To better inform and improve classroom teaching and learning, now more than ever before, educational researchers need to effectively and efficiently describe essential components of positive learning environments. In this article, we discuss how our research findings about motivation in classrooms have led to a closer examination of emotions. We…

It is not surprising that many struggling learners have low self-efficacy for academics. They believe that they lack the ability to succeed. Consequently, they tend to avoid academics and give up quickly when difficulties arise. This article suggests practical solutions based on self-efficacy theory to improve the motivation of struggling…

A historical artifact has stories to tell. Using artifacts, from primary documents to objects that can be held in the hand, is a motivational strategy that brings a period of history to life. Motivated learners think critically, write, collaborate, develop research skills, and deepen knowledge about another time and place. In addition, they apply…

This Classroom Idea-Sparker was submitted by Dorothy L. Haggerty, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, University of New Orleans. Too often, students are bored with science. Irrelevant facts, numerous definitions, and confusing diagrams clutter the student's mind. To help motivate students, teachers should, instead, choose fun,…

Too often adult literacy programs seem based on the assumption that, if learners work hard on skills for six months, they will have "acquired" literacy, as though it is a set of skills adults can "get" from a tutor (Kazemek, 1985). One study of 20 adult literacy classes in eight U.S. states found basic (not higher level) skills the predominant…

This article describes the application of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology in the context of a student congress, arguing that such new approaches to learning are best-suited to the goals of the Bologna Process. The Congress in question enabled Spanish graduate students in Psychology, many of them mid-career professionals, to increase their…

Young people engaged as peer educators are increasingly important in sex and relationship education (SRE) programmes in a variety of settings and are particularly valued in the APAUSE programme (Rees et al., 1997). The increase in popularity of peer education raises a need to value the inputs of young people and to give formal recognition to…

Digital or computer games have recently attracted the interest of education researchers and policy-makers for two main reasons: their interactivity, which is said to allow greater agency, and their inherent pleasures, which are linked to increased motivation to learn. However, the relationship between pleasure, agency and motivation in educational…

In the present study, the authors examined college students' (N = 136) perceptions of the provision of extrinsic rewards given by parents and teachers for academic performance from elementary school through high school. They also examined the relations between reward history and present student motivational orientation. External rewards for…

The aim of the present study is to define and describe second language L2 learners' motivational profiles by means of a statistical procedure that is relatively rarely used in L2 studies: cluster analysis. To achieve this aim, 5 broad dimensions of students' motivational and attitudinal dispositions toward 5 different L2s were measured and…

There is a paucity of research on motivation and education in developing countries. Although psychological constructs relating to academic engagement and achievement have been identified and researched in a number of cross-cultural settings this body of research has rarely been extended to the developing world. The processes by which students from…

Multimedia is increasingly used to enhance human-computer interaction in a variety of formats (text, graphics, audio, animation, and video). The challenge is how to use the most effective presentation format that would result in performance improvement. This paper addresses the added value of video presentations in a technology-mediated learning…

This study examines the motivations, attitudes, and goals of a Spanish for native speakers (SNS) class at a large Midwestern university over a semester, using questionnaires, student interviews, classroom observation, and instructor interviews as data sources. It presents results from four students who participated in the data collection, but…

Using the framework of social literacies studies, this article illustrates the central role of pleasure as both the motivation for and result of rap composition. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with four young adults who are part of a rap collective, the author identifies three key sources of pleasure in composition: (1) Discourse…

A perceived lack of engagement of many students in middle years mathematics classes provides a challenge for educators. In this article we report a project that investigated students' perceptions of the extent to which their own efforts influence their achievement at mathematics and their life opportunities. We conducted 2 hour interviews with…