Enhancing Self-Regulation and Goal Orientation with Eportfolios

Chapter IX Enhancing Self-Regulation and Goal Orientation with ePortfolios

Jessica L. Blackburn Bowling Green State University, USA

Milton D. Hakel Bowling Green State University, USA

ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the self-regulatory learning and goal orientation literatures. Findings from these literatures are used to make specific recommendations for the effective design and use of electronic portfolios in order to increase academic learning. Specifically, the authors recommend that electronic portfolios provide the means for students to set learning goals, monitor and regulate their progress toward these goals, as well as develop their self- assessment skills. Additionally, they suggest that these goals be focused on learning objectives rather than performance objectives.

INTRODUCTION associated with ePortfolios makes it possible for students to store all of their academic work, Portfolios have many uses. They are often used while allowing prospective employers access as a tool for assessing classroom learning. only to the work that best demonstrates their Portfolios are also used as a tool for job appli- abilities. Additionally, ePortfolios allow profes- cants to demonstrate their experience, skills, sors and teachers to see and evaluate student and abilities to prospective employers. Addi- progress. ePortfolios have many uses, but this tionally, portfolios may serve as a tool for chapter will focus on the ePortfolio as a tool to facilitating learning. Electronic portfolios are promote development and learning. Specifi- advantageous because they allow students to cally, we will examine two streams of research simultaneously use the same source files for all to discern what they imply for effective prac- of the above listed purposes. The technology tice in using ePortfolios. ePortfolios can foster

self-regulated learning and also can serve as a mance is higher for students who “set specific framework for inducing a more effective goal goals, effectively use feedback, and make ap- orientation. This chapter reviews the research propriate strategy attributions” (Boekaerts & literature, examining findings pertaining to self- Corno, 2005, p. 215). Locke and Latham (2002) regulatory learning and goal orientation. The describe four mechanisms through which goals chapter also offers recommendations for im- increase performance. Goals increase perfor- proving the design and use of ePortfolios in a mance because they enable a person to focus manner that is consistent with the research on the goal, lead to increased effort and time findings. directed toward the goal, and cause people to use prior knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as develop strategies for goal attainment. Pre- SELF-REGULATED LEARNING vious research findings have demonstrated that goals that are both specific and difficult lead to Self-regulated learning serves as an effective higher levels of performance (Locke & Latham, tool for increasing metacognition, motivation, 1990, 2002). In addition, findings have shown and task engagement—all of which are associ- that goal commitment and feedback moderate ated with increased learning and improved aca- the effectiveness of goal setting such that per- demic performance (Paris & Paris, 2001). Self- formance is higher when people are committed regulated learning refers to the process by to goals and receive feedback as to their which people manage and control their thoughts, progress toward goals (Locke & Latham, 1990, motivation, and behaviors in order to pursue 2002). learning goals (Paris & Paris, 2001; Pintrich, Based on the findings from research on goal 2004). According to Boekaerts and Corno setting, we suggest that ePortfolio software (2005), self-regulatory learning theorists “ ... should provide space and prompt students to assume that students who self-regulate their outline their learning and developmental goals. learning are engaged actively and construc- Additionally, the design of the ePortfolios should tively in a process of meaning generation and encourage students to set specific and chal- that they adapt their thoughts, feelings, and lenging goals. actions as needed to affect their learning and motivation” (p. 201). Monitoring Pintrich (2004) outlines four stages of self- regulated learning: goal setting, monitoring, regu- Monitoring refers to the process by which lation, and reflection. Often, these stages occur people assess their progress toward their goals. implicitly, rather than explicitly. Additionally, Bell and Kozlowski (2002) give prescriptive these processes may co-occur. Applications information about what types of feedback are and recommendations for ePortfolios will be most effective. They studied the effects of discussed as they pertain to each of the above- adaptive guidance on learning and performance listed stages. on a learner-controlled training task. In a learner- controlled environment, people control how, Goal Setting when, what, and how often they study. Adap- tive guidance goes beyond the typical feedback There is an extensive body of research in both that is provided to individuals in training. Adap- academic and workplace settings demonstrat- tive guidance provides individuals with sugges- ing the positive effects of goal setting. Perfor- tions on which content areas to focus on and

