Validação interna do teste de abordagem de aprendizagem: identificação do pensamento contido em textos

Abstract

The field of studies in learning approaches uses exclusively self-report instruments to measure its constructs. Recently created, the Learning Approaches Test: Identification of Thought contained in Texts (TAP-Thought) is the first test to measure approaches through performance in a task that requires the respondent to identify the author's thinking in a given text. The present study aimed to investigate the first evidences of structural validity of TAP-Thinking. A sample of 513 university students participated in the study, from six public and private institutions, located in the cities of Divinópolis, Itaúna and Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Descriptive analyzes, such as mean and standard deviation, were used to present the characteristics of the participants, in terms of demographic variables and to inspect whether the sample obtained is shown to be reasonably heterogeneous regarding the construct of learning approaches. To assess the structural validity of TAP- Thinking, confirmatory factor analysis of the items was u Two models were analyzed, the one-dimensional model and the multidimensional model of four specific correlated factors, namely: deep approach (AP), deep correlated approach (APint), intermediate superficial approach (ASint) and superficial approach (AS). The first model was rejected, as it did not present a good fit to the data (x² = 517.14; gl = 189; CFI = 0.84; RMSEA = 0.05). Yet the second model was more appropriate (x² = 436.47; gl = 247; CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.03 [95% confidence interval = 0.03 to 0.04]). The results show that TAP-Thinking has structural validity and brings new additions to the theory of learning approaches, through the discovery of levels of approaches. The measurement of levels generates information previously not identified by the theory, bringing conceptual implications for the construct. Thus, TAP-Thinking can be used as a diagnostic tool, in order to identify at which level of approaches students operate, in addition to serving as a motivation for other researchers to develop new tests focused on performance.