Learning behaviors and attitudes, problem-solving styles, and mathematics performance

Understanding the individual differences above and beyond cognitive ability that contribute to students’ academic success is critical to classroom instruction. Students often process and approach pedagogical experiences in different ways, which may be a result of their metacognitive skills and motivational attributes (the self-regulated learning strategies that students have acquired through past educational experiences) and/or may stem from their preferred ways of solving problems (i.e., their problem-solving styles). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between students’ learning behaviors and attitudes (as measured through the College Board Study Skills Survey, grounded in self-regulation theory) and their problem-solving styles (as measured through VIEW: An Assessment of Problem-Solving Style). Additionally, this study sought to predict performance in mathematics on Advanced Placement exams. Results indicate significant relationships exist between the two measures, as well as their ability to predict Advanced Placement performance