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suggestions for strategies to improve those attainment” (p. 494). Thus, in a sense, imple- areas. Adaptive guidance was positively re- mentation intentions are specific strategies that lated to learning and learning transfer for par- assist people in attaining goals. Gollwitzer and ticipants undergoing radar-tracking training (Bell Brandstätter (1997) found that implementation & Kozlowski, 2002). The use of ePortfolios can intentions increased the probability of a person be improved by providing users with more attaining a goal. guidance on which skills and knowledge areas Thus, ePortfolios should provide space, and to improve on and suggestions for how to students should be prompted to outline strate- improve those areas. gies (the when, where, and how) for attaining Previous research has demonstrated the each of their goals. effectiveness of self-monitoring on learning and performance. Kauffman (2004) found that Reflection when college students were prompted to monitor their learning (in the form of making confi- In order to effectively set and pursue goals, dence judgments about their learning), students people must be able to accurately assess their performed higher on the quizzes. Veenman, knowledge and abilities. This process of self- Elshout, and Busato (1994) demonstrated that assessment primarily occurs through students who were prompted to self-monitor metacognition. According to Schmidt and Ford, had better learning strategies and were more “Individuals engaged in metacognitive activi- knowledgeable after completing a computer- ties actively monitor their progress, determine based educational unit on electricity. where problems exist, and adjust their learning Based on these findings, we recommend strategies accordingly” (2003, p.406). Previous that instructors incorporate self-monitoring with research demonstrates that interventions aimed their use of ePortfolios. Instructors should en- at increasing metacognitive activity are related courage and perhaps require that students regu- to increases in performance on learning out- larly assess their progress toward their learning comes (Schmidt & Ford, 2003). goals. The monitoring process may be further Self-assessment, as a form of metacognition, enhanced through the process of reflection or is effective because it causes students to evalu- self-assessments. Reflection and self-assess- ate the causes of their performance. Under- ments are discussed further below. standing and identifying the causes of success Ideally, the space for setting goals should be and failure may further assist students in devel- electronically linked to spaces for instructors oping strategies for success (Olina & Sullivan, and advisors to provide students with feedback 2004). The construction of portfolios increases about their progress toward these goals. metacognition by providing students with natu- ral opportunities for self-assessment and self- Regulation reflection (Commander & Valeri-Gold, 2001; Hamm & Adams, 1992). Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions The potential of ePortfolios to increase learn- provides further insights into effective strate- ing can be enhanced if students are prompted to gies for setting goals as a means for learning assess and reflect upon the work they include in and development. According to Gollwitzer their portfolios. Previous research demonstrates (1999): “Implementation intentions are subordi- that students are not always accurate at self- nate to goal intentions and specify the when, assessment, and this can decrease the potential where, and how of responses leading to goal of self-assessments to improve performance

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(Olina & Sullivan, 2004). Therefore, any inclu- sistence, learning transfer (Dweck, 1986), class- sion of self-assessment and self-evaluation in room performance and improvement, and in- ePortfolios should provide students with guide- trinsic motivation (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002; lines for self-assessment. This should increase Grant & Dweck, 2003). Bell and Kozlowski the quality of student self-assessments and, as (2002) found that a learning goal orientation is a result, the potential for self-evaluations to associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. improve performance. Additionally, Bouffard, Boisvert, Vezeau, and Guidelines for reflections should encourage Larouche (1995) found that a learning goal students to relate classroom work to their goals. orientation is positively related to self-regula- Students should explain how the work demon- tory activities (including cognitive strategies, strates progress toward goals. Additionally, metacognitive strategies, and motivation) among students should be encouraged to evaluate the college students. Other research has also found strategies they used to complete the assign- a positive relationship between a learning ori- ment. This evaluation of strategies should allow entation and metacognitive activity (e.g., Ford, students to determine what sorts of strategies Smith, Weissbein, Gully, & Salas, 1998; Schmidt are effective and how they might be modified to & Ford, 2003). improve performance. Although much of the goal orientation litera- ePortfolios should also allow students to link ture characterizes goal orientation as an indi- their self-assessment with feedback provided vidual characteristic, there is also evidence that by instructors (see above). This will allow specific goal orientations can be induced by students the opportunity to compare one’s self- situational characteristics (Grant & Dweck, assessment with the assessment completed by 2003; Kozlowski et al., 2001). someone else. Discrepancies between the assessments can be observed, and students have Classroom settings that emphasize learning, the opportunity to recalibrate their self-assess- effort, challenge, and errors as diagnostic ment. feedback induce learning or mastery The research literature shows that orientation, whereas settings that emphasize ePortfolios that include the features listed above the achievement of high grades and are likely to be more effective in promoting minimization of mistakes induce a student success and improving academic per- performance orientation. (Kozlowski et al., formance. 2001, p. 5)

