Positive learning and pluriliteracies: Growth in Higher Education and implications for course design, assessment and research

Deeper learning and the development of transferable knowledge and skills are highly desirable goals in Higher Education programs. However, current studies indicate that these goals are rarely achieved. In this article, we will present a model of deeper learning that promotes the development of disciplinary literacies and transferable knowledge. Based on our joint work we will outline a revised course design that aims at putting the principles of deeper learning into practice through a focus on affect, student engagement, knowledge construction, meaning making and active demonstration of understanding as well as reflective practice. Further, we will outline a research agenda for evaluating and assessing deeper learning processes and outcomes in Higher Education and discuss how deeper learning might pertain to the notion of positive learning envisioned by PLATO (Positive Learning in the Age of Information).