We triangulated self-assessments of learning, course grades, and course evaluations from 28 students in a general education class to examine the effects of group work and perceptions of utility on learning, investigating three hypotheses: 1) self-assessments of learning provide triangulating information that deepens interpretations of traditional assessments; 2) group experiences influence students' views of the course's utility value; 3) students who believe the course has high utility value will learn more than students who believe the course has low utility value. We found support for all hypotheses. Triangulating information about learning provided a more nuanced understanding of learning than any single source did in isolation. Group work was associated with beliefs that the class was professionally useful. Stronger academic performance was present for students who believed the class was professionally useful, or reported more different types of class utility value. We discuss the implications of these findings for teaching and assessment of student learning.