Table 1. Classroom structure and instructional strategies supporting a mastery goal Structure

reasonable challenge

Bandura pointed out that negative messages have an even greater effect on lowering efficacy expectations than do positive messages to increase it.

Successful experience: It is the teachers' responsibility to help learners achieve academic success by providing challenging, yet attainable tasks . Successful experience is the most important source of fostering self-efficacy.

attributional theories

Challenge: Design challenging activities which convey the message to the learners that they have competitive skills. It is essential to find a balance between learner competence and the difficulty of the goals. Overly difficult goals are unlikely to increase learner motivation to continue the task if the learners perceive they will never reach the goal. Likewise, goals that are too easily attained do not sufficiently challenge learners to encourage skill development.