Beyond IQ Series #8: What is "academic goal setting" and why is it important for learning?

Background comment regarding this series

Interest in social-emotional learning and resiliency training (click here and here for just two examples) in education has shown a recent uptick on activity. Given this activity, IQs Corner is starting a series to explain the previously articulated Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), which was a model ahead of it's time (IMHO). The imporance of non-cognitive (conative) characteristics in learning have been articulated since the days of Spearman, the father of the construct of general intelligence. Richard Snow's work on the concept of "aptitude," which integrates cognitive and conative individual difference variables, is the foundation of the Beyond IQ MACM. Non-cognitive (cognitive) characteristics of learners are important for learning and are more manipulable (more likely to be modified via intervention) than intelligence. Thus, the MACM components make sense as potential levers for improving school learning and pursuing more well rounded life-long learners. This material comes a larger set of materials on the web (click here).

Current MACM Series Installment

This eighth installment in the Beyond IQ series defines academic goal setting and summarizes implications for learning. [All installments in this series (and other related posts and research) can be found by clicking here.
___________________________________________________________________


Academic Goal Setting: Definition and Conceptual Background

A person’s ability to set, prioritize and monitor progress towards appropriate and realistic short-(proximal) and longterm (distal) academic goals that serve to direct attention,effort, energy, and persistence toward goal-relevant activities (and away from goal-irrelevant activities).

Goal setting is the ability to set, prioritize and monitor progress towards appropriate and realistic short-term (proximal) and long-term (distal) goals that serve to direct attention, effort, energy, and persistence toward goal-relevant activities (and away from goal-irrelevant activities) (Locke & Latham, 2002). Goals (e.g., academic goals) are the object or aim of an action or behavior and typically include a specified time limit and standard of proficiency. The act of setting goals is based on the assumption, supported by approximately 4 decades of research, that conscious goals will affect action or behavior (Locke & Latham, 2002). According to goal- setting theory, goal-setting facilitates higher levels of academic performance via: (a) direction of attention and efforts toward goal- relevant activities; (b) energizing effort; (c) increasing persistence and more sustained effort; and (d) indirectly leading to the discovery and use of task-relevant strategies (Locke & Latham, 2002).


Academic Goal Setting: Implications

Research has consistently suggested that the two types of academic goal orientations produce significantly different adaptive or nonadaptive learning-related behaviors (Maehr, 1999). According to Covington (2000), “one’s achievement goals are thought to influence the quality, timing, and appropriateness of cognitive strategies that, in turn, control the quality of one’s accomplishments” (p. 174). In general, the research suggests (Anderman et al., 2002; Covington, 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Kaplan & Maehr, 1999; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002b; Maehr, 1999; Newman, 2000; Pintrich, 2000b, 2000c; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2002; Snow et al., 1996):

A performance goal orientation is associated with nonadaptive learning behaviors which include hiding self-perceived incompetence, self-handicapping, greater worry and anxiety, increased behavior problems, a concern for establishing superiority relative to others, a focus on obtaining grades for grades' sake or other external reasons, less adaptive subsequent motivation, negative self-evaluations and affect, poorer and disorganized strategy use, and poorer academic performance. A performance goal orientation has been associated with students demonstrating a pattern of “helplessness” and the avoidance of challenging situations in order to maintain positive self-perceptions of ability (when compared to others). “Success…is evaluated in social comparison terms. In terms of developing self-esteem, this is a decidedly hazardous situation. By definition, success is a limited commodity. Only a few, at best, can win a competitive game” (Maehr, 1999, p. 331).

A learning goal orientation is associated with more adaptive learning behaviors: positive affect (e.g., pride and satisfaction), higher levels of efficacy, interest, task effort and engagement, the use of more creative and deep self-regulatory learning strategies, and better academic performance. When learning results in stress and frustration, learning goal oriented students tend to view the situation as a challenge, are often energized by the challenge, maintain a positive and optimistic outlook, persevere, and demonstrate the ability to be strategically flexible in their problem solving strategies.

