The emergence of undergraduate students serving in peer leader or peer educator roles is relatively recent in the history of higher education. Peer leadership positions were first recorded in 1959 in the field of student services, specifically working with students entering college and living in residence halls. Beginning with the Hazen Report of…

Blackwell et al. (Child Development 78(1):246-263, 2007) tested a motivational model of achievement in which an incremental theory of intelligence leads to learning goals and positive effort beliefs, which leads to fewer ability-based, helpless attributions, and more positive strategies, which leads to improved grades. In the present study, we…

Context: Highly developed critical thinking and the ability to discriminate among many possible therapeutic interventions is a core behavior for the practicing athletic trainer. However, while athletic training students receive a great deal of clinically applicable information, many are not explicitly trained in efficient methods for channeling…

Several studies concluded that deep reflection is infrequently reached in student portfolios. An explanation for these disappointing conclusions might be that motivation for portfolio reflection determines the quality of reflection. This study aimed to examine the relationship between motivation for using digital portfolios and reflection.…

The common core state standards, which have now been adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia, were designed around the goal of ensuring college and career readiness for all students. In this article, Rothman discusses research showing that a large proportion of U.S. high school graduates are ill-prepared to succeed in college or a…

At San Diego State University, retention and graduation rates garner national attention. The author discusses SDSU's intensive efforts to improve its graduation and retention rates and to close the achievement gap. San Diego State has been lauded nationally for its success on closing the achievement gap. An article titled "Walking the Walk on…

Previous research with the Aspiration Index suggests that the importance of intrinsic life goals (e.g. personal growth and relationships) is in positive association with indicators of well-being, whereas an orientation toward extrinsic life goals (e.g. wealth and appearance) is connected with decreased positive functioning. Our study extended the…

Most educators agree that children learn better in an honoring and respectful culture. They also know that top-down imposed change rarely sticks. In "Transforming School Climate and Learning", Bill Preble and Rick Gordon show how to accomplish lasting results by engaging both teachers and students in the five-step SafeMeasures[TM] process, a…

Making one's own learning choices is central to self-directed learning, yet the opportunity to choose learning activities is rarely given to students in formal educational settings. The case study reported in this paper is a description of student experiences and perceptions in a software tools graduate level class that offered substantial…

Regression discontinuity designs (RDDs) are considered to be one of the strongest nonexperimental designs available for the purpose of identifying the effects of an intervention. RDD can be used in situations in which assignment to a treatment group is based on a cutoff value on a continuous assignment variable. The impact of the intervention is…

The Ford Foundation began the Collaborating for Education Reform Initiative (CERI) in 1997-1998 by issuing grants and providing grantees with funds, guidance, and technical assistance to develop collaboratives and carry out activities to improve teaching and learning. CERI's collaborative activities were directed at three possible community…

Observation on best future choices is not something that happens by chance; in fact, it should be carried out through careful planning driven by research. Therefore, observation on future curriculum would also involve in-depth research on future possibilities and their impact. Policy makers and curriculum developers of institutions or even the…

The purpose of this study was to utilize the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) during the Marshall University Summer Enrichment Program (MUSEP) to determine the effectiveness of individual counseling, group counseling, and a combination of both, on student academic and behavioral goals. Results indicated that no significant differences were found when…

Grades should reflect and help motivate learning. This book illustrates ways teachers can shift their practices to conduct accurate, constructive assessments that not only maintain the integrity of essential education objectives, but also motivate students and enhance learning. Through detailed strategies, educators will learn how to grade…

In this article, the author discusses the meaning and importance of high grades and high achievement in terms of giftedness. She offers some reasons to tell children about the importance of school achievement. She suggests that good grades are no guarantee of eventual adult success, whether that is defined as a high income or a rewarding,…