Helping Students Take Responsibility for Their Learning

Students enter our courses with multiple goals, and those goals shape how they approach learning.  

• Performance Goals: When driven by performance-related goals, students may be focused on demonstrating competence and earning favorable judgments from others.  These can include:
  •  Performance-approach goals: 

• • • Seeking high grades 

• • • Trying to outperform peers 

• • • Demonstrating expertise 
      

• • Performance-avoidance goals: 

• • • Avoiding failure 

• • • Avoiding embarrassment 

• • • Trying not to appear incompetent 
      

• Learning Goals: In contrast to performance goals, students driven by learning goals focus on developing competence, mastering skills, and gaining deeper understanding. These goals generally support deeper learning, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to take academic risks.  

• Social Goals: Students can also be propelled by a desire to connect with their peers, teachers, and community. These needs can include: 

• • • Building relationships 

• • • Feeling a sense of belonging 

• • • Collaborating with peers 
      

• Affective Goals: Students, like all of us, are also impacted by their own emotion states, feelings, and well-being, and as such, often seek learning experiences that are: 

• • • Interesting 

• • • Enjoyable 

• • • Satisfying 

• • • Personally meaningful  

Instructors must therefore bear in mind that students are often pursuing multiple goals simultaneously. Learning activities that satisfy several goals at once (e.g., meaningful group work that promotes learning, connection, and engagement) can significantly increase motivation.

Understandably, students are more likely to invest effort when they perceive value in learning activities. Researchers identify three types of motivational value for students: 

• Attainment Value: The satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something important or mastering a skill.  

• • Example: A student values earning certification in a professional skill because it reflects competence and achievement. 

• Intrinsic Value: The enjoyment gained from engaging in the activity itself.  

• • Example: A student loves solving complex problems or discussing fascinating ideas. 

• Instrumental Value: The degree to which a task helps students achieve another important goal.  

• • Example: Learning statistics because it is required for graduate school or a future career. 

Students do not need to find every activity inherently enjoyable. However, they should understand how course activities connect to important academic, personal, or professional goals.

Even when students value a goal, motivation may remain low if they doubt their ability to achieve it. Motivational theorists refer to this need as “expectancy,” and researchers identify two different kinds of expectancies: 

• Outcome Expectancies: Students believe that specific actions will lead to desired outcomes.  

• • Examples: 

• • • "If I complete the readings, I will understand the material." 

• • • "If I participate regularly in class activities, I can succeed in this course."  

• Efficacy Expectancies (Self-Efficacy): Students believe they have the skills and ability needed to complete the work successfully.  

• • Examples: 

• • • "I know how to approach this assignment." 

• • • "I am capable of completing this project."  

In order to have a positive expectancy (and positive motivation) for success, our students must not only believe that doing the assigned work will help them earn a passing grade in our courses, but also that they are capable of doing the work necessary to earn that passing grade.

Motivation is not solely an internal characteristic of students. Value and expectancy also interact in significant ways with the learning environment educators create and the broader environmental context to impact motivation. 

Students continually interpret cues from: 

• Course design: Clear, organized, and relevant course design helps students see purpose in their learning and increases their motivation to engage

• Instructor communication: Timely, supportive, and transparent communication fosters trust and encourages students to stay invested in the course

• Assessments: Meaningful assessments that clearly align with learning goals help students understand their progress and maintain motivation

• Grading practices: Fair, transparent, and growth-oriented grading practices can promote persistence, confidence, and a focus on learning

• Classroom climate: An inclusive, respectful, and supportive classroom climate helps students feel safe to participate and take academic risks

• Peer interactions: Positive interactions with peers create a sense of belonging and community that strengthens motivation and engagemen
  

These cues influence whether students perceive a course as worthwhile, supportive, fair, and achievable.

1. Increase perceived value

Consider ways to help students see why course content matters: 

• Connect course material to students' interests whenever possible

• Incorporate authentic, real-world applications

• Highlight relevance to students' current academic work

• Explain how skills transfer to future careers and professional practice

• Align rewards and recognition with what you truly value

• Share your own enthusiasm for the subject
  

Ask yourself: Do students understand why this content, skill, or assignment matters beyond earning a grade?

2. Build positive expectations for success

Help students believe they can succeed by: 

• Aligning learning objectives, instruction, and assessments

• Setting an appropriate level of challenge

• Designing assignments that are rigorous but achievable

• Providing opportunities for early success

• Clearly communicating expectations

• Using detailed rubrics

• Offering timely, targeted feedback

• Applying standards fairly and consistently

• Teaching students effective approaches to learning and studying

• Helping students understand that improvement comes through effective effort and strategy use
  

Ask yourself: Have I provided students with a clear pathway to success? 

3. Support both value and expectancy

• Provide flexibility and control: When appropriate, allow students choices in topics, formats, examples, or approaches. Choice can increase ownership and engagement. 
  

• Encourage reflection: Give students opportunities to reflect on: 

• • What they are learning 

• • Why it matters 

• • Their progress toward goals 

• • Strategies that contribute to success 
    

Ask yourself: Have I provided students with opportunities for students to have options and choice in their individual learning, and am I encouraging self-awareness and reflection?