The adoption of a particular learning goal orientation is predictive of, and related to, the attainment of important and valued educational outcomes for children and adolescents. According to Covington’s (2000) review, “the accumulated evidence overwhelmingly favors the goal-theory hypothesis that different reasons for achieving, nominally approach and avoidance, influence the quality of achievement striving via self-regulation mechanisms” (p. 178). A learning goal orientation is a key student attribute that should be assessed and fostered in learning environments. A learning goal orientation is associated with environments that define success as progress and improvement, value effort and learning, and accept mistakes as an inherent component of learning. Learning goal oriented environments stress personal goals, internal comparisons, and a focus on past performance as a frame of reference. In contrast, educational practices that encourage normative ability social comparisons (comparisons that highlight and accentuate competency differences) are believed to foster performance goal orientations and associated maladaptive learner behaviors. Classroom and school incentive systems, which specify how students are evaluated and how rewards (e.g., grades, praise) are distributed, can have a significant impact on a student’s adoption of a specific academic goal orientation.

The reader is referred to Covington (2002) for a summary of the research on the two major categories of classroom incentive structures (ability vs. equity game structures).

Recently, some goal achievement research has differentiated between two subtypes of performance goal orientation. Performance- approach goals are hypothesized to be present when a student’s purpose for learning is focused on demonstrating their competence and abilities. Performance-approach orientations have been associated with both adaptive and maladaptive learning outcomes. It is hypothesized that for some students, a focus on doing better than others and publicly demonstrating their competence (performance- approach) can contribute to higher levels of motivation, task engagement, and academic success, particularly when the student also displays intrinsic interest in the task. However, there is disagreement in the field regarding the positive and negative consequences of a performance-avoidance goal orientation (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). A performance- avoidance goal orientation is present when a student’s purpose or goal for achievement is to avoid the demonstration of incompetence (i.e., avoid looking stupid). Performance- avoidance goals have been linked with maladaptive educational and behavioral outcomes.

Developmental research has revealed significant differences and changes in a student’s goal orientation over time, largely in response to students adapting to new environments. In general, the developmental goal orientation research literature suggests that changes occur more as a function of changing learning environment, and not enduring personality traits (Anderman et al., 2000).

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Research byte: Another good overview article on IRT test development methods--relevance to clinical assessment

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Research brief: Accuracy of SIRS-2 scale with MR/ID subjects

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Ipsative test interpretation breakthrough@CamPsych, 8/28/11 10:08 AM

Psychometrics Centre (@CamPsych) 8/28/11 10:08 AM Psychometric Society prize winner reports a major breakthrough in ipsative test scoring methodology http://t.co/7HZhMBn

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Beyond IQ Series # 7: Academic motivation defined and learning implications

Background comment regarding this series

Interest in social-emotional learning and resiliency training (click here and here for just two examples) in education has shown a recent uptick on activity. Given this activity, IQs Corner is starting a series to explain the previously articulated Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), which was a model ahead of it's time (IMHO). The imporance of non-cognitive (conative) characteristics in learning have been articulated since the days of Spearman, the father of the construct of general intelligence. Richard Snow's work on the concept of "aptitude," which integrates cognitive and conative individual difference variables, is the foundation of the Beyond IQ MACM. Non-cognitive (cognitive) characteristics of learners are important for learning and are more manipulable (more likely to be modified via intervention) than intelligence. Thus, the MACM components make sense as potential levers for improving school learning and pursuing more well rounded life-long learners. This material comes a larger set of materials on the web (click here).

Current MACM Series Installment

This seventh installment in the Beyond IQ series provides a definition of academic motivation and general learning implications. [All installments in this series (and other related posts and research) can be found by clicking here].

___________________________________________________________________


Academic Motivation: Definition and Conceptual Background

Academic motivation is a person’s desire (as reflected in approach, persistence, and level of interest) regarding academic subjects when competence is judged against a standard of performance or excellence.

Academic motivation is a student’s desire (as reflected in approach, persistence, and level of interest) regarding academic subjects when the student’s competence is judged against a standard of performance or excellence (DiPerna & Elliott, 1999; McClelland, 1961; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002). Academic motivation is a subtype of the general construct of effectance motivation, which is defined as the “need” to be successful or effective in dealing with ones environment (Gresham, 1988).