A learning orientation can also be induced GOAL ORIENTATION by having people focus on strategies for learning rather than performance outcomes (Win- Research has identified two general categories ters & Latham, 1996). Additionally, research- of achievement goals: learning goals and per- ers have found that an induced learning goal formance goals (Grant & Dweck, 2003). Learn- orientation can improve performance on learning goals are aimed at growth and improve- ing outcomes above those effects caused by ment, whereas performance goals are related trait-like learning orientation (Kozlowski et al., to achieving some specific level or quantity of 2001). performance. Learning goals, in comparison to ePortfolios can provide a means for induc- performance goals, are associated with higher ing a learning orientation because they can levels of challenge seeking behaviors, task per- direct the student’s attention to goals focused

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on learning rather than on goals strictly associ- and demonstrated the greatest improvement in ated with performance. By focusing students’ performance. This study highlights the need to attention on goals associated with learning, clarify the objectives of the portfolio. Develop- rather than simply grades, ePortfolios have the ers of ePortfolios are challenged, then, to de- potential to encourage students to challenge velop ePortfolios in such a way as to emphasize themselves as well as to more effectively de- the developmental purpose of the portfolio and velop their skills and abilities. make them useful for showcase purposes. Additionally, ePortfolios can affect the way that feedback is given to and processed by ePortfolio users. When feedback is perceived CONCLUSION as a tool for determining areas that need improvement, rather than as an evaluation of In summary, ePortfolios can be an effective ability, this feedback has a greater potential to learning tool because they provide students be used for developmental growth (Kozlowski with the opportunity to collect their work and et al., 2001). Therefore, ePortfolios should be reflect on their learning progress. In order to designed in such a way that feedback given to improve the use of ePortfolios, we recommend students is independent of course performance that the design of ePortfolios explicitly include evaluations. Students should be cued and en- a goal-setting element. This goal-setting ele- couraged to use the feedback to set development should provide students with the opportu- mental goals. nity to set learning and developmental goals. Students should be discouraged from setting strictly performance type goals. Furthermore, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH we recommend that students be encouraged to set specific and challenging goals, and develop Wade and Yarbrough (1996) conducted a study specific strategies for attaining those goals. to examine the effectiveness of portfolios for Additionally, ePortfolios should provide the increasing reflective thinking among education space for instructors and advisors to provide students. Although the researchers found that feedback to students about their progress to- portfolios were effective for increasing reflec- ward those goals. This feedback should include tive thinking, they also found that many students specific recommendations to students about struggled with understanding the portfolio pro- how to best attain their goals. cess. More effort needs to be placed on educat- Students should also be encouraged to regu- ing students about the purpose of portfolios. larly monitor their progress toward their learn- Furthermore, institutions should provide guid- ing goals. Students should also be encouraged ance on how to best use ePortfolios so that the to assess and reflect upon their work. This potential for ePortfolios as a learning tool can reflection process should require that students be more fully realized. relate their work to their goals and evaluate the Tillema (2001) compared three types of strategies they used to complete the work. Self- portfolios (showcase, course-based, and re- assessment can be improved if students have flective) and found that people using a reflec- the opportunity to compare their self-assess- tive portfolio were more receptive to feedback ments with the assessments made by others.

