Performance Goals vs Learning Goals: Are We Learning or Looking Good?
December 19, 2007 by Pete Reilly
This from the Leading Blog “Which Should You Have? Performance Goals versus Learning Goals” based on research from Carol Dweck.
“Performance goals are about “winning positive judgments of your competence and avoiding negative ones. In other words, when students pursue performance goals they’re concerned with their level of intelligence: They want to look smart (to themselves or others) and avoid looking dumb.” A person usually does this by playing it safe.
Learning goals are ones that are about increasing your competence.
“It reflects a desire to learn new skills, master new tasks, or understand new things…”
In order to do develop new competencies students often go through a phase of confusion, failure, and discomfort. Think about what it feels like to learn a new video game, learn to juggle, or speak another language. Being a beginner requires us to quiet our egos and a willingness to look like a beginner, often in front of others.
Both goals she noted are common and can fuel achievement.
“The tasks that are best for learning are often challenging ones that involve displaying ignorance and risking periods of confusion and errors. The tasks that are best for looking smart are often ones that students are already good at and won’t really learn as much from doing.”
I’ve watched a number of people join my Aikido class and quit soon thereafter because they want to learn it quickly. They don’t like being beginners.
Interesting that our schools have structured themselves to emphasize and reward levels of achievement not “degrees of learning”. NCLB has further encouraged the focus on achievement. As the Leading Blog says:
“..most people would opt for performance goals. Who wants to take a chance of being criticized for looking dumb? Are we learning or looking good?”
Interesting that so many schools that call themselves “Learning Communities” are structured to encourage performance and achievement goals.
Sadly, it is rare to find an educator who will allow themselves to “look dumb” in front of other educators or their own students. When we hide the difficulties involved in learning from our children, or decide that we should stick to things we know, and stay away from things that are unfamiliar so we don’t look bad; we become role models for playing it safe and provide a poor example for young learners.
pete
Pete, once again you have written a timely blog. We just finished a staff meeting about writing goals and objectives in IEP’s. You have given me more to think about when writing measurable, appropriate goals. As special ed teachers we are all about teaching skills and helping students reach their level of competence.
Jim;
Thanks. I’ve always thought that every student, not just special ed students, would benefit from individual education plans.
I remember taking a drawing class as an elective in college. I was terrible when I started and made a huge improvement as I learned and practiced. I might have learned the most of any student in the class. Unfortunately, I earned a “C”. There were art majors in the class who started further ahead than me and the grading was based on performance; not how much we learned.
I also see it in Middle Schools where kids come in that are four years behind in reading and get in a program that makes 2 years worth of progress in one year. Fantastic right? Later the scores for the school come out and they show the kids 2 years behind. The school is criticized. They’ve learned alot; but the achievement scores don’t show that.
pete
This really resonates, percolates, & intrigues! I would hope that I am encouraging learning goals and wonder often at the difficulty fellow learners in my room have when they walk in the door. Could this hidden expectation in grades be part of the disconnect? The older learners who had me last year are more willing to learn, but some newer learners have not caught on as well, even though i am very explicit - we are all learners on our planet!