Academic Motivation: Implications

Although much has been written about academic motivation (and its conceptual grandfather/mother—Need for Achievement), until recently little long-term developmental research had been conducted (Covington & Dray, 2002). Longitudinal research helps to answer the question of “which factors, singly and in combination, influence the willingness to learn for its own sake, and whether these factors change in number and saliency as individuals move from one level of schooling to another throughout their educational careers” (Covington & Dray, 2002, p. 34). A review of the relevant literature (Gresham, 1988, 1987; Reschly, 1987; Rivera et al., 1988; Wigfield and Eccles, 2002) suggests that:

Most students begin school with a global sense of competence and interest/motivation in learning. As early as first grade, students begin developing a more differentiated and complex set of goals, values, and beliefs that influence their academic achievement motivation. Children, in general, do not come to school lacking academic motivation.

A student’s motivation changes across the school years. Although most young students enter school with an optimistic view of their personal abilities, and are generally positively motivated to learn, academic achievement motivation decreases over time due to child- specific and school environment changes. For most students this change is normative and not problematic. However, students “at risk” for, or actually experiencing frustration with learning (e.g., students with disabilities), are at greater risk for decreased academic motivation. For example, Gresham (1997) concluded that “the effects of repeatedly failed mastery attempts are increased dependence on external approval, a perceived lack of competence of self-esteem, anxiety in mastery situations, and decrements in effectance motivation. By the time a learner with learning disabilities is identified and labeled, he or she has a well- established pattern of responding to mastery situations”(p. 288). The consequences of decreased academic achievement (effectance) motivation can result in a variety of nonproductive behaviors (e.g., noncompliance on new tasks, self-doubt, dependency on others, loss of interest). Researchers have also demonstrated that a lack of motivation plays a critical role in the achievement of students with learning disabilities. According to Reschly (1987), “there is considerable agreement, supported by reasonably strong, but not definitive, evidence, that mildly retarded persons are more subject to failure- set phenomena (involving reduced motivation and less efficient learning even on simple tasks subsequent to experiencing failures…” (p. 43)

A student’s motivation and behavior become more closely linked with age. As students mature, the goals they set and their academic-related beliefs and values begin to mesh with their actual performance—they become more reality-based. Questions still remain regarding the direction (unidirectional or bi-directional/reciprocal) of the “cause” of this change. Nevertheless, it is clear that a student’s academic motivation and actual academic performance cannot be treated separately.

Utilization of evaluative feedback improves with age. As students move through school they develop more accurate and sophisticated understandings of the evaluative feedback received from their educational environment. Concurrently, the environmental feedback changes as reflected by transitions to letter grades, differentiated group instruction, and more frequent standardized testing. A student’s greater sensitivity (with increasing age) to direct and indirect sources of performance feedback can influence a student’s motivations in a number of positive and/or negative ways.

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Brain areas and Gf (reasoning)@neuroconscience, 8/25/11 4:56 AM

Micah Allen (@neuroconscience) 8/25/11 4:56 AM Large scale brain activations predict reasoning profiles http://t.co/S2WDXGM

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FYiPOST: Brain areas ad reasoning (Gf)@neuroconscience, 8/25/11 4:56 AM

Micah Allen (@neuroconscience) 8/25/11 4:56 AM Large scale brain activations predict reasoning profiles http://t.co/S2WDXGM

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Beyond IQ Series # 6: Achievement Goal Orientation: Definition and learning implications

Background comment regarding this series

Interest in social-emotional learning and resiliency training (click here and here for just two examples) in education has shown a recent uptick on activity. Given this activity, IQs Corner is starting a series to explain the previously articulated Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), which was a model ahead of it's time (IMHO). The imporance of non-cognitive (conative) characteristics in learning have been articulated since the days of Spearman, the father of the construct of general intelligence. Richard Snow's work on the concept of "aptitude," which integrates cognitive and conative individual difference variables, is the foundation of the Beyond IQ MACM. Non-cognitive (cognitive) characteristics of learners are important for learning and are more manipulable (more likely to be modified via intervention) than intelligence. Thus, the MACM components make sense as potential levers for improving school learning and pursuing more well rounded life-long learners. This material comes a larger set of materials on the web (click here).

