Students’ Approaches to Learning during Pre-clinical and Clinical Phases of a Veterinary Curriculum, Their Motivations and Their Correlation with GPA

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if veterinary students adopt a different approach to learning in the clinical compared to pre-clinical phase, and what factors motivate their approach. We also sought to determine if the learning approach adopted correlates with grade point average (GPA). Two questionnaires were administered to the same cohort of students (112 students) at the end of the pre-clinical and at the end of the clinical phase. A total of 87 students completed at least one questionnaire. The questionnaires included the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for students, which was used to provide scores for three learning approaches: surface (focus on memorization), strategic (focus on optimum grades), and deep (focus on understanding). The questionnaires also included open-ended questions probing for motivations behind adopting learning approaches. Statistical analyses were performed on the data to detect correlations between variables. Students were more likely to adopt a surface approach in the pre-clinical phase than in the clinical phase, although other learning approaches were not different between phases. No strong correlations existed between learning approach and GPA. Students who adopted a deep approach were typically motivated by higher-level motivations than those who adopted a surface approach, especially in the clinical phase. Time constraints, the desire to get good grades, and passing classes were the main reasons for adopting the surface approach. The results of the study can be beneficial for students, by allowing them to identify those pressures that could prevent them from adopting a deeper approach earlier in the curriculum.