Summary:
Which learning approach is predominant among medical students? This article addresses the question by the use of the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI), developed by Entwistle et al. This questionnaire identifies three study orientations: meaning, reproductive, and strategic. A short version of ASI was administered to medical students at the start of the third term and during the fifth term of the medical program. Student descriptors and measures of course evaluation and student assessments were also obtained. The results show that the scale of meaning orientation has moderate stability and higher scores than the others. The scale differentiates between groups by sex and level of motivation and shows significant association with strategic orientation and measures of course evaluation and academic achievement. ln conclusion, the study orientation profile derived from ASI may be useful for monitoring the dimensions of variation of the learning approaches adopted by students in the different contexts of their medical education.
Keywords:
Education, medical; Student, medical; Learning; Approaches to studying inventory