Relationship between Learning Strategies and Motivation of University Students

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper needs a complete review to fix the grammatical errors, especially the first three pages.

Use the word “two” instead of “2” in the title

A suggestion for the title: Relationship between learning strategies and motivation for students of two universities

The term “Sustainable Development” is defined in lines 42-44, but its relationship with the topics discussed is not fully explained. The authors need to clearly indicate that their work focuses on “sustainability”  and they are talking about learning strategies related to this subject. In this regard, lines 76-78 should be revised. Having said that, based on later statements, I am not sure if the authors are using their results to make a general or specific statement related to the subject of sustainability.

What is the difference between dashed lines and solid lines in Figure 1?

In Figure 2, the comma before the numbers should be replaced by a period.

The definition for different dimensions of learning strategy is different in line 77 and line 225.

Author Response

REVIEWER 1

The paper needs a complete review to fix the grammatical errors, especially the first three pages.

Both the English and grammatical errors of the entire document have been checked.

Use the word “two” instead of “2” in the title. A suggestion for the title: Relationship between learning strategies and motivation for students of two universities

It has been considered.

The term “Sustainable Development” is defined in lines 42-44, but its relationship with the topics discussed is not fully explained. The authors need to clearly indicate that their work focuses on “sustainability” and they are talking about learning strategies related to this subject. In this regard, lines 76-78 should be revised.

It has been considered reformulating for this the introduction and state of the question of the present manuscript, as well as on the indicated lines.

What is the difference between dashed lines and solid lines in Figure 1?

Figure 1 has been modified, adding solid lines.

In Figure 2, the comma before the numbers should be replaced by a period.

Figure two is corrected and modified, adding points instead of commas.

The definition for different dimensions of learning strategy is different in line 77 and line 225.

It has been considered and adapted.

Reviewer 2 Report

Well designed preliminary study. The study is designed around proposed theoretical model. The authors clearly presented results and provided answers for the posed hypothesis. 

Author Response

REVIEWER 2

Well designed preliminary study. The study is designed around proposed theoretical model. The authors clearly presented results and provided answers for the posed hypothesis. 

Reviewer 3 Report

This study investigated the relationship between learning strategies and motivation among university students. The result showed learning support strategies to be closely related to university students’ intrinsic motivation. The authors do not point out any research gap clearly so it is difficult to judge what the current study could contribute to the literature regarding learning strategies and motivation. I will list my point-by-point comments as follows.

1. The authors stated that 432 students participated in the current study. However, 318 female students plus 118 male students should equal 436 participants.

2. There are a lot of sentences and wording that are difficult to understand. For example, what does “efforts to promote the promotion” mean in the beginning of introduction? In addition, the sentence in the 4^th paragraph of the introduction section is too long for readers to easily follow. The authors should invite native speakers of English to proofread the manuscript before the paper is submitted.

3. The authors should substantiate why the relationship between motivation and learning strategies has been an issue in the sustainable development.

4. The authors should elaborate more on what findings have been obtained from Kinoshita et al.’s study.

5. A research gap should be pointed out first and readers will know what gap has been filled in by conducting this study.

6. The research topic is about the relationship between learning strategies and motivation. However, the first hypothesis seems irrelevant to the research topic.

7. Example questions from the questionnaires of the learning strategies and motivation should be provided and explanation regarding each construct (i.e. three constructs in the learning strategy questionnaire and seven constructs in the motivation questionnaire) should be added.

8. The results should be presented according to the hypotheses proposed.

9. There is too much information in Table 5. I suggest the authors should stick to their research topic and simply show the relationships regarding their research issue.

10. The authors should explain why Jong and Kim found learning strategies not to facilitate learning from students with low motivation.

11. The authors should explain how their findings related to Fang and Zsoka et al.’s results.

12. The authors should clearly indicate whether they accept their 4^th hypothesis or not and discuss how their findings related to Khan and Rasheed’s results.

13. Pedagogical implications should be proposed based on the findings in the current study.

14. It is suggested that the authors should recommend qualitative analyses for future research.

Author Response

REVIEWER 3

This study investigated the relationship between learning strategies and motivation among university students. The result showed learning support strategies to be closely related to university students’ intrinsic motivation. The authors do not point out any research gap clearly so it is difficult to judge what the current study could contribute to the literature regarding learning strategies and motivation. I will list my point-by-point comments as follows.

1. The authors stated that 432 students participated in the current study. However, 318 female students plus 118 male students should equal 436 participants.

The numbers of participants has been corrected, being the sample 436.

2. There are a lot of sentences and wording that are difficult to understand. For example, what does “efforts to promote the promotion” mean in the beginning of introduction? In addition, the sentence in the 4^thparagraph of the introduction section is too long for readers to easily follow. The authors should invite native speakers of English to proofread the manuscript before the paper is submitted.

Thank you for your comment. Everything commented has been reviewed and reformulated for a better understanding.

3. The authors should substantiate why the relationship between motivation and learning strategies has been an issue in the sustainable development.

It has been explained adding new important information.

4. The authors should elaborate more on what findings have been obtained from Kinoshita et al.’s study.

Relevant information has been added in relation to this suggestion.

5. A research gap should be pointed out first and readers will know what gap has been filled in by conducting this study.

The comment has been taken into consideration and we have reformulated the introduction for such purpose.

6. The research topic is about the relationship between learning strategies and motivation. However, the first hypothesis seems irrelevant to the research topic.

