Teaching experts assert that the first day of class impacts students, with potential negative effects lasting the entire term. However, no empirical research supports this supposition. We randomly assigned students to view a video of their professor either providing a positive or negative first-day experience. Students with the positive experience…

In this article, the author compares the potential academic and attitudinal gains of a gifted and talented population using different instructional methods. It has been found that instruction for identified high-achieving students must be different than that of general education students. Gifted and talented students cannot maximize learning…

Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate motivation; however, limited research has been done to evaluate how age differences have an impact on the second language learning pattern. This study, therefore, investigated how gender differences place impact on a group of Chinese immigrant students' motivation to learn English. It is hoped…

The objective of this study was to characterize participation in leisure activities in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and identify determinants of greater involvement. Ninety-five children of school age (9y 7mo [SD 2y 1mo]) with CP were recruited, and participation was evaluated with the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment in a…

With research consistently showing that students can be motivated to learn with ICT, this case study sought to investigate Year 7 students' learning about simple machines in an ICT-enhanced environment where they could self-direct their own learning with minimal intervention from the teacher. The study is focused on how well do students and…

A measure of academic parenting practices was developed through parent and teacher interviews and subsequently administered to 91 Hong Kong Chinese fifth graders, who also rated their mothers' restrictiveness and concern, school motivation, and self-perceived academic competence. Children's actual school grades were obtained from school records.…

With the ever-increasing impact of computerized communication and information delivery, the need to encourage learning about technology is critical for the older population today as well as for soon-to-be retirees. Adler (1996, 2002, 2003) has described and defined the key benefits to seniors: enhanced communication with family and friends,…

This paper reports the first part of a 2-year longitudinal study, which examined the impact of age of entry to school on the reading development of 60 summer-born boys during Key Stage One. The sample was drawn from 18 schools in six Local Education Authorities operating different admissions policies. Thirty-one had attended nursery part-time,…

This article reports on an interpretative inquiry into 14 tertiary vocational students' educational experiences on the Chinese mainland with a focus on their strategy use in learning English. Using sociocultural theory, the inquiry reveals the profound impact that the learning context had on the research participants' strategy use. The data reveal…

This paper describes an intercontinental project with the use of interactive tools, both synchronous and asynchronous, which was set up to internationalize academic learning of Spanish language and culture. The objective of this case study was to investigate whether video-web communication tools can contribute to enriching the quality of foreign…

A study on classroom based training of self-regulated learning was conducted with fourth grade pupils attending German public schools. The participating classes were assigned randomly to either a training group or a control group. The pupils in the training group received 5 weeks of training, as depicted by Zimmerman, Bonner, & Kovach…

Team invasion games (TIG) make up a large part of the PE curriculum in Scottish schools. It is important, therefore, to understand the environmental conditions that contribute to pupils' motivation to learn to play TIG. Consequently, this study aimed to identify the teaching behaviours exhibited when teaching TIG using a game-based approach and a…

This study applied self-determination theory to investigate the effects of students' autonomous motivation and their perceptions of teacher autonomy support on need satisfaction adjustment, learning achievement, and cardiorespiratory fitness over a 4-month personal conditioning unit. Participants were 253 urban adolescents (121 girls and 132 boys,…

We are presenting a methodological approach that aims to increase students' motivation by asking them to develop tasks based on professional settings. In order to meet this objective a collaborative methodology was designed and applied to two multidisciplinary projects: MARKETOUR and ICT-SUSTOUR. Both projects made students face real workplace…

This manual adapts the pedagogy used on the playing field, the studio, and the stage to the classroom. This method, called "Pep Talk," encourages teachers to: (1) create a need to know; (2) challenge students to know; (3) show how to know; (4) apply know-how; and (5) know how to inspire cooperation. Pep talk is the method coaches use when they…