Concepts from
Cognitive Psychology


Levels of Processing: deep, surface, strategic
The deep approach is associated with:
– intention of understanding what is to be learned
– intrinsic motivation (interest in subject)

The surface approach is associated with:
– reproducing what teachers desire
– instrumental motivation or fear of failure
– concerned primarily with memorization, not
understanding

The strategic approach is associated with:
– a combination of deep and surface strategies
– a desire for highest possible grades
– competitive form of motivation (need for achievement)
The Deep Approach






Focuses on “what is of significance” (i.e.
teacher’s argument or the concepts applied to
solving a problem).
Relates previous knowledge to new
knowledge.
Relates knowledge from different courses.
Relates theoretical ideas to everyday
experiences.
Relates and distinguish evidence and
argument.
Organizes and structures content into a
coherent whole.
The Surface Approach






Focuses “on the signs” (i.e. words and
sentences of the text, or unthinkingly on the
formula needed to solve a problem).
Focuses on unrelated parts of the task.
Memorizes information for assessments.
Associates facts and concepts unreflectively.
Fails to distinguish principles from examples.
Treats the task as an external imposition.
Deep or Surface Approach?
“I suppose I’m trying to imagine what the
experiment is talking about, in a physical
sense, sort of get a picture of what it’s about.
This one says an ultraviolet lamp emits one
watt of power; it says calculate the energy
falling on a square centimeter per second. I’m
just thinking of the light and the way it
spreads out, so therefore I know it’s the
inverse-square law.”
Deep or Surface Approach?
“You have got to go into the exam with as
many formulae as possible. So you learn
those parrot-fashion. And approaches to the
way you work out problems, techniques
involved in math, you know. I seem to
remember these just sort of one day or two.”
Promoting Deep Approaches










emphasizing concepts over isolated facts
essay questions
problem solving
project reports
alternative/authentic assessments
no study guides
depth of coverage over breadth
clear explanations and challenging ideas
deal with relevant and interestingilize
cooperative learning
high teacher expectations
Promoting Surface Approaches






using factually oriented short-answer or
mutliple-choice questions
providing detailed study guides
breadth of coverage over depth
“spoon feeding” students
teaching to the test (IGAP for instance)
low teacher expectations
Deep or Surface Approach
How will you teach?
What effects will your teaching have?
Based on the following:


Entwistle, N. (1992). Student Learning and
Study Strategies. In B. Clark & G. Neave
(Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Higher Education,
3, New York: Pergamon Press.
Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to Teach in
Higher Education. New York: Routledge.