Undergraduate students’ approaches to learning biology: a systematic review of the literature

ABSTRACT For decades, biology education researchers have made efforts towards engaging undergraduate students in the process of science and assisting students in their development of deep approaches to learning in the field. Research indicates that students who adopt deep approaches or study strategies make meaningful connections with course material and as a result have higher academic achievement. Studies have identified several factors that influence student’s adoption of an approach to learning. Given the context-dependent nature of approaches to learning, there is a growing need to understand how students approach learning in a discipline-specific contexts. This systematic review resulted in the analysis of 34 empirical articles that examined how researchers have measured approaches to learning in the context of undergraduate biology, and how the findings of these reports shape our understanding of how students study biology. Implications of this work support a broader consideration for how socio-cultural factors influence student approaches to learning biology, a need for an increased use of mixed-methodological approaches to research, and a clearer alignment between course assessment and desired student approaches to learning biology.