LEARNING ATTAINMENTS AS A RESULT OF STUDENT ACTIVITY, COGNITION AND THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

The purpose of the study was to construct a model to comprehensively describe the relationships between the classroom learning environment, student's cognition (student mediation) and learning outcomes. In studies of the learning environment, mostly direct (distal) connections have been in-vestigated in relationships between psycho-social properties and learning outcomes. Aspects of student mediation (proximal), such as student's self-efficacy and metacognition, have also often been overlooked in traditional teacher effectiveness research. Using a model that includes mediation vari-ables and that allows for indirect connections between variables increases understanding of how these mechanisms interact. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 218 fifth- and sixth-grade students in Finnish comprehensive schools (girls, N = 116; boys, N = 102). Drawing on prior research findings, a conceptual model was first developed to identify the range of statistically significant relationships between the learning environment, student's cognition and learning attainment. To further develop the model, a number of modification indices of the AMOS program were employed and then the revised model was tested. The goodness of fit indices for the re-specified model provided evidence for an adequate fit to the data. It was concluded that qualities of classroom learning, including metacognitive orientation, student-teacher relationships and conditions for studying, will have both indirect and direct effects on student's cognition and participation and enhance student's learning.