Reviewing affective, behavioural, and cognitive learning gains in higher education

Rogaten, J., Rienties, B., Sharpe, R., Cross, S., Whitelock, D., Lygo-Baker, S. and Littlejohn, A. (2019) Reviewing affective, behavioural, and cognitive learning gains in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(3), pp. 321-337. (doi: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1504277)

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Abstract

The notion of learning gains has increasingly become apparent within the higher education literature and is gaining traction in government policies in the US and UK, reflecting a desire to "quantify" the impact of university study and teaching excellence in particular. Given the increased policy focus on learning gains, it is essential that researchers and policy makers are informed about common used approaches to measure learning gains, and their expected range and magnitude. Therefore, a systematic literature search was undertaken. 52 studies (n = 41,009) were coded into affective, behavioural, and/or cognitive learning gains. The review found a rich but diverse variety of adopted methodologies and approaches to “measure” Affective, Behavioural, and Cognitive (ABC) learning gains. Nonetheless, there is a lack of consistency in the ways in which learning gains are currently measured and reported. These inconsistencies and limitations hamper effective comparisons of learning gains and teaching excellence. We recommend a greater emphasis on longitudinal measurement of learning gains using validated approaches.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Learning gains, higher education, cognitive measures, affective measures, behavioural measures.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Littlejohn, Professor Allison
Authors: Rogaten, J., Rienties, B., Sharpe, R., Cross, S., Whitelock, D., Lygo-Baker, S., and Littlejohn, A.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Journal Name:Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0260-2938
ISSN (Online):1469-297X
Published Online:30 October 2018

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