Influences on Learning and Achievement

How do motivational patterns influence Learning?

The Influence of classroom Emphasis of Learning/Mastery on student's learning:

When students perceive a classroom to emphasise mastery and the process of learning, their behaviors reflect learning habits oriented towards mastery and progress.

Encouraging Mastery and Progress Based Success in the Classroom:

Desired result: Students adopting mastery/learning motivational patterns. Learning for the Sake of Learning and making progress.
Short term Result>potential negative/ neutral outcome: while there is a higher likelihood that students won't produce as high of test scores/ achievement levels in the absence of extrinsic pressures, over time the reward of progress based learning will be much higher
Long Term Result> Positive/Desired Outcome: increased growth levels of mastery and development of desired learning habits over time. Student's not only report having a more positive outlook towards learning/ the classroom environment, but also develop more effective learning strategies

>>Studies show that students that perceive their classroom to have an emphasis on mastery/learning goals are more likely to report the following:

using more effective learning strategies
prefer taking on challenging tasks
have a positive attitude toward the class
increased focus on their effort and task strategies
Increased willingness to pursue challenging tasks and have more positive feelings towards challenges
showing adaptive attributional patterns

Classroom Emphasis of Performance/ Achievement and its influence on Student's Learning:

When students perceive a classroom emphasis on performance goal orientation, their behaviors tend to reflect performance oriented learning habits. While Performance Goal Mindsets may show faster results than Mastery/Learning Goal Mindsets at first, they are not optimal for long-term learning. This is because the performance approach mindset can quickly devolve into Performance Avoidance.

Encouraging/ Rewarding Social Comparison and Performance-Based Success in the Classroom: Performance Approach

Desired result: producing high performing students (test scores, ability levels)
Short term Result>Positive Outcome: high achievement in the form of test scores/ performance levels
Long Term Result> Negative Outcome: decreased levels of individual growth over time, more fixed mindset.

Performance Goal Orientation often results in students having a negative perception of their abilities and leaves them at higher risk of developing performance avoidant behaviors

How Performance Avoidance Effects Learning:

Performance Avoidant Behaviors are triggered by an inability to meet perceived Performance Goal environment standards.

These behaviors are characterized by avoidance rooted in fear of judgement, poor perception of abilities, self handicapping, and no clear efforts to improve skills or achieve mastery.
Examples of self handicapping: procrastination, taking on too challenging tasks that are out of reach etc..

Students that Develop Performance Avoidant behavirs often struggle in both their academic and personal lives due to the heightened anxiety surrounding their performance and achievement. Increased focus on achievement and extrinsic pressures has shown to be detrimental to student's ability to learn and make progress due to having "fixed" mindset of what they are capable of

Achievement Goals in the Classroom: Student's Learning Strategies and Motivation Processes (Ames and Archer)

Exploring different motivational processes in relation to the presence of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings and how it affected Student's ability to learn and grow.

Students task choices and attitudes were distinctly a function of the perceived mastery orientation of the classroom which paralleled the findings on learning strategies
They found that the presence of social comparison information didn't reduce students self perception/ evaluations when they were working on projects that they enjoyed/task involved
Mastery/Learning and Performance goal orientations are contradictory of each other. In consequence, incorporating the mastery learning paradigm into classroom has been shown to reduce the impact of connection between perceived ability and performance-based behaviors
Study was to identify the specific motivational processes in relation to the presence of mastery and performance goals in actual classroom settings

Conclusion: goal orientation is determined by what is actually happening in the classroom but also by how the student interprets these events and what motivational orientatio they adopt. Each outcome is effected by their self perception of ability, perception of goal orientation. These are effected by their upbringing and interpretation of events

(All Information is Referenced from the Ames/Archer Study)

Details Related to the Ames and Archer Study

Questions the Study Addressed:

Do mastery and performance goal constructs differentiate students perceptions of their classroom experiences?
How are the students perceptions of classroom goals related to their task choices, attitudes and beliefs about the causes of failure?
Evaluating students perceptions of classroom goals relate to the their selection and use of effective learning strategies

Learning Stategies were monitored based on their engagement of the following:

Time management
Concentration
Effort
Comprehension
self instruction/monitoring
strategic thinking

It is important to note that students within the same classroom may differ in their interpretations of goal orientations due to the diversity in upbringing, home influences, or differential treatment by teachers. In result, the extent that students adopt motivational patterns depends on each student’s social reality that they construct for themselves.

(All Information is Referenced from the Ames/Archer Study)

Applications to Calvin's Learning

Calvin's Motivational Struggles

Calvin displays different goal mindsets in different aspects of his life: In his artwork and comics, he displays a mastery mindset. However, in academic settings he becomes quite performance avoidant and engages in self handicapping.
He lacks motivation and procrastinates on projects that he doesn't find interesting
He has a hard time organizing his ideas in a reasonable manner

However: he doesn't seem to have these issues when he's making his comics and imaginary worlds.

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