What we learn depends on how we learn, and why we have to learn it.

Recent research on
the ways in which students in higher education tackle their day-to-day academic work has drawn
attention to the need to think of learning as the outcome of a whole range of interacting factors. Of
course, how well we learn depends on our intelligence or rather the level of our various
intelligences in relation to the task we have to do. It has been clear for many years that achievement
in formal educational contexts also depends on effort, and on the general level of student
motivation. But increasingly, research on student learning has been describing additional influences
on academic learning. These influences depend, in part, on the individual characteristics of learners,
and on their past experiences in education. They also depend on current experience within the
courses they are taking-the quality of the teaching, and above all on the nature of the assessment
procedures.
Dr. John Biggs research focuses on how students learn in institutional settings, and on
assessing the quality of learning. His approach to teaching is based on the assumption that teaching
decisions should be grounded in our knowledge of how students learn, from formulating objectives
to reporting assessment results. He conceptualized and expound the essence and difference of
surface and deep learning in facilitating the learners capacity to learn and develop.
In surface learning, the students motive to learn is to only carry out the task because of
external positive or negative consequences; if he fails life will be unpleasant but if he does well in
the subject he will win his instructors favor. A typical surface strategy is rote learning, and surfacemotivated students focus on what appears to be the most important items and memorizes them.
Because of this focus, they do not see interconnections between the meanings and implications of
what is learned. Students who take a surface approach tend not to have the primary intention of
becoming interested in and of understanding the subject, but rather their motivation tends to be that
of jumping through the necessary hoops in order to acquire the mark, or the grade, or the
qualification. When asked, staff deplore this approach but they frequently acknowledge that the
majority of their students tend to take this approach. Students who take a surface approach tries to
learn in order to repeat what they have learned, memorize information needed for assessments, ,
make use of rote learning, takes a narrow view and concentrate on detail, fail to distinguish
principles from examples, tend to stick closely to the course requirements and are motivated by fear
of failure
On the other hand in deep learning, the motive is based on internal motivation or curiosity.
In the deep approach, there is a personal commitment to learning, which means that the student
relates the content to personally meaningful contexts or to existing prior knowledge. Deep

processing involves processes of a higher cognitive level than rote learning; searching for analogies,
relating to previous knowledge, and theorizing about what is learned. students who take a deep
approach have the intention of understanding, engaging with, operating in and valuing the subject.
Such students actively seek to understand the material / the subject, interact vigorously with the
content, make use of evidence, inquiry and evaluation, take a broad view and relate ideas to one
another are motivated by interest, relate new ideas to previous knowledge, relate concepts to
everyday experience and tends to read and study beyond the course requirements
It is generally believed that the use of a deep learning approach is associated with higher
quality learning outcomes and a surface approach with lower quality learning outcomes. In addition,
it is accepted that a deep approach will contribute positively to learning outcomes. Therefore, it is
considered important that students be encouraged to adopt a deep approach. According to Felder
and Brent (2011), the goal of instruction should be to induce students to adopt a deep approach to
the subjects that are important for their professional or personal development. While at any given
time Surface and Deep approaches are mutually exclusive, an Achieving approach may be linked to
either. Surface-Achievers systematically learn selected details by memorization to obtain high
grades. Deep-Achievers, who often are the better students, are organized and they plan their search
both for meaning and for high marks.
In the end it is pivotal to note that there are two main influences on the students
development of a certain learning approach: personal factors and the teaching context. On the
personal side, some factors in the students background or personality seem to be associated with a
Surface approach and others with a Deep approach. While on the teaching side, time pressures,
stress from exams, and standardized tests encourage a Surface approach.
There are various ways a person can learn; its just a matter of time. There are people who
learn best by just observing others without even experiencing it and others do the other way around.
Residual Learning is one of those effective types of learning which a person encounters an internal
after effect of an experience or an activity that could influence later behaviour, such learning are
enduring. It is focused on the product. The strategy is to maximize the chances of obtaining high
marks. While this hopefully involves a high level of effort to learn the topic (like the deep strategy),
the

learning

is

the

means,

not

the

end.