Current MACM Series Installment

This sixth installment in the Beyond IQ series provides a definition and learning implications of goal orientation, a subdomain under motivation orientation in the MACM model. . [All installments in this series (and other related posts and research) can be found by clicking here].

___________________________________________________________________


Achievement Goal Setting: Definition and Conceptual Background

A person’s set of beliefs that reflect the reasons why they approach and engage in academic and learning tasks. A performance goal orientation is exemplified by a concern for personal ability, a normative social comparison with others, preoccupation with the perception of others, a desire for public recognition for performance, and a need to avoid looking incompetent. A learning goal orientation reflects a focus on task completion and understanding, learning, mastery, solving problems, and developing new skills.

Academic goal orientation is based on contemporary “goal-as-motives” theory where it is posited that “all actions are given meaning, direction, and purpose by the goals that individuals seek out, and that the quality and intensity of behavior will change as these goals change” (Covington, 2000, p. 174). Achievement goal theory is particularly important in education as it is believed that by differentially reinforcing some goals (and not others), teachers can influence (change) the reasons why students learn—that is, change their motivation (Covington, 2000).

Different groups of researchers have converged on strikingly similar findings regarding the importance of academic goal orientation for academic success (Snow et al., 1996). The resultant achievement goal theory has received considerable attention during the past decade (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002b). Goal theory focuses on the role that “purpose” plays in motivation attitudes and behavior (Anderman & Maehr, 1994; Eccles &Wigfield, 2002; Maehr, 1999; Snow et al., 1996; Urdan & Maehr, 1995). Goal orientation focuses on the student’s reasons for taking a course or wanting a specific grade (Anderman et al., 2002). In this document, academic goal orientation is defined as an individual’s set of beliefs that reflect the reasons why they approach and engage in academic tasks (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002a; Pintrich, 2000b; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2002; Wentzel, 1999).

Although the specific terminology may differ amongst researchers, goal theory typically proposes two general goal orientations (Covington, 2000; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002a). Nicholls and colleagues (e.g., Nicholls, Cobb, Yackel, & Wood, 1990) classify goals as either ego- or task- involved (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Dweck and colleagues (see Dweck, 1999) distinguish between performance (such as ego-involved goals) and learning goals (such as task-involved goals). Ames (1992) refers to performance and mastery goals. A performance goal orientation is characterized by self-questions such as “Will I look smart?” and/or “Can I out- perform others?” which reflect a concern for personal ability, a normative social comparison with others, preoccupation with the perception of others, a desire for public recognition for performance, a need to avoid looking incompetent, and “outperforming others as a means to aggrandize one’s ability status at the expense of peers”(Covington, 2000, p. 174). In contrast, a student with a learning goal orientation would more likely ask the questions “How can I do this task?” and “What will I learn?” The learning goal orientation reflects a focus on task completion and understanding, learning, mastery, solving problems, developing new skills, and an appreciation for what one learns (Covington, 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002b; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2002).


Achievement Goal Setting: Learning Implications

Locke and Latham’s (2002) review of the goal-setting research suggest the following implications: (See Locke and Latham (2002) for theoretical models that describe the hypothesized relations between assigned goals, self- set goals, self-efficacy, and performance, and the essential elements of Goal-Setting Theory and a “high performance cycle.”)

Specific and difficult goals lead to higher performance than do simple admonitions to students to “do their best.” Research suggests that “do-your-best” goals have “no external referent and thus are defined idiosyncratically. This allows for a wide range of acceptable performance levels, which is not the case when a goal level is specified” (Locke & Latham, 2002, p. 706).

Goal setting is a key variable in self-regulated learning.

The goals set, or endorsed by a student, are hypothesized to play an important role in the student’s subsequent satisfaction or dissatisfaction vis-à-vis the provision of a criterion point for the performance standard.

Specific academic goals are a necessary but insufficient condition for maintaining effort. Students need formative and summative feedback on their progress toward goals. Consistent feedback allows students the opportunity to adjust their strategies and/or the direction or level of their effort

.


