Students' conceptions of learning, the classroom environment, and approaches to learning

A model that hypothesized relationships between high school students' conceptions of learning, their perceptions of the classroom environment, and their approaches to learning was tested using structural equation modeling. Results suggested that important associations exist between conceptions of learning and approaches to learning. Students who reported qualitative and experiential conceptions were likely to use deep approaches to learning, whereas students who had quantitative conceptions of learning tended to use surface approaches. The implications of these findings for teachers and the way they function in the classroom environment are discussed.