There are two goals in learning: Which one are you pursuing?

To differentiate between these two types of goals, consider the example of learning English. Getting a good grade is a performance goal, while speaking English is a learning goal. According to Professor Carol Dweck, both types of goals are very normal and common, and they can both help you achieve success. But only one goal leads to mastery.

In learning English, getting a high score is the goal of performance, while speaking English is the goal of learning. Illustration photo

In several different studies, Dweck found that giving children a performance goal (such as getting a high score on a test) was effective in some situations, but often it washinders children's ability to apply knowledge to new situations.

For example, in one study, Dweck and colleagues asked high school students to learn a set of scientific principles, giving half the students a performance goal and the other half a learning goal.

After both groups had read the material, the researchers asked them to apply their knowledge to a set of problems that were related to, but not identical to, what they had just learned. The students with learning goals scored significantly higher on the new problems. They also studied longer and tried more solutions.

“When students have learning goals, they don’t have to learn to feel good about something and they continue to strive,” concludes Professor Carol Dweck. “After all, their goal is to learn, not to prove that they are smart.”

According to Professor Carol Dweck's analysis, the state of learning that focuses on achieving high scores in most schools in Vietnam is learning with the goal of showing off, not with the goal of learning.

In fact, there are many factors that promote learning by performance goals in Vietnam's education system, including teachers and schools being evaluated based on students' academic performance, and parents just wanting their children to have good scores... The criteria for ranking and classifying competition based on students' scores have all contributed to promoting learning by performance goals.

Vietnam is one of many countries in the world where the learning method of chasing scores exists. Meanwhile, Dr. Shimi Kang - author of the book "Dolphin Parenting" (The Gioi Publishing House) commented that traditional classrooms that equate intelligence with high scores have become obsolete in today's era when technology and machines are developing.

Traditional classrooms that equate intelligence with high scores have become obsolete in today's age of technology and machines. Illustration photo

Back then, during the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, information was not as readily available as it is today, and the most knowledgeable people were the most valuable. Test scores and grades were an easy way to identify those with the most knowledge. Schools began to focus on test scores, and so did parents, who often pushed their children to get the best grades possible.

According to Dr. Shimi Kang, this made perfect sense a hundred years ago, but it is outdated today. Thanks to technology, it is no longer about knowing the right answers, but about asking the right questions. We don’t need to know all the data, but we do need to be able to separate the useful data from the useless data.

From the analysis of Professor Carol Dweck and Dr. Shimi Kang, it can be seen that changing learning strategies in today's era is very important, and if we do not soberly realize that and adjust, education will easily follow the beaten path of educational thinking from hundreds of years ago and become no longer relevant.

Finland's "Educational Miracle"

While many countries, especially Asian countries, still pursue the traditional learning strategy that focuses on scores, there are some countries that are quick to change their educational methods, of which Finland is a bright spot.

In 1963, the Finnish government decided to implement a bold plan when it chose the field of public education reform in an effort to recover the economy. Many changes were made, including improving the quality of teachers; giving autonomy to teachers; abolishing the system of using scores to divide ranks...

Finnish teachers are not evaluated by the grades of the students they teach.

Currently in Finland, teachers are not evaluated by the grades of the students they teach. Finnish students do not have any mandatory standardized tests in basic education, but only take one exam at the end of grade 9 when they graduate from secondary school at age 16. In particular, there are no rankings, comparisons, or competitions between students, schools, or regions in Finland.

Educational reforms that prepare children to learn how to learn, rather than how to take exams, have led to Finland's impressive educational achievements, topping global rankings.

Even though it has become an “educational miracle”, Finland does not claim that its education system is perfect. They are constantly adjusting and improving this system, constantly researching so that it can be compatible with the latest changes in society and the development of science.