Research on praise, in support of a growth mindset, has overwhelmingly focused on children. We explored how praise influences performance in college students. Colleges are often challenged to respond to students' established mindsets in the face of increasingly demanding coursework. Specifically, we examined how fear of failure may alter the…

Previous research has demonstrated that student motivation and engagement can take different forms across a variety of tasks at school or college. However, no research has yet examined the forms of student momentary engagement that emerge in response to a single task. Adolescent students (N = 196) from two low-income secondary schools in Dublin,…

First year is a delicate time for students. Many have little idea what to expect of university, and their sense of identity as tertiary students is fragile. A diagnostic assessment early in first semester may reassure students that they have chosen the right path. However, some academics, particularly in engineering, argue that this early…

We hypothesized that students use the message behind teacher emotions to interpret the cause of their failure and to form competence beliefs; hence, in failure situations teacher anger could be beneficial. In Experiment 1, participants made judgments about another student's failure in the face of teacher pity versus anger. Lack of ability…

Our goal was to understand how students' chemistry learning environments changed and how students responded to the wholesale transition to online learning. We deployed surveys to students enrolled in nine undergraduate chemistry courses at all levels. Survey 1 was deployed 2 weeks post-transition (N = 208); Survey 2, a week before semester's end…

Investigated expectancy-value predictors for experiencing shame from test feedback and possible consequences of these reactions. If students believe they have the capabilities and are committed to a future goal for which the course grade is relevant, then a shame reaction may be a warning signal that future goals might be unattainable. (BF)

A threefold approach, presented for combatting boredom in the classroom, involves (1) understanding the dynamics of boredom; (2) interpersonal skills to help students understand and manage boredom; and (3) guidelines for selecting classroom procedures to decrease boredom. (Author/PP)