Students enter university with ideas about their future professions. In some disciplines, the profession and the nature of professional work are well understood, while in other areas, they are more opaque. The authors investigate the ways in which students develop a sense of identity with their profession, how the nature of the profession impacts…

Research in student learning can be based on a theoretical framework, observations of students' learning, the products of this learning, and students' own conceptions of the subject and of learning. In the final analysis, such investigations have a clear purpose--to improve student learning. We report on using the results of research into student…