The Dialectics of Goal Setting and Monitoring: Two Students' Experiences with Portfolio Construction

Goal theory explains the relationship between setting specific goals and the increased likelihood of achieving those goals, along with a mutually beneficial relationship with self-efficacy. When students enter an engineering program, they are often asked to declare a major; however, after this initial, long-term goal-setting experience, there is little room for students to engage in continual goal monitoring and refining. During a series of portfolio construction studios, it was determined that engineering students participated in the dynamic process of goal setting and monitoring as a result of portfolio construction. While portfolios are often used as an assessment tool in educational practice, there are several learning outcomes that have been associated with portfolio construction that are less studied, such as goal setting and monitoring, intellectual development, and self-authorship. This paper presents two case studies that highlight goal setting and monitoring as an outcome of portfolio construction by engineering students in the context of a studio environment.