CCL Home > Research Activities > Funded Research
Summary (PDF 25 KB)
Full Report (PDF 280 KB)
The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of an achievement goal intervention for improving student outcomes. Specifically, we explored whether manipulating feedback influenced cognition, motivation, academic achievement, and retention in the context of first-year undergraduate chemistry courses.
Students’ personal achievement goals, anxiety, self-efficacy, and metacognitive strategy use were measured at the beginning and end of the semester. After completing the first set of questionnaires, 217 students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a control condition, a mastery condition, a performance-approach condition, and a combined mastery/performance-approach condition. In each condition, students received a raw performance score for each weekly quiz they completed in an online learning environment and, for the treatment conditions, additional feedback reflective of that specific goal condition.
Results revealed that all treatment groups had higher levels of self-efficacy at posttest, and the mastery goal and performance goal conditions had lower levels of anxiety at posttest compared to the control group. Finally, the control group had a higher percentage of students on probationary status at the end of the semester compared to the other groups. Receiving feedback beyond a performance grade was more beneficial in terms of learning outcomes compared to grades alone.
Top