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Single bottleneck in brain?@danlevitin, 8/24/11 9:05 AM

Daniel Levitin (@danlevitin) 8/24/11 9:05 AM Brain's network of bottlenecks may limit multitasking: http://ow.ly/65QhC

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Fwd: Neuropsychology Review, Vol. 21, Issue 3 - New Issue Alert

Wednesday, August 24 Dear Valued Customer, We are pleased to deliver your requested table of contents alert for Neuropsychology Review. Good news: now you will find quick links to the full text of the article in PDF or HTML. Choose your preferred format and access the article with only one click! Volume 21 Number 3 is now available on SpringerLink Register for Springer's email services providing you with info on the latest books in your field. ... More! In this issue: Editorial Broca and the Biology of Language Ronald M. Lazar Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Remarks on the Seat of Spoken Language, Followed by a Case of Aphasia (1861) Paul Broca Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF On the Site of the Faculty of Articulated Speech (1865) Paul Broca Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Review Revisiting the Contributions of Paul Broca to the Study of Aphasia Ronald M. Lazar & J. P. Mohr Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Review Language Organization and Reorganization in Epilepsy Marla J. Hamberger & Jeffrey Cole Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Review The Ontogenesis of Language Impairment in Autism: A Neuropsychological Perspective Gerry A. Stefanatos & Ida Sue Baron Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Review Primary Progressive Aphasias and Their Contribution to the Contemporary Knowledge About the Brain-Language Relationship Micha? Harciarek & Andrew Kertesz Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF    Review The Use of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Techniques to Facilitate Recovery from Post-stroke Aphasia Gottfried Schlaug, Sarah Marchina & Catherine Y. Wan Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Review Drug Therapy of Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Review of Current Evidence Marcelo L. Berthier, Friedemann Pulvermüller, Guadalupe Dávila, Natalia García Casares & Antonio Gutiérrez Abstract    Full text HTML    Full text PDF Do you want to publish your article in this journal? Please visit the homepage of Neuropsychology Review for full details on:    - aims and scope    - editorial policy    - article submission Impact Factor: 4.231 (2010)* * Journal Citation Reports®, Thomson Reuters Request a free sample copy If you are not a current subscriber to the journal, click here to read a free sample copy online. Subscribers to a Springer publication are entitled to read the full-text articles online in SpringerLink. For registration information please contact your librarian or send us an e-mail: In the Americas: springerlink-ny@springer.com In all other countries: springerlink@springer.com Alert information

FYiPOST: Journal of Educational Psychology - Online First Publications

APA Journal alert for:
Journal of Educational Psychology

• Online First Publications

The following articles have been published online this week before they appear in a final print and online issue of Journal of Educational Psychology:

Spanish phonological awareness: Dimensionality and sequence of development during the preschool and kindergarten years.

Anthony, Jason L.; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Durán, Lillian K.; Gillam, Sandra Laing; Liang, Lan; Aghara, Rachel; Swank, Paul R.; Assel, Mike A.; Landry, Susan H.

doi: 10.1037/a0025024

Predicting first graders' development of calculation versus word-problem performance: The role of dynamic assessment.

Seethaler, Pamela M.; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.

doi: 10.1037/a0024968

Working memory, attention, and mathematical problem solving: A longitudinal study of elementary school children.

Swanson, H. Lee

doi: 10.1037/a0025114

The twofold multidimensionality of academic self-concept: Domain specificity and separation between competence and affect components.

Arens, A. Katrin; Yeung, Alexander Seeshing; Craven, Rhonda G.; Hasselhorn, Marcus

doi: 10.1037/a0025047

Practicing versus inventing with contrasting cases: The effects of telling first on learning and transfer.

Schwartz, Daniel L.; Chase, Catherine C.; Oppezzo, Marily A.; Chin, Doris B.

doi: 10.1037/a0025140

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Beyond IQ Series # 5. Motivational orientation--Do I want to do this activity and why?

Background comment regarding this series

Interest in social-emotional learning and resiliency training (click here and here for just two examples) in education has shown a recent uptick on activity. Given this activity, IQs Corner is starting a series to explain the previously articulated Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), which was a model ahead of it's time (IMHO). The imporance of non-cognitive (conative) characteristics in learning have been articulated since the days of Spearman, the father of the construct of general intelligence. Richard Snow's work on the concept of "aptitude," which integrates cognitive and conative individual difference variables, is the foundation of the Beyond IQ MACM. Non-cognitive (cognitive) characteristics of learners are important for learning and are more manipulable (more likely to be modified via intervention) than intelligence. Thus, the MACM components make sense as potential levers for improving school learning and pursuing more well rounded life-long learners. This material comes a larger set of materials on the web (click here).

