ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Achievement goal theory links goal setting, motivation, and learning and describes three orientations: 'mastery' (seeking learning), 'performance' (seeking positive judgments), and 'performance-avoidance' (avoiding negative judgments). Mastery orientation is considered most adaptive. The authors investigated goal orientations of traditional block clerkship (TBC) and longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) students. METHODS: This was an exploratory study conducted at one US medical school. Three hundred and twenty students completed an anonymous survey consisting of three tools with validation evidence: Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey, Task-choice Goal Measures, and Questionnaire Goal Choice Items. The authors analyzed the data using regression analyses, Chi-square, and Wilcoxon's rank-sum tests. RESULTS: While all students rated mastery items most highly on the five-point Likert scale (mean 4.58/5.00), LIC students rated performance-orientation lower (ß = -0.36, p = .04), chose personal mastery-orientation items more frequently (92% vs. 64.4%, p = .005), and perceived their learning environment as promoting less performance (ß = -0.60, p = .002) and performance-avoidance (ß = -0.78, p < .001) compared to TBC students. CONCLUSIONS: LIC and TBC students differed in their report of personal and clerkship goal orientations. These differences may inform educational design and future research to promote students' mastery orientation.