Although badges are among the most-used game elements in gamified education, studies about their optimal features to motivate learning are scarce. How should a badge be designed to represent an incentive for a specific goal like optimal exam preparation? This study examines usage data of a higher education learning app to determine whether the…

This article explores beginner student and staff perspectives of study preparedness across higher education institutions and disciplines in Norway, focusing on writing, reading and academic working skills. Drawing on focus group interviews among academic staff and students, findings show a certain academic unpreparedness by beginner students.…

Self-efficacy beliefs have proven to be an important influence on an individual's learning success. Badging is increasingly an element of innovative technologies for educational computing such as MOOCs, adaptive learning systems, smart learning environments, game-based learning, and gamification, among others. However, there is not strong evidence…

It is a common misconception that game-based learning is, by its very nature, engaging for the majority of learners. This is not necessarily the case, particularly for learners in Higher Education who may need to be persuaded of the value of learning games. For some learners, games may simply not be perceived as engaging--either in terms of an…

This study investigated the reasons and motivations of older adults in pursuing adult education at universities. Data were collected on 78 learners aged 62-85. Both factor and cluster analysis were used on an inventory of reasons. The factor pattern differed from patterns found on younger adults. (JAZ)

This report compares two approaches to incentive motivation in 82 college juniors and seniors, average age 21 years. One method uses will as a motivator; the other method focuses on skill or effective strategy use for enhancing recall and understanding of a particular body of information. In the first approach, a semiweekly test or spotquiz was…

Discusses how to motivate students to learn history. Suggests using primary sources, relating subject matter to what students already know, and avoiding lectures whenever possible. Recommends formulating goals in advance, preparing reading lists, preparing questions for students, and assigning individual projects. Argues that such a course will…

College students randomly assigned to mastery goal (n=26) or competitive goal (n=25) situations read a passage and took a free-recall test. The mastery situation resulted in higher achievement and greater interest, and there was no significant difference between groups in learning strategies. (SLD)

Examines the relationships among goal orientations, the use of cognitive strategies, and academic achievement for 234 undergraduate students at the United Arab Emirates University. Finds that performance-goal orientation had a negative effect on grade-point average (GPA), whereas learning-goal orientation had a positive effect mediated by…

This study examined the relationship between college students' preference for an immediately available option (e.g., go to a favorite concert the day before a test) or a delayed alternative (e.g., stay at home to study for the test). Analysis focused on how much a student would like to engage in a specific activity, the importance of the activity…

A correlational study of 62 8th grade, 60 11th grade, and 58 college students investigated developmental differences in learning goals, study strategy beliefs and their inter-relationship for science classes. Questionnaires measured levels of task orientation, ego orientation, and work avoidance, as well as belief in the utility of two types of…

Research suggests mature college students use more desirable approaches to academic learning, adopting a deep approach (meaning orientation) more often and a surface approach less often than younger students. Explanations include motivation by intrinsic goals; acquisition of a surface approach by younger students in secondary education; and…

Do success-oriented and failure-avoidant students differ in their performance because of differential attributions? Path analysis, which permits the evaluation of causal assumptions in well-specified theories, was employed to test the adequacy of the causal linkages in the attributional model of achievement behavior. Thus, although differences in…

Discusses some current theories of learning motivation and describes how they may relate to the education of physicians, noting frequent disparities between medical schools' stated goals for learners and what is actually taught or rewarded by faculty. While motivation is multifaceted, there are strategies that may be used to strengthen students'…

Linear models of two of the most salient motivations for undergraduates to attend college--learning (intrinsic) and enhanced post-graduation earnings (extrinsic)--are estimated from a sample of 2,199 respondents to the 2000 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) survey of first-year students, supplemented by institutional records. Model…