Background: Encouraging students to adopt a mastery goal orientation can help increase learning and motivation. However, the effect of mastery goal orientation interventions specifically in upper-division online elective psychology courses has not been studied. Objective: The purpose of this replication study was to examine the effects of a…

This article provides a list of statistical mnemonics for instructor use. This article also reports on the potential for such mnemonics to help students learn, enjoy, and become less apprehensive about statistics. Undergraduates from two sections of a psychology statistics course rated 8 of 11 mnemonics as significantly memorable and helpful in…

Describes a technique used to motivate students to complete assigned journal readings in a college psychology course. Maintains that students completing readings receive two types of tangible benefits: (1) extra course credit and (2) use of their notecards on tests. Asserts that students responded favorably to the technique. (CFR)

This study addressed the impact of a semester-long course called "Learning to Learn," an undergraduate psychology course designed to teach college students to be self-regulated learners. Results of pretesting and posttesting of 78 students with the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie,…

Describes a demonstration to illustrate the importance of knowing what is supposed to be learned before studying begins. Suggests that the exercise may be used to show the basic elements of a scientific experiment. Explains that attention's effect upon memory is shown by students' tendency to remember best what they are told to remember. (DK)

Outlines and discusses four unique and major challenges facing the undergraduate statistics instructor. These are motivating students to study material they think is uninteresting, handling mathematics anxiety, dealing with performance extremes, and making the learning memorable. Offers solutions for each challenge. (MJP)

Briefly reviews the research literature concerning the overjustification effect. The effect describes the situation where positive reinforcement reduces one's intrinsic motivation for a behavior, thereby decreasing the probability that the behavior will be repeated. Notes the limitations of this explanation and recommends a broader representation…

Defines and discusses a definition of critical thinking. Maintains that college students improve their learning effectiveness when they are engaged actively and invested personally. Describes student evaluation techniques used to enhance thinking skills. (CFR)