Introduction
Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets (Dweck, 2006) has very much permeated the modern educational landscape, and is a good example of how findings from psychology research can influence people’s thinking and practices. A related but equally informative area of exploration from Dweck and her colleagues’ research, in my opinion, is their work on performance goals and learning goals. My decision to make this topic the focus of a blog post was inspired by a conversation with my 10-year-old daughter that took place earlier this year.
A learning goal in action
One Friday in February my daughter came home from school with a bundle of books to help her begin preparations for the Year 6 SATs. A child who enjoys learning, she was keen to make a start and so voluntarily started working her way through one of the workbooks (on a Friday night, no less). After about 45 minutes she said to me:
“Dad, I’ve done a chunk of this, would you be able to mark it to see if there are any mistakes?”
“Sure,” I said, before adding: “But if I do notice any mistakes, what does that mean to you?”
She thought about this for a few moments and then replied: “A step forward.”
I was both moved and blown away by this response – what an amazing attitude to have developed! But what underpinned it? Possibly a number of factors, but I think the goal she had may have been important.
In this situation, my daughter did not approach the task with a desire to demonstrate flawless performance; rather, she had a goal of learning from the endeavour. This transformed the meaning of mistakes and enabled her to approach her preparations with confidence. She saw any mistakes not as a reflection of her ability, nor a backward step, but rather a source of valuable feedback that would help her to make progress with her learning. This is the difference that the goals we have in mind can make.
“Dad, I’ve done a chunk of this, would you be able to mark it to see if there are any mistakes?”
“Sure,” I said, before adding: “But if I do notice any mistakes, what does that mean to you?”
She thought about this for a few moments and then replied: “A step forward.”
I was both moved and blown away by this response – what an amazing attitude to have developed! But what underpinned it? Possibly a number of factors, but I think the goal she had may have been important.
In this situation, my daughter did not approach the task with a desire to demonstrate flawless performance; rather, she had a goal of learning from the endeavour. This transformed the meaning of mistakes and enabled her to approach her preparations with confidence. She saw any mistakes not as a reflection of her ability, nor a backward step, but rather a source of valuable feedback that would help her to make progress with her learning. This is the difference that the goals we have in mind can make.
Performance goals and learning goals: What are they?
Performance goals
In a performance goal, the focus is on winning positive judgments about your competence – and avoiding negative ones. Basically, the aim is to look intelligent, while avoiding looking the opposite. People with performance goals tend to love tasks on which they stand a good chance of achieving well – for example, being able to get 20/20 on a test that perhaps isn’t actually that challenging, or undertaking a task that they are already good at.
Learning goal
In contrast, in a learning goal the focus is on increasing your competence. As described by Dweck (2000): “It reflects a desire to learn new skills, master new tasks, or understand new things – a desire to get smarter” (p. 15). A person with a learning goal would prefer a harder task on which they wouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to perform flawlessly – it’s getting stretched that’s important, rather than appearing successful.
In a performance goal, the focus is on winning positive judgments about your competence – and avoiding negative ones. Basically, the aim is to look intelligent, while avoiding looking the opposite. People with performance goals tend to love tasks on which they stand a good chance of achieving well – for example, being able to get 20/20 on a test that perhaps isn’t actually that challenging, or undertaking a task that they are already good at.
Learning goal
In contrast, in a learning goal the focus is on increasing your competence. As described by Dweck (2000): “It reflects a desire to learn new skills, master new tasks, or understand new things – a desire to get smarter” (p. 15). A person with a learning goal would prefer a harder task on which they wouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to perform flawlessly – it’s getting stretched that’s important, rather than appearing successful.
Performance and learning goals: So what?
Research suggests that these two types of goals can create very different responses in learning situations. Interestingly, when things are going swimmingly, there isn’t much difference between the impact of the two types of goals; however, it’s when difficulty is encountered that the difference is noticed.
