This study examines the relationships between four dimensions of the epistemological beliefs of college students (fixed ability, simple knowledge, quick learning, certain knowledge) and eight skill components of self-regulated learning. In general, students with more sophisticated beliefs were more likely to be engaged in a variety of…

Explains the use of instant lessons to quickly create an instructional module. Highlights include content for each type of knowledge needed; what makes a lesson complete; how to develop lesson elements, including motivation; and how to effectively combine lesson elements. (LRW)

A literature review on motivation and cognitive style and a survey of participants in management development suggests that participants' motivation may not be conducive to effective outcomes. In-house programs using workplace learning models in organizations with strong and pervasive cultures may constrain opportunities to put learning into…

Two projects attempted to assess and meet small and medium-sized enterprises' training needs. Britain's Learning support for Small Businesses delivery methods included paper, CD-ROM, and the Internet. The University of Limerick, Ireland, offered face-to-face learning for microenterprises. (SK)

Young British adults (n=47) identified situations for which they needed basic skills and barriers to skill development: low self-confidence, negative learning attitudes, peer pressure, cost, and scheduling. Results suggested the importance of grounding basic skills in everyday contexts; offering accessible classes, small groups, and individual…

In interviews with 38 adults returning to education, many expressed the need to redress a perceived imbalance. Their initial motivation was often vocational, but the experience of transition caused situational or dispositional imbalances in their lives that they sought to correct through education. (SK)

Evidence from multimedia research is far from being conclusive because of producing confounding effects or of neglecting parameters. Motivation plays a major role in this shortcoming as traditional multimedia theory is mainly based on cognitive factors, widely ignoring the fact that motivation significantly influences learning resources. Within…

Background: Laboratory studies have consistently found that competition induces performance goals and affects learning motivation. However, the ecological validity of these results is yet to be established. There is a need for investigation of whether the results hold in both the classroom context and non-Western culture. Aim: The study…

Mobile technologies offer the opportunity to embed learning in a natural environment. This paper describes the design of the MobileGame prototype, exploring the opportunities to support learning through an orientation game in a university setting. The paper first introduces the scenario and then describes the general architecture of the prototype.…

Constructivist and conceptual change perspectives on learning have given rise to a number of models of constructivist classroom teaching. Motivation has been recognized as an important factor in the construction of knowledge and the process of conceptual change, so one could expect that motivation strategies would be integral components of…

The authors examined perceptions of the motivation concept among 69 teachers and 77 counselors from Israeli secondary schools. Participants responded to 3 questionnaires that the authors constructed for this study on the basis of goal theory (e.g., C. Midgley, 2002). The authors also interviewed 10 counselors and 10 teachers. Results showed that…

In this article, the author presents an activity which allows students to construct various rhythm patterns in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 meter by using M&Ms and pretzels as an extrinsic motivation. Rhythmic notation is a foundation for learning music concepts. Engaging students in representative modules helps them to learn and recognize note values and…

All of the ideas and advice you can get on research-based school improvement don't matter if your community does not address norms that discourage and dishonor academic achievement. Fortunately, here's a book with lots of successful examples from real schools that shows how educators can collaborate with others to reverse poor motivation, reward…

Middle schoolers are developing skills for learning. Part of those skills is learning how to be an active participant in class and take control over their classroom behavior. Students who are not actively listening or participating are not internally motivated to learn the material. It was my hope that by reflecting upon their participation each…

This study was designed to examine the relative contributions of student and parents' socio-demographics, students' beliefs about learning, parental support of children's learning, peers' attitudes towards learning, teacher-student interaction and curriculum content to students' motivation to learn. The sample consisted of 275 school-age children…