Deep and surface approaches to learning

Meaning is not imposed or transmitted by direct instruction, but is created by the students' learning activities, well summarised in the term ‘approaches to learning’ (Biggs, 1999, p. 60).

'Good' teaching is defined by Biggs (1999) as the encouragement of a deep approach to learning, while poor teaching may encourage students to take a surface approach.

The description of deep and surface approaches to learning emerged from research which began in the 1970s. It shifted the teacher's focus to the learner as being central in the teaching/learning interaction. A major outcome of this research is the recognition that students take different approaches to learning – these are not static, but rather vary according to individual student interest and motivation, the learning circumstances and the quality of the teaching.

Biggs' (1999) paper outlines how students must move from low level engagement to a more complex level in order to gain the most from their learning experience. He labels this hierarchy as moving from:

• memorising;
• note-taking;
• describing;
• explaining;
• relating;
• applying; and finally to
• theorising.

At the surface level, students engage in their learning by memorising content, however these students are not able to make links between information, nor theorise further from the given data. Assisting students to make this movement through the levels of engagement is what Biggs describes as 'good teaching'.