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REFERENCES Hamm, M., & Adams, D. (1992). Portfolios: A valuable tool for reflection and assessment. Bell, B. S., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2002). The Journal of Experiential Education, 15, Adaptive guidance: Enhancing self-regulation, 48-50. knowledge, and performance in technology- Kauffman, D. F. (2004). Self-regulated learn- based training. Personnel Psychology, 55, ing in Web-based environments: Instructional 267-306. tools designed to facilitate cognitive strategy Boekaerts, M., & Corno, L. (2005). Self-regu- use, metacognitive processing, and motivational lation in the classroom: A perspective on as- beliefs. Journal of Educational Computing sessment and intervention. Applied Psychol- Research, 30, 139-161. ogy: An International Review, 54, 199-231. Kozlowski, S. W. J., Gully, S. M., Brown, K. G., Bouffard, T., Boisvert, J., Vezeau, C., & Salas, E., Smith, E. M., & Nason, E. R. (2001). Larouche, C. (1995). The impact of goal orien- Effects of training goals and goal orientation tation on self-regulation and performance among traits on multidimensional training outcomes college students. British Journal of Educa- and performance adaptability. Organizational tional Psychology, 65, 317-329. Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 85, 1-21. Commander, N. E., & Valeri-Gold, M. (2001). The learning portfolio: A valuable tool for in- Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory creasing metacognitive awareness. The Learn- of goal setting and task performance. ing Assistance Review, 6, 5-18. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building affecting learning. American Psychologist, a practically useful theory of goal setting and 41, 1040-1048. task motivation. American Psychologist, 57, 705-717. Ford, J. K., Smith, E. M., Weissbein, D. A., Gully, S. M., & Salas, E. (1998). Relationships Olina, Z., & Sullivan, H. J. (2004). Student self- of goal orientation, metacognitive activity, and evaluation, teacher evaluation, and learner per- practice strategies with learning outcomes and formance. Journal of Educational Technol- transfer. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, ogy Research and Development, 52, 5-22. 218-233. Paris, S. G., & Paris, A. H. (2001). Classroom Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999) Implementation inten- applications of research on self-regulated learn- tions: Strong effects of simple plans. American ing. Educational Psychologist, 36, 89-101. Psychologist, 54, 493-503 Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual frame- Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). work for assessing motivation and self-regu- Implementation intentions and effective goal lated learning in college students. Educational pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16, 385-407. Psychology, 73, 186-199. Schmidt, A. M., & Ford, J. K. (2003). Learning Grant, H., & Dweck, C.S. (2003). Clarifying within a learner control training environment: achievement goals and their impact. Journal The interactive effects of goal orientation and of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, metacognitive instruction on learning outcomes. 541-553. Personnel Psychology, 56, 405-429.

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Tillema, H. H. (2001). Portfolios as develop- thinking process. See Reflection and mental assessment tools. International Jour- Metacognition. nal of Training and Development, 5, 126- Goal Orientation: Distinguishes between 135. goals that either focus on learning as the out- Veenman, M., Elshout, J., & Busato, V. (1994). come or performance as the outcome. Metacognitive mediation in learning with com- Metacognition: Process by which a per- puter-based simulations. Computers and Hu- son thinks about his/her own thought process. man Behavior, 30, 139-161. Reflection: A key strategy for becoming Wade, R. C., & Yarbrough, D. B. (1996). an outstanding performer is to ask yourself, Portfolios: A tool for reflective thinking in after each and every performance, “What did I teacher education? Teaching and Teacher learn from doing this?” The practice of thinking Education, 12, 63-79. about and analyzing your performance is called Winters, D., & Latham, G. P. (1996). The “reflection.” It might also be called “self-as- effect of learning versus outcome goals on a sessment,” “metacognition,” “do differents,” simple versus complex task. Group and Orga- or “an after-action review.” nization Management, 21, 236-250. Self-Assessment: Process by which a person evaluates his/her skills, abilities, learn- KEY TERMS ing progress, and performance. Self-Efficacy: A person’s evaluation of his/ Critical Thinking: Cognitive skills or strat- her ability to behave and perform in desired egies that increase the probability of a desirable ways. outcome; used to describe thinking that is pur- poseful, reasoned, and goal directed—the kind Self-Regulated Learning: Process by of thinking involved in solving problems, formu- which a learner sets his/her own learning goal(s), lating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and assesses and monitors progress toward those making decisions when the thinker is using learning goals, and makes modifications in or- skills that are thoughtful and effective for the der to increase progress toward the learning particular context and type of thinking task. goal(s). Critical thinking also involves evaluating the