Student models of learning and their impact on study strategies

This study aims to identify student models of learning (sets of ‘intra‐student’ cognitions about learning) and to investigate their effect on study strategies. A two‐step cluster analysis identified four student models of learning, representing students’ self‐efficacy beliefs, learning conceptions, attributions for academic performance and assessment expectations. Results demonstrate that all identified student learning models combine either strong or weak control over learning beliefs with a specific mix of reproduction and meaning oriented assessment expectations. Results also indicate that student models of learning profoundly affect higher education students’ study strategies. Finally, the present study demonstrates that the effect of a particular cognition about learning depends on the other cognitions part of a student’s learning model.