The Work of Learning in College: A Practice in Critical Thinking or a Grind?

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Division J Poster Session: Student Learning and Development

Abstract

College has customarily been seen as a space for developing critical thinking, and this intellectual development depends in large part on students doing the work of learning. However, the work of learning also signifies a pragmatic routine that students engage in to make the grade. This qualitative research project explores the practice of learning in college as both essential to critical thinking and as a utilitarian activity, and it investigates the cognitive monitoring that students engage in over learning itself. Participants were first- and second-year college students (n=135), particularly diverse in the areas of race and discipline. This investigation occurred over 6 months at one university. Analysis is grounded in phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, and sociocultural theory.

Author

• Mecaila M Smith, University of California - Santa Cruz