Hypothesis 1 (H1) is restated, the instrument being consistent with the related dimensions. In this case, they must be related in a positive way.

7. Example questions from the questionnaires of the learning strategies and motivation should be provided and explanation regarding each construct (i.e. three constructs in the learning strategy questionnaire and seven constructs in the motivation questionnaire) should be added.

Examples of the questions asked in the questionnaire are provided.

The seven dimensions of motivation are grouped into intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivation, synthesizing the proposed model.

8. The results should be presented according to the hypotheses proposed.

It responds adequately to the different hypotheses raised.

9. There is too much information in Table 5. I suggest the authors should stick to their research topic and simply show the relationships regarding their research issue.

To determine the reliability of the Items, it is necessary to reiterate the factor loading on the same variable in relation to the rest.

10. The authors should explain why Jong and Kim found learning strategies not to facilitate learning from students with low motivation.

It has been considered and adjusted.

11. The authors should explain how their findings related to Fang and Zsoka et al.’s results.

It has been considered and adjusted.

12. The authors should clearly indicate whether they accept their 4^thhypothesis or not and discuss how their findings related to Khan and Rasheed’s results.

Information related to hypothesis 4 is added

13. Pedagogical implications should be proposed based on the findings in the current study.

Pedagogical implications are included.

14. It is suggested that the authors should recommend qualitative analyses for future research.

Qualitative tests are included for future research to determine the involvement of both constructs.

Reviewer 4 Report

The work covers a current and appropriate topic in the educational field.

 

The introduction needs to be expanded with updated references. We found scarcely 13 references to contextualize the subject under study.

The section on material and methods is correctly explained, although it lacks references.

 

The results are scarce and are mainly related to the reliability and validity of the tool. We did not find descriptive statistics or detailed results in relation to the hypotheses proposed.

 

The discussion includes new references that would be interesting to include in the introductory section to contextualize the subject.

Author Response

REVIEWER 4

The work covers a current and appropriate topic in the educational field.

The introduction needs to be expanded with updated references. We found scarcely 13 references to contextualize the subject under study.

Your comment has been considered and the subject under study has been better contextualized

The section on material and methods is correctly explained, although it lacks references.

References have been added.

The results are scarce and are mainly related to the reliability and validity of the tool. We did not find descriptive statistics or detailed results in relation to the hypotheses proposed.

In order not to be repetitive in the results, a detailed response is given in the discussion section

The discussion includes new references that would be interesting to include in the introductory section to contextualize the subject.

It has been considered.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors have made changes related to the previous reviews. The paper can be further improved if the authors provide additional information on "sustainable development" and learning strategies.

Author Response

The authors have made changes related to the previous reviews. The paper can be further improved if the authors provide additional information on "sustainable development" and learning strategies.

Taking into account this review, additional information for both constructs has been added as well as a reestructuration of the information have been made.

Reviewer 3 Report

I think mostly my comments have been addressed. I am delighted to see the revised version. There are still some issues to be addressed prior to the acceptance as follows.

1. There are some language issues in the following statement "An example of this is the study of Khan and Rasheed [40] showing in the results of their analyzes that metacognitive awareness and learning strategies moderate study habits among university students." This is what I suggested as follows. "An example of this is the study of Khan and Rasheed [40] showing the results of their analyses that metacognitive awareness and learning strategies moderate study habits among university students."

2. Examples of appropriate learning strategies should be provided for the following statement "One way to optimize the study routine will be to introduce the 325 use of appropriate learning strategies."

3. It is suggested that future studies should be conducted to explore the relationship between learning strategies in specific learning domains such as mathematical literacy (Magen-Nagar, 2016), second language writing (Kao & Reynolds, 2017), physical education (e.g. Kaji & Ono, 2021). Here are some references for your information.

Kaji, M. & Ono, Y. (2021). Study on learning strategies in elementary school physical education. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21, 3211-3217.

Kao, C.W. & Reynolds, B.L. (2017). A study on the relationship among Taiwanese college students’ EFL writing strategy use, writing ability and writing difficulty. English Teaching & Learning, 41, 31-67.
Magen-Nagar, N. (2016). The effects of learning strategies on mathematical literacy: A comparison between lower and higher achieving countries. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 2, 306-321.

 

Author Response

I think mostly my comments have been addressed. I am delighted to see the revised version. There are still some issues to be addressed prior to the acceptance as follows.

1. There are some language issues in the following statement "An example of this is the study of Khan and Rasheed [40] showing in the results of their analyzes that metacognitive awareness and learning strategies moderate study habits among university students." This is what I suggested as follows. "An example of this is the study of Khan and Rasheed [40] showing the results of their analyses that metacognitive awareness and learning strategies moderate study habits among university students."
2. Examples of appropriate learning strategies should be provided for the following statement "One way to optimize the study routine will be to introduce the 325 use of appropriate learning strategies."
3. It is suggested that future studies should be conducted to explore the relationship between learning strategies in specific learning domains such as mathematical literacy (Magen-Nagar, 2016), second language writing (Kao & Reynolds, 2017), physical education (e.g. Kaji & Ono, 2021). Here are some references for your information.

We have adjusted the manuscript to your comments. Several modifications have been made as well as those language issues mentioned have been improved. Likewise, we have added your suggestion in relation to future studies because we have considered that it was of a greater interest in this investigation area. We are so grateful for your contributions.