Is Performance the Enemy of Learning? Episode 2/2: Progress Goals

In my previous article, I may have brought back some unpleasant training memories and dampened your spirits by talking about performance goals in learning. But rest assured — today we'll see that this isn't inevitable, and that there is another type of goal that is highly relevant for training: progress goals. What are they, and above all how can you encourage your learners to pursue them, particularly in e-learning? I'll tell you everything and share some insights from our R&D work ;)

In an ideal world…

… learners' main goal is to feel themselves progressing. They engage fully in the training, actively questioning the content you present to them, working consistently, willingly taking part in practical exercises. When a mistake happens, it isn't seen as a failure. In fact, it has very little emotional impact on the learners: it's simply a piece of information pointing to how they can improve — a sign that learning is underway. The success of others is not perceived as a threat either; on the contrary, it's a source of inspiration, and learners happily collaborate with one another to succeed. Feedback is listened to.

Utopian? Not at all — all these behaviours can be observed when learners pursue what researchers call "progress goals". When learners pursue such goals, they are far more resilient when mistakes occur and benefit more from training programmes containing a high proportion of exercises (which are also the most effective!). Yet anyone who has trained learners can confirm: this scenario remains rare! Why? Blame our education system!

The origins of performance and progress goals

Let us return to the example of Karen and Thomas from the first article. These learners are not blank slates: before arriving at training, both have spent thousands of hours at school, in further education and at work. Throughout, they have received "rewards" and "punishments" from those around them… and have also observed others receiving them.

Let's start with Karen, our high-performing expert with a pronounced taste for competition. She noticed that she received very large rewards when she was among the best: praised by teachers, parents or peers. Thanks to her excellent academic performance, she secured places in good schools and then rewarding positions. Over time, Karen formed the belief that what mattered when learning was being the best. Progressing was fine too, but far less rewarding. After all, when she became top of her law class, jumping from 15 to 17, it was almost a standing ovation. By comparison, the praise she received when she went from 6/20 to 10/20 in maths was far more muted. (On a related note, you may also enjoy our article "The pedagogy for high achievers, too prevalent in digital training!")

Now let's look at Thomas. Thomas received rather more punishments at school. As a child, he was never among the top students and, despite his efforts, struggled to reach the average. Yet research shows that many teachers treat less confident students differently (often without realising it): they are called upon less frequently, for less time, corrected more quickly, seated further from the teacher's desk. And Thomas felt this keenly. Whether he had progressed or not, his teachers' feedback was much the same: "insufficient". With his progress so rarely acknowledged, Thomas concluded that "training isn't for me". When he does attend, his goal is to stay inconspicuous and above all not to be the weakest.

Our education system is organised in such a way that, through this cycle of rewards and punishments, learners gradually learn to pursue performance goals. We collectively have a low resilience to error — even though it is an integral part of learning. Studies show that this mindset develops quite quickly: researchers observe that the majority of pupils are already pursuing performance goals… from their very first year of primary school.

Changing goals: it is possible!

Are we condemned to work around learners' (and our own) low resilience to error? Fortunately not! You may have noticed this yourself: in our leisure time, and even in our games, especially those without competition, we more readily pursue progress goals. At work or in training, the vast majority of us pursue performance goals — but if the trainer puts us at ease and normalises mistakes… we can pursue progress goals instead.

How to do this in practice? As a trainer, you won't be able to change the culture we all swim in. However, through targeted interactions with your learners, you can shift their relationship to learning during their time with you. The feedback you give learners is a powerful lever. Telling a successful learner "wow, you're really talented" links their value as a person to their performance: this will encourage them to pursue performance goals. Conversely, saying "this work is excellent, for such and such a reason" will encourage progress goals. The way you introduce the training is also a key moment: this is precisely what researchers use to change the goals learners pursue and study their effects. Saying at the outset "The aim of this activity is above all that you understand what you're doing, even if you make mistakes" encourages progress goals, whereas "What matters here is that we can see what you've learned. You have few attempts, so give it your best" encourages performance goals. Organising a competition between learners to motivate them also encourages performance goals, even when framed playfully: you'll push them to compare themselves and avoid mistakes at all costs… when mistakes are unavoidable!

And in e-learning?

All the findings mentioned in this article and the previous one were observed in face-to-face training. But do they translate to e-learning? In this environment, learners are alone in front of their screens with very few direct interactions with the trainer — two factors that may have a different impact on the goals learners pursue.

To our knowledge, no study has yet been conducted on this specific question. Our initial R&D work, which incorporated the phrases used in face-to-face settings to encourage learners to pursue progress goals, was a resounding failure: while trainers found them appealing, most learners found them patronising.

However, these phrases alone are never enough. During a meeting with researcher Céline Darnon, who has conducted several studies on the influence of performance goals, she suggested the following idea: rather than telling learners what matters, it is better to have them actively reflect on the topic through an exercise. For example, by beginning the training with an exercise where the learner must write why making mistakes leads to better learning. Ms Darnon hypothesised that such an exercise would carry more weight, as learners would need to actively engage with the subject. We are currently testing the effect of such an exercise within training programmes developed on the Didask solution. Will they have the desired effect? Watch this space!

There is still much for us to learn on this subject, which is why I invite you too to experiment with your learners: what happens when you offer them a similar exercise, when you recognise progress, when you allow them to make mistakes? We may not change the world, but little by little, we might perhaps lead learners towards a more peaceful relationship with learning.

References

• Dupeyrat, C., & Mariné, C. (2005). Implicit theories of intelligence, goal orientation, cognitive engagement, and achievement: A test of Dweck's model with returning to school adults. Contemporary educational psychology
• Darnon, C., Butera, F., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2007). Achievement goals in social interactions: Learning with mastery vs. performance goals. Motivation and Emotion, 31(1), 61–70.
• Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance. Journal of personality and social psychology, 75(1), 33.
• Cohen, J., Darnon, C., & Mollaret, P. (2017). Distinguishing the desire to learn from the desire to perform: The social value of achievement goals. The Journal of social psychology, 157(1), 30–46.

A must-read book:

• L'évaluation, une menace ? by Fabrizio Butera, Céline Darnon and Céline Buchs