Directed motivational currents (DMCs) are goal-directed motivational surges in pursuit of a much-desired personal outcome. This book introduces the reader to cutting-edge theory and research in second language learner motivation and presents empirical research which investigates DMCs in the context of language learning. The studies explore the…

This book exemplifies the challenges and successes of online learning, teaching and leading in times of crises. It helps shed light on the issues facing online and face-to-face practitioners having to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and continue education within the confines of a specific interface. The volume includes new research and…

The emergent phenomena of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality is having an impact on ways people communicate with technology and with each other. Schools and higher education institutions are embracing these emerging technologies and implementing them at a rapid pace. The challenge, however, is to identify well-defined problems…

The definition of education and learning has been changing in recent years, as the field experienced, and is still experiencing, many changes. One of those changes is a rise in adult learners in higher education. In order to cope with this particular change and set their classrooms up for success, it is vital for educators to be aware of and…

Grounded in a strong evidence base, this indispensable text and practitioner guide has given thousands of teachers tools to support the literacy growth of beginning and struggling readers in grades K-2. The interactive strategies approach (ISA) is organized around core instructional goals related to enhancing word learning and comprehension of…

High school girls are bored, disengaged, and stressed in science classes, according to preliminary results of a study led by Northern Illinois University researchers Jennifer Schmidt and M. Cecil Smith. The two professors in the College of Education's Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations studied 244 high school…

This paper reports outcomes of a project in which five teachers developed a web-based user guide to integrating new technologies in secondary science teaching. The guide aimed to support the initial education of trainee teachers, and the professional development of mentors, in working with, and understanding the affordances of, new technologies.…

Plagiarism is an intriguing topic with many avenues for exploration. Students' perceptions of plagiarism certainly differ from their professors' and it is valuable to attempt to listen in some small measure to what those perceptions are. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of some of the ways first- and second-year university…

"Elements" is a competitive card game designed to help middle school students recognize and correlate the names and symbols of the most significant chemical elements. Each student is required to construct his or her own decks of playing cards--one with the names of the chemical elements and one with their corresponding symbols--and compete against…

In this article we present project work on physical measurements and an examination task with a Rijke tube. The aim of our project is to help students increase their knowledge of thermoacoustics while at the same time developing their applied information technology skills and improving their cooperation skills. Our school project promotes pedagogy…

In the face of shame, students may need to turn the global focus of their failures into more discrete behaviors that they can control. Instructors can facilitate this process by informing students of specific behaviors they can enact to support successful achievement, including study and volitional strategies. Students' use of multiple study and…

This study was undertaken in order to better understand prospective elementary school teachers' motivations for working with fractions before and after taking a course designed to deepen their understanding of mathematics, as well as what instructional practices might be related to any changes detected in their motivations. Eighty-five education…

Examples of conceptests and suggestions for preparing them for use in an undergraduate, chemical engineering thermodynamics course are presented. Conceptests, combined with hand-held transmitters (clickers), is an effective method to engage students in class. This method motivates students, improves their functional understanding of…

By definition, success in college means fulfilling academic requirements, but nonacademic factors also matter, since they can influence student performance and persistence in college. Nonacademic factors includes: (1) individual psychosocial factors, such as motivation (e.g., academic self-discipline, commitment to school) and self-regulation…

Our nations' classrooms appear to be in trouble, with many students complaining that they feel alienated and many teachers saying that they are overwhelmed. Hence, these classrooms seem to be more like "battlegrounds," than "connecting places." Since it may be very counterproductive to maintain this type of an atmosphere within our classrooms, the…