The Impact of Remote Learning on Students with Performance-Avoidance Goals

  In the last few months or so, our district has been working on getting students back in school. With that has come a lot of planning meetings, for both the district and union, that have brought up a lot of reflective questions. However, one in particular that was asked by our union about a month ago really took me back and has had me thinking about it for a while now. That question was: “What would you like the public to know?” With that question a lot of things come to mind. It is hard to go on social media and see the criticism, and the overall false assumptions that have come from one bad remote learning incident. But really, what I have wanted the public to know is that for some students, especially those with performance-avoidance goals, remote learning has worked. 

With this in mind, I do not want to undermine the experiences that many students and families have. There are students who struggle to complete work and home, technology that interferes with academics, and mental health that has declined for many students and adults. However, I want to continue with J’s story after the closure, because to answer what I want the public to know, is I want them to know his story and how distance learning has actually helped him achieve his goals. 

In school, J’s behavior was consistently driven by what his peers thought of him.  If he felt like he could not do something, he would leave the room of act out in aggressive behaviors.  Essentially, he would avoid tasks that he could not do well at in front of his peers. Although I did not know him in kindergarten, it was evident that he experiences a lot of failure academically and socially. J, like other students with performance-avoidance goals, “have more reason to fear failure and thus are more likely to adapt performance-avoidance goals” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, p. 24-25).  It is crazy to me that as a kindergartener he has already developed a performance-avoidance orientation. 

Although J was starting to experience success in the classroom, he found the greatest success and academic growth after remote learning started. Prior to the closure, J was able to compare himself to others. He always wanted to do things fastest and get the most correct. However, in remote learning, he does not know how fast people are working or what they are doing right or wrong. He also has better ways to cope when he does not know what to do, such as messaging in the chat, which he uses often, so he does not need to leave or act out aggressively. These are things that he is not able to do in a traditional school setting, especially when he does not want to look bad in front of peers. 

In a way I can see his goal orientation changing a bit. He still really wants to look good and cool in front of his peers, but there are many things in this remote setting that have fostered a mastery- approach  goal orientation. For example, the use of small groups. In our district, every Wednesday is asynchronous and used for small groups. This allows him to not only meet with me to focus on his individual goals, but also meet with his teacher to focus on his goals. This switch from his expectation to perform well in front of peers to having the opportunity to work towards his own personal goals has helped him start to develop a mastery-approach mindset. He approaches challenges with a great attitude and will ask in chat if he does not understand. 

Overall, I know that there has been some challenges in remote learning, but it has also been important for students, such as J to be able to move away from a potentially harmful performance-avoidance mindset. 

Wentzel, K. R., & Brophy, J. E. (2014). Motivating students to learn (4th ed.). New York:Routledge. ISBN 978-0415893527.