Relation of Perceived Instructional Goals and Incentives to College Students’ Use of Learning Strategies

Abstract

Class emphasis on learning goals and incentive structures and their relationship to students’ use of learning strategies were examined. Students in 54 college classes (N = 1,037) rated the perceived importance of mastery and performance goals, and of competitive, individualistic, and cooperative incentive structures. In general, the classes stressed learning course content, individual performance outcomes, and collaboration more than interstudent ability comparisons. The students in classes with greater emphasis on collaboration and less emphasis on grades were more likely to use higher order learning strategies of elaboration and critical thinking. The findings suggest that goals and incentives affect strategy use, although the relationships could have resulted from the instructors’ relative emphasis on goals and incentives and their facilitation of the students’ use of learning strategies.