Understanding the variation in bioscience students' conceptions of learning in the 21st century

Recent qualitative studies about students' conceptions of learning have been scarce. The present study explores university students' conceptions of learning in biosciences. The analysis was conducted by applying a phenomenographic approach. Five different categories of descriptions of conceptions of learning were found: (1) Reproducing knowledge, (2) Using knowledge in practice, (3) Integrating new knowledge with prior knowledge, (4) Evaluating different views and (5) Creating one's own worldview. The present study showed that conceptions of learning were relatively sophisticated and strongly emphasised integrating knowledge of different phenomena. Furthermore, the present study suggests that a shift in students' conceptions of learning has taken place in the 21st century where students do not emphasise increase of knowledge in their learning.