Student Goal Orientation and Interest: Effects on Students' Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

This study examined how goal orientation and interest together affected students' use of learning strategies. Ninety-three Grade 11 students participated in this study. This study was a 2 x 2 between-groups factorial using a post-test-only control group design. There were two independent variables, Goal orientation and Interest. There were three dependent variables: Total Main Ideas, Use of Other Cognitive Strategies, and Metacognition. There were significant main effects for Interest and Goal Orientation on the main-idea selection measure: high-interest students selected more main ideas than low-interest students, and rewarded students outperformed learning goal-oriented students. There was a main effect for Interest on Metacognition: high-interest students reported using more metacognitive strategies than low-interest students. Interpretation of these results is discussed from a theoretical perspective and practical applications are offered as well. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.