Assignment Task

It is established that adopting an approach to learning that involves deeper processing of information tends to produce better learning outcomes than approaches to learning that involve surface processing of information (e.g., Biggs et al., 2022; Salamonson et al., 2013). A deep approach to learning is one in which the learner is intrinsically motivated to learn and understand as much as they can about a topic (i.e., beyond just the essentials required to pass an assignment), whereas a surface approach to learning is one in which the learner aims to understand only the essential elements of a topic and expends the minimal possible effort in doing so.

There are many factors that determine whether someone adopts a deep or surface approach to their learning, including learners’ perceptions of the learning environment, the learning environment itself, and individual characteristics of the learner themselves (Baeten et al., 2010). It is the latter of these factors we are focusing on in this assignment, specifically students’ personality and intelligence characteristics as predictors of deep and surface approaches to learning .

For your assignment, you will write a lab report that addresses the question of which Big Five personality traits and/or intelligence are most strongly associated with deep and surface approaches to learning, respectively, among first-year university students.

Method

Participants

Participants were students enrolled in an introductory psychology unit at Swinburne University of Technology ( N = 241; Mean age = 31.55 years). One hundred and ninety participants (78.8%) identified as biologically female and 49 (20.3%) identified as biologically male. Two participants elected not to disclose their biological sex. The number of students volunteering for this study represented 67.32% of the entire cohort of students enrolled in the unit.

Measures

Biological sex (Female, Male) and Age information was collected for sample characterisation. Age was also required for calculating participants’ age-adjusted Verbal Comprehension Index score.

Study Process Questionnaire

The revised, 2-factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) was used to measure participants’ approach to learning. The SPQ measures approaches to learning using two 10-item subscales (‘deep’ and ‘surface’ approaches to learning, respectively). An example item for the ‘surface’ scale is “I generally restrict my study to what is specifically set as I think it is unnecessary to do anything extra”. Participants indicate their responses on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (“this item is never or only rarely true of me”) to 5 (“this item is always or almost always true of me”). Higher scores on each of the subscales correspond to greater levels of deep and surface approaches to learning, respectively.

Australian Personality Inventory

The Australian Personality Inventory (API) was used to measure the Big Five personality factors. The API is a 50-item measure of the ‘Big five’ personality factors – Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Participations are asked to rate themselves on a 5-point scale according to how accurately each statement applies to them from 1 ( very inaccurate ) to 5 ( very accurate ). An example item is “Feel comfortable around people” (Extraversion).

Verbal Comprehension Index

The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) was used to measure intelligence. The VCI score is based on three subscales that assess abstract verbal reasoning, vocabulary, and general knowledge. Scores are age standardised and normed to have a population mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15.

Procedure

All participants read and signed the Participant Information and Consent Form (PICF) to indicate their consent to participate in the study. The PICF informed them of their rights as volunteers not to participate in the study and that they could cease their participation at any time without explanation during the course of their participation. Participants could also request that their questionnaire responses and VCI test scores be withdrawn from the study at any time. Consenting participants completed the SPQ and API in Week 1 of the teaching semester. They then completed the VCI subscales individually under the supervision of a postgraduate student undertaking a Masters in Psychology program. The postgraduate students also scored the VCI as part of their postgraduate training. Questionnaire responses and test scores were combined and de-identified prior to analysis.

Given you did not participate in data collection, the Method section is provided for you so you have some understanding of how the study was conducted.

The Assignment

You must present the assignment in the form of a lab report containing the following sections:

Title page (required but not marked)

• Come up with an informative title for the
• Include your details (see HD example for correct title page format)

Abstract

• words (approx.); contributes 10% to your overall mark for the

Introduction

• 1000 words (approx.); contributes 30% to your overall mark
• You must include at least three research questions/hypotheses:
  • One research question/hypothesis must address correlations between the Big Five personality traits, intelligence, and both deep and surface approaches to
  • One research question/hypothesis must address which Big Five personality traits and/or intelligence is/are the most important predictor(s) of deep approaches to learning.
  • One research question/hypothesis must address which Big Five personality traits and/or intelligence is/are the most important predictor(s) of surface approaches to learning.
• When presenting directional hypotheses make sure they are clearly linked to theory and the studies reviewed in your Introduction. Ensure that the hypotheses and research questions can be tested using the given data.

Method

• Must be included in your assignment but there are no marks allocated to this section.
• You can copy and paste the Method section information provided on this handout into your

Results

• words (approx.); contributes 20% to your overall mark
• Includes descriptive statistics (M, SD) for the variables used in your analyses, a correlations table, and a regression table (style templates are available on Canvas).
• Present results according to APA 7 ^th

Discussion

• words (approx.); contributes 30% to your overall mark
• Were your hypotheses supported? Why/Why not?
• What were the outcomes of your research questions (if any)?
• How do the results of this study compare with previous studies?
• Are there implications from the study’s findings for teaching and learning at university?

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