Developing self-regulated learners: Goal setting, self-evaluation, and organizational signals during acquisition of procedural skills

The authors examined how 2 types of goal setting (process vs. outcome), self-evaluation (presence vs. absence), and organizational signals (presence vs. absence) affected student ability to perform a set of procedural skills, namely animating slides created via presentation software. They also examined how these variables influenced a variety of affective outcomes, including students' self-efficacy, satisfaction with their performance, evaluation of the instruction, and attributions of success or lack of success in acquiring the skills. Using a 2 x 2 x 2 (Goal Setting x Self-Evaluation x Organizational Signals) design, 96 ninth- and tenth-grade students were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 versions of a print-based instructional module designed to teach slide-animation skills. Results indicated that students in the process goal condition reported a higher degree of self-efficacy, more satisfaction with their performance, and more strategic attributions than students in the outcome goal condition. Moreover, among students who were not directed to self-evaluate their own work, those students in the process goal condition demonstrated a higher level of animation skills, self-efficacy, and satisfaction, and rated the instruction more positively than did their counterparts in the outcome goal group. Self-evaluation also had a positive effect on student skill acquisition, particularly for students in the outcome goal condition. Organizational signals did not have any effect on any of the dependent measures. These results are discussed from a social cognitive perspective of self-regulation.