Module 11
Types of Goals
Below are 3 examples of students with varying types of goals. Read the examples and identify the differences in the goals.
Jane’s Goals
"This is my chance to show all the girls what a great basketball palyer I am. If I stay near the basket, Joan and June will pass to me, and I’ll keep scoring points and I can impress Coach and my friends."
Joan’s Goals
"Boy, I hope I don’t screw this up. If I shoot at the basket and miss, I’ll look like a real jerk. Maybe I should just stay outside the three point line and keep passing in to Jane and June."
June’s Goals
"I’d really like to become a better basketball palyer. I can’t figure out why I don’t get more of my shots into the basket. I’ll ask Coach to give me feedback on my style so I can improve my game. Maybe I’ll ask some of the other girls for suggestions too."
Learning Versus Performance Goals
1) Learning Goals: a desire to achieve competence by acquiring additional knowledge or mastering a new skill
2) Performance Goals: a desire to look either good or not to look bad
Are Jane’s goals performance or learning? What about Joan and June?
Preschoolers have learning goals which often become performance goals when they start school. This occurs because of:
– increased peer group interaction
– change in skills learned
- reliance on teacher evaluation
Think about your own approach to school- is your approach characterized primarily by learning goals (your effort centers around obtaining new information and skills) or performance goals (you find yourself questioning how to increase your grade, not how to increase your learning)?
