Students' perceptions and proof of learning: A study of the elusive barriers that impact knowledge transfer within and between first-year composition and communication courses

This thesis reports on significant barriers that impact students' perceptions of learning and proof of learning in first-year composition and communication courses at Illinois State University. During this study, I facilitated four focus group sessions and three individual interviews between fall 2013 and spring 2014. Ten students enrolled in English 101 and Communication 110 during their first year at the university participated in this study.;The purpose of this thesis is to add to the current research on knowledge transfer by conducting a study that examines multiple activity systems that participants encounter during their first year of college, including English 101 and Communication 110. While an ample amount of research on transfer in first-year writing exists, many studies do not consider the impact that other activity systems have on student learning. For this reason, this study examines participants' perceptions about learning and transfer during their first and second semester of college to gain a more holistic view of student learning and the transformation of learning in this study.;Based on participants' responses, findings in this study demonstrate that many factors that often remain unnoticed or unacknowledged impact student learning and transfer, including participants' robust identities, perceptions of writing, and resistance to conscious shifts in learning. In order to increase students' abilities to transfer knowledge and skills to new contexts, I provide suggestions that involve presenting students with ample opportunities to investigate and articulate their learning in the classroom.