Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

through four types of instructional goal structures, each associated with one of the social worlds.
These four types of goal structures specify the interdependence and interaction among students
found in the four social worlds. The first is the Cooperative Goal Structure, most commonly
associated with Egalitarian learning preferences (low Grid, strong Group). Here, coordination of
student behavior as a learning group is necessary to achieve a mutual learning goal; if one
achieves, all do. Students perceive that they can obtain their learning goal if, and only if, other
students with whom they are linked can obtain their goal.
A Competitive Goal Structure is characteristic of the high Grid, weak Group Bureaucratic
learning activity. A student strives to achieve his or her goal in a way that blocks all others from
achieving the goal. The perception is that the learner can obtain his or her goal if, and only if,
other students with whom the learner is linked fail to obtain their goal. This stands in contrast to
an Individualist Goal Structure (low Grid, weak Group) in which the achievement of the goal by
one student is unrelated to the achievement of the goal by other students. Learners in an
Individualist structured learning activity participate knowing that whether or not they achieve the
goal has no bearing on whether other students achieve their goal. A fourth type of instructional
goal activity is the Coordinated Goal Structure. Agreement between students is necessary to have
an organized, collective effort for achieving the goal. Students perceive they can obtain their goal
if, and only if, group action maintains harmony through micro-coordination. Each student has a
role to play in this Hierarchic learning activity and must fulfill that role so all can achieve the
learning goal.
Teachers must ask what learning goals are salient and which goal structure most readily
facilitates those goal achievements. Intentional use of all four goal structures throughout the
curriculum builds intercultural competence and accounts for the range of student social
orientations. For many students, the type of goal structure chosen will either sabotage the
learning goal from the outset or boost the chances for learning success.
Learning Task Structures
Teachers should consider organizational patterns associated with social worlds as ways of
engaging students in learning activities. How a task is structured should support both learning
orientations and learning competencies. Seven organizational patterns considered here are the
Individual Task Structure (Individualist), Small Group Task Structure (Hierarchic), Tutorial Task
Structure (Bureaucratic), Didactic Task Structure (Bureaucratic/Individualist), Conference Task
Structure (Egalitarian), Class Meeting Task Structure (Egalitarian), and Socratic Task Structure
(Individualist).
An Individual Task Structure is probably the most basic form of organizing an
assignment for each student (see Figure 6). The behavioral objectives in an Individual Task
Structure revolve around each student autonomously completing an exercise or assignment.
Typical verbal instructions could be phrased like the following: “I would like each of you to
open your books to p. 38 and answer the question . . . ” The Individual Task Structure is meant to
motivate individual efforts most often through recognition of outstanding achievers and is most
effective among low Grid, weak Group learners. The rules for the Individualist social world
support weak group obligations of the Individual Task Structure. Individualists expect to be
personally empowered by knowledge, not relationships, and prefer tasks not dependent on
others.
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