This synthesis derived from literature on effective teaching and learning motivation consolidates the current and best knowledge available for post-secondary educators interested in instructional improvement. It presents ten key motivating principles which graduate teaching assistants and other educators can use to inform their instructional…

Studies differences in boys' and girls' (N=158) mathematical problem-solving behavior in relation to two types of tasks, computations and applications. Differences were dependent on contents of tasks and gender. Girls rated themselves lower on confidence and attributed bad results more often to lack of capacity and to the task difficulty. No…

Comparison of residential care staff in England and Germany showed that, in the care industry, England has a training framework that is not yet widely used. Despite its strong vocational policies, Germany has none. Care assistants are not expected to have formal skills and rarely participate in training. "Emotional labor" is undervalued…

A phenomenological study examined the meaning 11 women attributed to life and work experiences that influenced their choice of nontraditional majors. Most returned to school because of triggering events, were interested in their chosen field and opportunities for career development, and desired independence. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Discusses the effects of age on second language acquisition, considering recent data and highlighting the misconceptions. Claims that proponents of the critical period hypothesis have misinterpreted research on speed of acquisition, misattributed age differences to neurobiological factors, and misemphasized poor language learners in research on…

Examined the conceptions of learning held by second-year medical students in South Africa in relation to their academic achievement. Found that students with a good academic record expressed more transformative conceptions of learning than did their lower-achieving peers, who appeared to rely on memorization and recall. (EV)

This study explored the likelihood of midlife and older adults attending a family life education program by assessing learner characteristics and deterrents to and motivators of attendance. Data were collected through a survey mailed to a stratified sample of adults aged 50 and over. Discriminant analysis results based on survey responses from 264…

This paper provides an overview of the theoretical bases of leading models of learning styles and empirical evidence of their impact on achievement and motivation in post-16 education and training. We describe the review process, the development of an organizing framework to understand the field, presented in a continuum of families of learning…

As the population of older adults increases, the field of adult education needs to respond accordingly. The study reported in this paper examined motivations for learning among older adults actively engaged in formal lifelong learning. One hundred eighty-nine members of a Learning in Retirement institute were surveyed using Boshier's Education…

Based on survey responses from 187 parents of students who attended the Saturday Enrichment Program (SEP) at the Center for Talent Development (CTD) of Northwestern University, this study showed that overall, parents perceived favorable effects of the program on their children's talent development, especially academic talent development. As a…

The present study investigated the perceptions of both pupils and staff at a pupil referral unit (PRU) towards the reward system currently in use. The main aims were to establish whether teachers and pupils perceived the same rewards as effective, to determine whether staff and pupils perceived that rewards changed behaviour, and finally whether…

This article describes our interest in bringing together students' emotions and their motivation for academic work as these play out across the school year. We explore three main issues. First, we consider what some view as an incompatibility between students' use of established work habits (volitional strategies) and real enjoyment of academic…

Research on the links between bilingualism and emotion suggests that when a second language is learned postpuberty or in adulthood, the two languages of an individual may differ in their emotional impact. The works of bilingual writer Nancy Huston offer unique insight into the process of ascribing differential emotional value to first and second…

Online courses and programs continue to grow in higher education settings. Students are increasingly demanding online access, and universities and colleges are working to meet the demands. Yet many questions remain re: the viability and veracity of online learning, particularly from the learner perspective. The purpose of this study was to gain…

This article uses activity theory to analyze the conduct of collaborative scientific research, showing how the conceptualization of object is critical to understanding key aspects of scientific collaboration. I argue that the passions and desires behind objects of scientific research are missing in most accounts. I suggest refinements to the…