Approach to Learning and Assessment in Physics.

The objectives of this exploratory study were to determine: (1) the approach to learning of physics students (N=142) at John Abbott College (Quebec, Canada) as determined by the Study Process Questionnaire; (2) the intellectual demands of quizzes, tests, and final exams in physics using a scheme derived from Bloom's taxonomy; and (3) the relationships between the approach to learning, the intellectual demands of assessment, and the performance of the students. The findings show that most incoming physics students approach physics with the intention of memorizing formulae rather than understanding concepts. They adopt surface or surface-achieving approaches. In examining the intellectual demands of the quizzes, tests and final examinations it was found that the majority (70%) of items required routine problem solving, while 28% required comprehension. The grade assigned to items requiring comprehension increased from Mechanics 101 (19%) to Electricity and Magnetism 201 (28%) to Waves and Optics 301 (32%). This approach to learning adopted by students was found to be related to the intellectual demands of the examinations, to the students' performances on the final examination, and to their prior knowledge of the concept of force. (Author/JRH)