Learning Habits, Awareness, and Success
A study at Northern Illinois University indicates that there is a relationship between the way students set learning goals and overall academic success. In other words, the types of goals a college student defines for his/herself when tackling academic material can make a major difference in their mastery of the material as reflected by their grade point average. Students who choose to learn for the sake of learning master the information at hand. On the other hand, those who study just to make the grade do not achieve the same level of information mastery. Furthermore, the former group develops an awareness of their learning processes and abilities. This in turn enables them to seek effective learning and retention strategies to address increasingly challenging materials and scenarios.
The Northern Illinois University study focused on two different types of goals, those of learning the material for the sake of knowing the material, which are called "mastery goals", and that of learning the material solely for the sake of getting good grades, known as "performance goals". Not only did the study look at how students' goals affected their grades, it examined how the student's ability to analyze their own learning process affected their academic achievements.
Mastery goals lead students to focus on depth of learning and mastery of content, leading to strong self-efficacy and excellent performance. Students with mastery goals seek challenging tasks and strive under difficult situations. They become aware of and monitor their thoughts - think about their thinking - make plans for learning, identify their best skills and develop strategies to solve problems. When faced with failure, they are proactive: responding with solutions and improving their performance. This process has been shown to be a strong factor in student's academic success.
On the other hand, students with a performance goal orientation seemed to be motivated only by the desire to avoid appearing incompetent. To insure good grades, they will avoid anything challenging, preferring to take an easier course, so that they are assured of success. When faced with challenges, these types of students will try to avoid them, whether by making excuses or claiming a lack of interest in the task. These are the students who cram for the test, but never fully learn the depth of the material. Although focused on getting high grades in order to look good before their peers, the study shows that these students' strategies actually hinder their long-term ability to get high grades.
While the Northern Illinois University study is not totally conclusive in and of itself, it does show a clear relationship between the type of goals students set for themselves and their overall academic success. The greater depth of knowledge achieved by students with mastery goals serves them well.
Similarly, the ability to set mastery goals is also directly applicable to the professional world. The habit of setting goals, analyzing one's own ability and knowledge and developing a strategic approach to overcome deficiencies and solving problems will yield solutions in real-world professional environments. The ability to offer solutions increases one's credibility with stakeholders throughout the organizational hierarchy. In turn, this leads to a great probability of professional success.
My concluding advice to students with the start of the new school year imminent: reflect on your learning goals. Are you focused on how you can best learn and master what awaits you? Or are you focused on getting away with doing as little as possible? If you are in the second category, reach out to others to get help in shifting the way that you approach your schoolwork. Parents, educators, and coaches, with their experience, tools and skills, can play a very effective role in helping students learn in school how to succeed in life.
