In Quest for Better Understanding of Student Learning Experiences

This paper discusses students understanding of their own learning experiences in higher education. The purpose of the study was to find out what kinds of meaningful learning experiences the students gain during courses in which the teaching methods are purposefully tuned to facilitate shared understanding, problem solving and creativity. The data consists of observations of the three different teaching events as well as thirteen taped and transcribed in-depth interviews with voluntary students. The research questions looked into probe student aims and understanding when studying, and the role of learning environments and expectations of the competences produced during these monitored learning processes. Our data suggest that peer-to-peer interaction and working in collaborative groups facilitates knowledge building and, by implication, promote experiences of transformative learning.