Current MACM Series Installment

This fifth installment in the Beyond IQ covers the broad MACM domain of Motivational Orientattion. [All installments in this series (and other related posts and research) can be found by clicking here].

___________________________________________________________________



Do I want to do this activity and why? Motivational Orientation

Student characteristics related to this question include, but are not limited to, achievement interests and values, intrinsic motivation, academic goal orientation, and social goals and their relations to motivation. Obviously, students who experience repeated and consistent school failure would, as a group, be predicted to respond in the negative to this question.


Motivational Orientation: The Social Cognitive Model

There is little doubt that the constructs of cognitive ability (intelligence) and motivation are the most commonly mentioned and researched determinants of school learning (Gagne & StPere, 2002; Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002b). The “common belief within the general population is that both factors exert approximately equal causal influences on talent development” (Gagne & StPere, 2002, p. 71). Research generally supports the importance of motivation in academic achievement (DiPerna & Elliott, 2000; Stinnett, Oehler- Stinnet, & Stout, 1991). Although meta-analysis research has not supported the equal stature of both constructs, an average correlation of 0.34 has been reported between various indices of motivation and school learning (Parkerson, Lomax, Schiller, & Walberg, 1984). Thus, although not as powerful a predictor as cognitive ability (IQ), motivation is an important causal contributor to academic success.

Most contemporary research regarding the construct of motivation is based on a social cognitive model (Covington, 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Contemporary motivation models differ from the traditional and layperson view of motivation where students are classified as either motivated or not, or where motivation is viewed as a single continuum. Motivation is currently viewed as a multifaceted dynamic phenomenon where “learners can be motivated in multiple ways and that it is important to understand the how and why of learner motivation. This change in focus implies that educators should not label learners as ‘motivated’ or ‘not motivated’ in some global fashion” (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002b, p. 313).

According to the social cognitive model, motivation is not necessarily a stable trait of an individual and may vary as a function of the setting (e.g., prevailing classroom reward structures) (Covington, 2000) and specific subject matter domain (Bong, 2001). Also, understanding a student’s motivation requires knowing more than descriptive characteristics of the student (e.g., personality characteristics or cultural demographics) or the student’s specific contextual environments. Understanding an individual’s motivation requires a recognition and understanding of “the individual's active regulation of his or her motivation, thinking, and behavior that mediates the relationships between the person, context, and eventual achievement” (Linnenbrink &Pintrich, 2002b, p. 314). In other words, understanding a student’s motivation requires an attempt to peer into the “black box” of a student’s mind to understand their “thinking” about the what, where, why, and how of goal attainment. The interaction of social and academic motivation goals is addressed in the orientations towards others section of this paper. Clearly, contemporary social cognitive motivation models differ dramatically from earlier models of motivation that focused on drives and reinforcement (Covington, 2000; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002).

The Multiplicity of Goals

Contemporary motivation research suggests that students often try to achieve multiple goals that can be differentiated by content, or, the “cognitive representation of what it is that an individual is trying to achieve in a given situation” (Wentzel, 1999, p. 77). Ford (1992) delineated 3 general categories of individual goals—task goals, self-assertive social relationship goals, and integrative social relationship goals. According to Ford (1992), task goals are of five major types:

• Mastery – trying to meet a challenging standard of achievement or improvement.
• Task creativity – engaging in activities that invoke artistic expression or creativity.
• Management – maintaining a productive and organized structure and order in daily life tasks.
• Material gain – increasing the amount of material/tangible goods (or money) one has.
• Safety – seeking an environment where one is secure, free from risk, and free from harm.

