📚

Week 2 Understanding Achievement Goal Theory (Supplementary)

Aug 24, 2024

Achievement Goal Theory

Overview

  • Achievement Goal Theory is a motivation-oriented theory that focuses on how students achieve goals, deal with failure, and engage in classroom activities.
  • Developed by Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist with a PhD from Yale, currently a professor at Stanford University.
  • Emphasizes fostering a growth mindset and moving away from a fixed mindset to improve mastery-oriented learning.

Frameworks for Understanding Intelligence

  • Entity Framework (Fixed Mindset):

    • Intelligence and competency are innate and unchangeable.
    • Success is measured by performing better than others.
  • Incremental Framework (Growth Mindset):

    • Intelligence can be improved over time.
    • Success is driven by self-improvement and a love for learning.

Mindset Comparisons

  • Growth Mindset:

    • Views failure as an opportunity to grow.
    • Welcomes challenges as opportunities for growth.
  • Fixed Mindset:

    • Sees failure as a limitation of abilities.
    • Avoids challenges that threaten perceived intelligence.

Goal Orientations

  • Mastery Orientation:

    • Focuses on developing competence and improving skills.
    • Motivated by a love for learning (e.g., enjoys studying science).
  • Performance Orientation:

    • Concentrates on demonstrating competence relative to others.
    • Vulnerable to challenges that may affect their self-image.

Subsets of Goal Orientations

  • Mastery Approach:

    • Focuses on learning and overcoming challenges.
    • Example: A student works hard in science because they enjoy it.
  • Mastery Avoidance:

    • Strives to avoid a lack of mastery or failure.
    • Example: A student is concerned about not learning everything they want.
  • Performance Approach:

    • Seeks to prove ability relative to others.
    • Example: Answering questions to show knowledge.
  • Performance Avoidance:

    • Avoids demonstrating ability due to fear of incompetence.
    • Example: Hesitant to answer questions in class due to fear of looking incompetent.

Identifying Mindsets in the Classroom

  • Skills:

    • Fixed: Skills seen as innate and unchangeable.
    • Growth: Skills can be improved through hard work.
  • Challenges:

    • Fixed: Avoid challenges to prevent vulnerability.
    • Growth: Embrace challenges as growth opportunities.
  • Effort:

    • Fixed: Effort seen as unnecessary.
    • Growth: Effort is essential for mastery.
  • Feedback:

    • Fixed: Viewed as a personal attack.
    • Growth: Feedback is a tool for improvement.
  • Setbacks:

    • Fixed: Blame others and become discouraged.
    • Growth: Use setbacks as learning opportunities.

Promoting Growth Mindset and Mastery Orientation

  • Demonstrate that mistakes are part of learning.
  • Teach perseverance and value challenges.
  • Use diverse teaching strategies.
  • Give feedback that emphasizes growth.
  • Promote self-evaluation through questioning.
  • Use growth mindset vocabulary change, e.g., "I'm not good at this" to "What am I missing?"