The impact of general and specific performance and self-efficacy on learning with computer-based concept mapping

When students learn a new and challenging task, for which they have very limited corresponding personal or vicarious experiences to refer, it is important to understand how their self-efficacy beliefs evolve during the course of sequential lessons; how they differ in the way their general learning performance and self-efficacy influence their ratings of task-specific self-efficacy and performance; and, how such differences may result in different learning outcomes and motivations for learning. By examining a group of 66 students engaged in learning to construct good concept maps with computer software, this study revealed several important findings on these questions. Students generally tended to initially overestimate their ability to successfully carry out the required task. They also varied in the way their general self-efficacy and performance were associated with their task-specific self-efficacy and performance. And, these differences did appear to be associated with different learning outcomes and motivations for learning. These results indicate that investigating individual differences in students’ patterns of association between general and specific performance and their self-efficacy may lead to a better understanding of how students differ in their levels of motivation and outcomes when learning a new and challenging task.