Mastery Goal vs Performance Goals

Researchers in the field of education have distinguished between two types of goals that are utilized in the modern classroom environment and schools i.e. mastery and performance. Mastery goal orientation tends to lead students toward acquiring new skills and enhancing competence. On the contrary, performance goal orientation tends to lead students to look for positive assessments of the capabilities, to perform better than others, and to consider ability – instead of effort – as the primary determinant of performance. There are significant differences between these two goal orientations, which in turn influence learning outcomes in the classroom and the overall school. Mastery goal orientation focuses on learning the content/skill and considers mistakes to be learning opportunities. Performance goal orientation, on the other hand, focuses on appearing competent through performing better than others despite the level of achievement and considers mistakes as indicators of lack of confidence (Svinicki, 2005).

Based on analysis conducted in the previous modules, my school is more oriented toward mastery goals instead of performance goals for students. The school’s administration has placed considerable emphasis on mastery goals and ensuring students master the learning content or skills. A student’s mastery of the learning content/skill is considered as an indicator of competence regardless of the level of performance or grade. Consequently, teachers in this school have adopted and utilize instructional strategies that focus on enhancing students’ mastery of learning content. In most cases, the goals and objectives of a particular lesson/unit of study are clearly stipulated to students because commencement of the lesson. Students are then required to work towards achievement of these goals and objectives through demonstrating mastery of learning content. The school’s orientation toward mastery goals rather than performance goals is attributable to the fact that performance goals tend to create a classroom environment where students are largely prepared to pass standardized tests. While better academic achievement and performance is essential, getting good grades in standardized tests is not necessarily an indicator of competence.
Over the past few years, mastery goal orientation has received considerable attention in the field of education because of the drawbacks of performance goal orientation. Modern schools are facing increased pressure to enhance mastery goal orientation within the institutions. The shift toward mastery goal orientation is influenced by the fact that mastery of skills or learning content is regarded as the most suitable indicator of competence. There are various strategies that can be employed by a school to increase its emphasis on mastery goal orientation. First, teachers should increase their attention on students’ effort instead of abilities or intelligence. This should be carried out as part of student-centered learning approaches in which teachers emphasize the link between effort and success. Secondly, a school should utilize TARGET (Task, Authority, Recognition, Grouping, Evaluation, Time) framework to form classroom structure. Luftenegger et al. (2014) states that this framework has a positive effect on mastery goal orientation for students. The other approaches include utilizing adaptive learning strategies, adopting student-centered collaborative learning techniques, and modeling commitment to learning.
In conclusion, mastery and performance goal orientations have emerged as important components in today’s educational field. Each of these orientations is characterized by some advantages and disadvantages when utilized in the classroom setting. However, mastery goal orientation seems to be the most suitable and effective approach with respect to enhancing learning outcomes. Given its significant advantages, schools are facing the need to adopt strategies that increase emphasis on mastery goal orientation including using the TARGET framework, adaptive learning strategies, and modeling commitment to learning.
References
Luftenegger et al. (2014, June). Promotion of Students’ Mastery Goal Orientations: Does TARGET Work? Educational Psychology, 34(4), 451-469.
Svinicki, M.D. (2005). Student Goal Orientation, Motivation, and Learning. Retrieved from The Indiana Department of Education website: https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/cte/ncteb-studmotiv.pdf