Considering Conflicting Goals in the Classroom: How Student Manage Emotional Wellbeing When Learning Under Pressure

Research suggests that effective learning requires that learners challenge themselves by using effortful study strategies (e.g., generation, retrieval practice, spacing, and interleaving study schedules). While these strategies can enhance long-term memory and application of knowledge, they may lead to short-term failure and trigger negative feelings. The present talk examines how the interaction between emotional and cognitive goals influences learners’ engagement in effortful learning. The talk will center the Meta-Affect Meta-Cognition (MAMC) framework to consider goal-directed self-regulation processes in effortful learning. Research examining how stress and collaboration influence learning, and how learners consider their own emotional well-being as they meet challenges in the classroom will be discussed. The research presented will provide insight into how to formally consider the tradeoff between conflicting emotional and learning goals.