It is a common but not unrealistic stereotype of Asian students that educational success is a matter of personal identity and status. As such, achieving distinctions in as many subjects as possible (the popular target of becoming a 'straight A' student) is usually a non-negotiable objective nurtured by both parents and educators. However,…

Captivating Classrooms explores the specific role that student engagement plays in education, it argues that there are myriad factors that undergird meaningful student learning and participation--such as motivation, exciting teaching strategies, reinventing literacy instruction, and authentic assessment. This book is an extremely valuable handbook…

The Science of Learning and Readiness (SoLaR) project seeks to demonstrate to Defense and other Government stakeholders the "art of the possible" for high-quality distributed learning and to create a practical guide for how to infuse such qualities into the broader Department of Defense (DoD) distributed learning ecosystem. This report…

Drawing on their research in creating the Vibrant School Scale, Megan Tschannen-Moran and Davis Clement describe the three characteristics of vibrant schools: enlivened minds, emboldened voices, and playful learning. The authors also detail a four-step, strengths-based process called appreciative inquiry that can help school members have…

Many approaches, models and frameworks exist when designing quality online learning environments. These approaches assist and guide instructional designers through the process of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation of instructional processes. Some of these frameworks are concerned with student participation, some with…

Personalized learning has the potential to greatly improve student achievement--but realistic teachers know that any instructional strategy will only be effective if students are willing to do the work. That is why Larry Ferlazzo emphasizes the importance of weaving intrinsic motivation into every personalized learning classroom. Four key elements…

The key to the success of any online program is dedicating attention to student satisfaction. Student satisfaction with what and how they learn in an online classroom is an important variable to understand and can help instructors and course designers create an environment that fits students' needs. This can be achieved with adequate course…

Depression, anxiety disorders, and students who have experienced trauma have increased across the globe in the past decade. Teachers and students are not immune. Our schools and communities have increased violence and unrest that has resulted in a growing concern among educational leaders. Although most of the educational focus regarding stress…

Aging professionals have not always effectively communicated about aging to the general public (Feather, 2015). Due at least in part to this, the public often holds inaccurate, ageist beliefs about older adults and aging services/gerontology has been difficult to promote as a desirable career option (Feather, 2015). The authors address this…

The author has looked at four decades of scientific research on human motivation and found a mismatch between what science tells us and what organizations actually do. In this interview with "Educational Leadership," Pink shares his insights on how schools can create more optimal conditions for learning--and how they can dial up…

Despite the rapid growth of online learning in higher education, the dropout rates for online courses has reached 50 percent. Lack of student engagement rank as a critical reason for frequent online course dropout. This article discusses autonomy support as a strategy to enhance online students' intrinsic motivation and engagement. Drawing from…

The challenges faced in using new technologies in the classroom are numerous, but contributions generated with their resolution can proportionately provide original and efficient teaching practices more in tune to students' eager learning needs. This article presents some strategies developed to help teachers in transversal themes classes using…

Teacher-student interactions are at the core of the teaching-learning process. There is research evidence showing that a teacher's caring behavior is strongly related to students' attitudes and engagement in physical education (PE). This article discusses practical strategies that PE teachers can employ to create a caring learning environment,…

Motivation is an important foundation of academic development in students. This article discusses academic motivation; its various component concepts in areas such as beliefs, goals, and values; and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It also presents major, widely studied theoretical perspectives of academic motivation and briefly illustrates…

This paper claims that the current theories of Self-regulated learning (SRL) are short-sighted. The author provides a comprehensive, but brief, overview of SRL which addresses such issues as (a) SRL processes, (b) SRL strategies, (c) compartments of SRL, (d) theories of SRL, (e) agency in SRL, and (f) models of SRL. He then presents a new model…