Exploring and learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Exploring and learning - Essay Example There are also some students who take a strategic approach, where they intend to maximize their chances of getting high marks. In today’s intellectual world, the three approaches of learning namely; deep, surface and strategic have become very popular. The surfacing issue therefore emerges on which of the three learning approaches is the most effective. This raises a very highly debatable issue. While some learners adopt a deep approach as noted by Morgan (1993), others prefer a surface approach when engaging in their studies. This paper seeks to critically analyze the three approaches of learning; deep, surface and strategic. Further, it will seek to examine how the chosen approach of learning affects the performance of a student. Marton and Saljo are the scholars behind the theory of deep and surface approaches to learning. They wrote a scholarly paper describing the varied manner in which learners approached learning in the academic sector. This studied was in the psycholog y department which at that time was quite unusual. This is because by default, they would have set up an artificial laboratory experiment for purposes of isolating one element from the other. Instead, Marton and Saljo sought to engage university students and their habitual behavior during learning. The students were required to read an article and thereafter answer questions based on the same. The study revealed that to some learners, the text was perceived as information with such discrete units meant to be memorized (Stanger-Hall, 2012, 294). The memorization was meant to help to answer the questions that would follow. The two scholars referred to this as the surface approach. On the other hand, some students perceived the text as one containing structured meaning. They were eager to discover the meaning of the article, its implications and the impact it had on them. They termed this as the deep approach. It follows that learners who engage in the deep approach had a better unders tanding of the article and were therefore able to answer a variety of question deciphered from it. In addition, they were in a better position to remember the content effectively compared to the others. Subsequent researches after this study have shown that there are different approaches to learning that students engage in while undertaking their academic tasks. A surface approach to learning can be defined as the result of low cognitive level engagement which yields to fragmented outcomes that do not translate to understanding or meaning. This process takes place when the learner takes in information ‘by heart’, but is in the least interested in engaging with the meaning of what s/he has taken. When taking this approach, the learner’s motive lies in only carrying out the task (Lauriland, 2003,47). This is due to some either positive or negative pressure/consequence. Negative in that if s/he fails, it is bound to affect his life in a not so pleasant way and posit ive in that if s/he passes, he will be favored by the teacher/instructor. Rote learning is a surface strategy whereby the learner focuses on what s/he perceives as the most important information and embarks on memorization of the same. Since the intention is as earlier noted to pass a test or exam, the learner finds not interconnections found in what is being learnt between meanings implications of the same. Surface learning is

THE ENGLISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS Essay

THE ENGLISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS - Essay Example ligation to make contributions to the cost of their education once they are in work†¦ The Inquiry favours a combination of student tuition fees (on a loan basis) and the continuation of means-tested maintenance grants and student loans as the best way to seek contributions from higher income families and graduates in work†¦ to make a flat rate contribution of around 25 per cent of the average cost of higher education tuition, through an income-based mechanism." (Dearing) The removal of up-front fees and the limited return of grants are insufficient to offset the experience of student debt, especially by low-income families. Many poor families are positively deterred from entering HE due to the fees and concern of getting into debt. â€Å"We have neither the quantity nor the quality of necessary vocational skills†¦ Our skills base compares poorly and, critically, all of our comparators are improving. Being world class is a moving target.† (Leitch) Many of the initiatives other than those dealing with funding are positive for the UK higher education system. The thorny issue remains funding. The Leitch review published in 2006 also makes some suitable recommendations for the present-day UK HE system. These were made in response to the government’s concern in 2004 to engender greater skills in adults due to demographic changes in the workplace. 1. Students from poorer backgrounds would not be at a disadvantage, otherwise they may not be have the means to acquire HE at all, or they may feel obliged to opt for cheaper degree courses instead of selecting on the basis of academic considerations. High student fees are the single biggest obstacles to continuing their studies into higher education. 2. Enabling contributions by students should only be directed at students who are able to afford to pay for their own studies. Even then, students should only be expected to pay if and when they have obtained employment, and earning more than a minimum amount of