Do university students fake learning? Notes from the field on student learning and engagement as a performative practice

Abstract

Student-centered approaches to teaching and learning in higher education place strong emphasis on active engagement as crucial to successful learning. However, recent research has uncovered instances where students feign or simulate their engagement – essentially 'faking' the academic participation they believe educators expect. In this exploration, we delve into whether the student-centered ideal of participatory, embodied, and emotionally driven engagement inadvertently fosters 'fake learning'. Drawing on theories of performativity, we critically examine Macfarlane's (2021) binary understanding of 'fake learning,' challenging the assumption that mere outward conformity to teacher expectations necessarily contradicts genuine learning experiences. The following insights stem from a thought-provoking workshop centered on the theme of 'fake learning' in higher education. They are presented not as a linear argument but as a mosaic of voices, with only a select few representing our own research perspectives. By framing these perspectives as field notes, rather than a classic linar argument ending with a synthesis, we aim to highlight the diverse, sometimes contradictory, viewpoints surrounding learning and engagement as performative practices in contemporary higher education.