s expression describes her meta-cognitive learning since participating in this study “... on the course teachers say ... it’s your responsibility to go off and learn. You don't realise how much work you need to learn or which way is right. Now I go back and read and find out what it is ... I’m working for greater understanding ... might be easier when I come across that condition again”. Adding to this claim, Chin and Brown (2000) cited in Lee (2015, p. 238) suggest that the changes to the ATLs resulted from the “degree of meta-cognition and information processing displayed by individual students differed depending on the particular student’s beliefs about learning”. Born out of this argument, the assumption that students will develop these higher functioning meta-learning skills by simply enrolling onto and attending higher education courses is negated. Additionally, the inference that students’ progression through the academic years and being told “to go off and learn” allows for the take up of these skills, appears to also be repudiated. It is integral that curriculum design includes individual modules on meta-learning strategies thereby promoting students’ reflexivity on their current learning behaviours as opposed to being embedded within the subject specific module content. Students may not develop the meta-learning capacity without “... the nurturing” from faculty (Morley, 2016, p. 162). Opportunities to enable students to acquire these skills and make them their own needs to be prominent, should nurse education providers want nursing students to actively learn with the aim of making meaning of the subjects so that the enhanced understanding will influence decision-making in nursing practice.

Although the BSc (Hons) Inner London participants’ adoption of the deep approach increased between the Pre (10%) and Post-intervention (11.4%) stages (Table 37, Section 5.4.9), the subscales which may have resulted in this change were not statistically significant nor identified by the Wilks Lambda and Pairwise Comparison test (Table 31, Section 5.4.5). However, with the BSc (Hons) Suburban group subscales that contributed to the adoption of the deep approach changed and increased between the two data collection points. At the Pre-intervention stage, the subscale ‘Relating ideas’ contributed to the adoption of the deep approach. At the Post-intervention stage, subscales, ‘Relating ideas’ and ‘Seeking meaning’

contributed to the increase of 17% to 22.8% in students’ preference for the deep approach. Drawing from these findings, initiatives that encourage students to relate and associate the learning content to situations previously experienced or most likely to be encountered, may help students to grasp the relevance of the learning to their practice and enhance their affinity for the deep approach. Moreover, by encouraging students to seek meaning in their learning strengthens links between previously learnt content and supports the establishment of a cognate syntax or order, on the signals that constantly impress themselves on one’s mind.

The curriculum is identical for both BSc (Hons) Inner London and Suburban groups therefore the differences in the students’ inclination for the deep approach and the influencing subscales between the two cohorts warrants further discussion. The variability in the participants’ age between the two campuses may have contributed to this outcome. The BSc (Hons) Suburban group had a larger percentage (27.1%) of students in the 31-40 year age category compared to the 7.1% of Inner London participants. The experiential learning acquired from students’ previous healthcare employment (Table 12) may have also contributed to this outcome. However, the results captured at the first data collection indicate that the Suburban group had more students who did not have any previous healthcare experience in comparison to the Inner London participants (Table 12). This may suggest that mature students’ life experience possibly allows them to engage more purposefully with the higher education learning opportunities. Consequently, the older students’ life experiences may promote associations with previous learning encounters as evidenced in the use of the ‘Relating ideas’ subscale. The older students may also be more determined to be successful with the higher education learning opportunity and their chosen career as professional nurses. Therefore, despite Moore et al’s (2013) argument (Chapter 2, Section 2.9) these non-traditional students appear to have shown a determination in constructing their professional identity. It is considered that these students are motivated to understand the learning content and, in doing so, seek added meaning in their learning. This line of reasoning is further supported by the identification of the ‘Seeking meaning’ subscale which contributed significantly to the adoption of the deep approach with the BSc (Hons) Suburban group, at the Post-intervention stage (Table 31). The previous contentions support that with this sample, the mature students showed a stronger ability to ‘Relate ideas’ from their extended life

experiences to their learning. In doing so, they sought to understand and make meaning of the subject thereby demonstrated a determination in expanding their learning potential in this higher education opportunity.