Goal Hierarchies

Not only may students have multiple goals, different students may have different implicit or explicit goal hierarchies (Bandura & Schunk, 1981; Wentzel, 1999). Bandura and Schunk (1981) suggested that, in the academic domain, the setting and linking of explicit near-term (proximal) sub-goals to larger long-term (distal) goals can produce greater task persistence, enhanced self- efficacy, and increased intrinsic interest in learning. It is hypothesized that students who perceive their present academic-related behavior as linked to long-term goals and objectives (indicating a linked hierarchical goal structure) tend to display more positive motivational and academic outcomes than students who do not maintain a positive future- oriented goal perspective (Wentzel, 1999). Hierarchical belief and goal systems appear important for sustaining (or undermining if not present) academic performance over time.

Key Families of Motivational Beliefs

No less than 13 different types of achievement-oriented beliefs, values, and characteristics are listed collectively under the 3 subdomains of Motivational Orientation, Interests and Attitudes, and Self-Beliefs. A variety of theorists have proposed similar, yet different, models of achievement motivation. For example, Linnenbrink and Pintrich (2002a) suggest that there are 4 key families of motivational beliefs—self-efficacy, attributions, intrinsic motivation, and goal orientations. According to Wigfield and Eccles (2002), the proliferation of slightly different models has resulted in a “proliferation of terms for constructs that on the surface are relatively similar. The clearest examples of this are the variety of related-to perceptions of ability and self- efficacy, and the variety of terms for different goal orientations” (Wigfield and Eccles, 2002, p. 4). The constructs listed under the broad umbrella of orientations towards self (motivations) represent my best (and acknowledged imperfect) attempt to provide a reasonable summary of this broad MACM domain. (double click on image to enlarge)



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Research byte: Nice intro/overview of Rasch measurement basics

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The cost of ADHD: A need for cost-effective treatments and interventions

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Research Bytes: Are individuals with. MR/ID getting more or less intelligent +....

My university library does not carry this journal. If any reader could send me PDF copies I would make the abstracts available to the blog readers.

Laird, C., & Whitaker, S. (2011). THE USE OF IQ AND DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. British Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 57(113), 175-183

Whitaker, S. (2011). ARE PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES GETTING MORE OR LESS INTELLIGENT II: US DATA. British Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 57(113), 159-166


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Born smart?@BrainCosmos, 8/20/11 2:52 AM

Brain (@BrainCosmos) 8/20/11 2:52 AM Born smart - The intelligence in your genes http://t.co/oa5xlys

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Beyond IQ Series # 4. What do NCLB, Forrest Gump and the Model of Academic Competence (MACM) have in common?

Background comment regarding this series

Interest in social-emotional learning and resiliency training (click here and here for just two examples) in education has shown a recent uptick on activity. Given this activity, IQs Corner is starting a series to explain the previously articulated Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), which was a model ahead of it's time (IMHO). The imporance of non-cognitive (conative) characteristics in learning have been articulated since the days of Spearman, the father of the construct of general intelligence. Richard Snow's work on the concept of "aptitude," which integrates cognitive and conative individual difference variables, is the foundation of the Beyond IQ MACM. Non-cognitive (cognitive) characteristics of learners are important for learning and are more manipulable (more likely to be modified via intervention) than intelligence. Thus, the MACM components make sense as potential levers for improving school learning and pursuing more well rounded life-long learners. This material comes a larger set of materials on the web (click here).

Current MACM Series Installment

This fourth installment in the Beyond IQ series provides the history for the impetus for the development of the MACM framework [All installments in this series (and other related posts and research) can be found by clicking here].

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Back during the early days of NCLB policy making I was a consultant to the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO; for students with disabilities). I was asked to write a paper regarding appropriate expectations for students with limited cognitive abilities. The result is probably my most read publication in any form (click here for download of report PDF), and is typically referred to as the Forrest Gump report. I attended a number of meetings with the then Office of Special Education (OSEP), where individuals from various state of federal agencies attended. I presented the gist of the report and it was clear it had an impact on those in attendance, be those pushing for higher expectations for kids with disabilities or those of the philosophy that kids with disabilities needed different expectations/standards under NCLB. It stirred the pot.

That report eventually lead to a working paper that resulted in the development of the Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM), the topic of this series.

Also, the gist of the report was eventually posted at as an on-line PPT show at IQs Corner SlideShare account. It has been my most viewed on-line presentation with over 19,400 views to date.

And now you know the rest of the story.....






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