• Chantha K Jayawardena, Thushari N Hewapathirana, Shyama Banneheka, Sajjiv Ariyasinghe, and Dhammika Ihalagedara.
• a Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Dental Sciences , University of Peradeniya , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.
• Teach Learn Med. 2013 Jan 1;25(4):334-41.

BackgroundPrimarily deep approach (DA) and surface approach (SA) to learning have been distinguished among students.PurposeWe aimed to determine the learning approaches and their association with the academic performance of a batch of 1st-year Sri Lankan dental students.MethodsLearning scores of students were calculated using the revised two-factor study process (R-SPQ-2F) questionnaire and they were correlated with the academic performance of students.ResultsThe 80.65% of students showed a greater DA score than SA score. Mean values of students' DA and SA scores were 31.79 ± 6.1 and 22.74 ± 5.5, respectively. A positive statistically significant correlation (r = .3, p < .05) was observed only between DA score and marks of Short Answer Questions in anatomy.ConclusionsThis sample of students uses both deep and surface learning approaches with more preference to DA than SA. The correlation between learning approaches and academic performance was inconsistent.

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