Pedagogy Focused on Learning: Assessment of Error Processes

Adolescence intersects with systemic educational challenges in Brazil, including high dropout rates and low academic proficiency. This study applied the Approach-in-Process Test Version 2, a performance-based assessment rooted in learning approaches theory, to evaluate deep and superficial learning approaches among 71 adolescents (14–18 years) from a socioeconomically vulnerable public school. Using the content “Adolescence as a Social Construction,” the authors analyzed students’ responses to open-ended items in the test through iterative error categorization (95.65% inter-rater agreement). Only 2.35% of responses met deep approach criteria, while errors centered on Judgment of Incapacity, where students self-assessed as unable to perform behaviors like conceptual elaboration, and Common Sense, marked by reliance on everyday knowledge (e.g., defining adolescence through personal experience rather than sociocultural determinants). The analysis identified 10 superficial approaches. These findings emphasize the need for interventions addressing cognitive gaps, particularly in contexts where curricula misalign with student realities. Despite its single-discipline focus, the study highlights the utility of tools like the Approach-in-Process Test Version 2 in guiding educational reforms. Future research should assess cross-disciplinary applications and transitions from superficial to deep learning approaches.