Goal Theory (January 26)

In the reading on Goal Theory it talks about why students work to understand the material and what motivates them. There are many different types of motivation. Some people are motivated because they like to learn, others are motivated for the grade they get and some for they way they will look for doing well. Research shows that students who work for the grade, do not learn as much of the information as someone who is working to learn. When someone works to learn that is called the learning goal. The learning goal is a better way to learn in the long run. People that are working for the grade are more concerned about what they will be tested on then learning the other information in the class. Students were given something to read and they were told that it would not be on the quiz. The students who read the material did it because they wanted to learn or because they enjoyed it. The students that didn't read it said they didn't do it because it wasn't going to be on the quiz. They focused on the material that would help get the better grade, instead of learning more about the subject.

I think the target principles is a good way for students to want to learn more, then what they are required to learn. The way students are graded now focuses on the letter they get instead of how hard they worked or what they learned. The grade shows them that even if they didn't go above and beyond, but if they got a good grade that's good enough. I know that I can be concerned about the grade, that I spend less time learning about information that could help me improve my overall knowledge about the subject. I think that learning should focus more on wanting to improve yourself, then a letter that measures very little about your overall intelligence of the subject. It's sometimes hard to enjoy a subject that you care about because if you don't learn what the teachers finds important as well as you should your grade is poorly effected. Students may know the information, but the way the test is made or the questions are asked may seem like they don't understand the material at all. In the classroom students should be shown what they did wrong and have the opportunity to improve it so they understand the material. Instead of giving a test and if they don't do well there is no way for them to fix what they were unclear on. After that test is done students can feel that they aren't going to be tested on that material again and to be more concerned about the next test instead of the material they didn't understand. I think that a different way of grading a student should happen and I think that will result in greater overall knowledge students will have.