The following table summarizes various pieces of research on the impact learners’ goals can have on their subsequent behaviour (see Ames & Archer, 1988; Dweck, 2000; Elliott & Dweck, 1988; Graham & Golon, 1991; Pintrich & Garcia, 1991):
The following table summarizes various pieces of research on the impact learners’ goals can have on their subsequent behaviour (see Ames & Archer, 1988; Dweck, 2000; Elliott & Dweck, 1988; Graham & Golon, 1991; Pintrich & Garcia, 1991):
In summary, students with learning goals are less likely to be derailed in the face of difficulty, and therefore demonstrate more resilience in learning situations.
But how do we help people to set learning goals instead of performance goals?
But how do we help people to set learning goals instead of performance goals?
Shaping learning goals
We can support people to explicitly form learning goals by helping them to focus on, for example:
The process of learning is well summarized by David Kolb’s (1984) model of The Learning Cycle:
- The aim of developing skills, rather than demonstrating ability.
- Treating experiences (including so-called failure) as valuable sources of feedback that will support development.
- The process of learning, rather than the outcome a task will lead to.
The process of learning is well summarized by David Kolb’s (1984) model of The Learning Cycle:
In Kolb’s model, learning progresses through a four-stage cycle in which the learner first has a concrete experience, then reflects on that experience, derives general rules to try to describe and understand their experience, and then engages in active experimentation to try to test out their learning and hypotheses.
The beauty of this model is that it doesn’t matter whether the concrete experience is ‘success’ or ‘failure’ – either way, learning results. Therefore, if our goal is to learn from an endeavour, then it is near-impossible to ‘fail’. Approaching new tasks or challenges with this learning orientation can be quite liberating, especially if one is otherwise prone to paralysing perfectionism.
The beauty of this model is that it doesn’t matter whether the concrete experience is ‘success’ or ‘failure’ – either way, learning results. Therefore, if our goal is to learn from an endeavour, then it is near-impossible to ‘fail’. Approaching new tasks or challenges with this learning orientation can be quite liberating, especially if one is otherwise prone to paralysing perfectionism.
Conclusions
Performance goals are goals which focus on winning positive judgements about our competence, while learning goals focus on acquiring new skills and growing from experience. Performance goals can be associated with negative outcomes in learning situations, including increased self-doubt, decreased persistence, and diminished resilience. In contrast, learning goals are associated with decreased self-condemnation, enhanced persistence, and more effective problem-solving. If we can help others to approach challenges with learning goals rather than performance goals, we can enhance their resilience in learning situations and increase the likelihood of them growing from their experiences.
Reflection questions
- What are your goals at present? Are they learning or performance goals? Might you be able to revise a goal to have more of an explicit learning focus?
- If you work with young people, how can you help them to set themselves learning rather than performance goals?
- If you work with young people, or are a parent, what messages do you send about difficulty/failure? How?
References and acknowledgments
Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students’ learning strategies and motivational processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, pp. 260-267.
Dweck, C. (2000). Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality and Development. Lillington, NC: Taylor & Francis.
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 5-12.
Graham, S., & Golon, S. (1991). Motivational influences on cognition: Task involvement, ego involvement and depth of information processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, pp. 187-194.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Pintrich, P. R., & Garcia, T. (1991). Student goal orientation and self-regulation in the college classroom. In M. L. Maehr & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 7, pp. 371-402). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Dweck, C. (2000). Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality and Development. Lillington, NC: Taylor & Francis.
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 5-12.
Graham, S., & Golon, S. (1991). Motivational influences on cognition: Task involvement, ego involvement and depth of information processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, pp. 187-194.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Pintrich, P. R., & Garcia, T. (1991). Student goal orientation and self-regulation in the college classroom. In M. L. Maehr & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in Motivation and Achievement (Vol. 7, pp. 371-402). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
My grateful thanks to the staff at Sefton Park Infant and Junior Schools, Bristol, for the important role they have played in helping to nurture my daughter’s mindset. In my view she leaves primary school well-equipped to embrace the challenges and opportunities that secondary school will present. Thank-you.
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