Introduction: Relatedness--a sense of meaningful connectedness and belonging--is one of the basic psychological needs proposed by self-determination theory. Statement of the Problem: The current literature lacks evidence-based strategies that support student relatedness in the college classroom. In education, research has indicated…

The Complete State model of mental health differentiates between the dimensions of psychiatric disorders and wellbeing. The latter dimension is consistent with educators proactively creating learning-supportive curricular environments by, for example, translating the Basic Needs Satisfaction (BNS) theory into practical curricular strategies. One…

The "Current Insights" feature is designed to introduce life science educators and researchers to current articles of interest in other social science and education journals. In this installment, I highlight three diverse research studies out of psychology journals that address student study strategies, faculty change, and the influence…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the Sport Education Model (SEM) on students' self-determined motivation and underlying psychological need(s) in physical education. A total of 182 Year-9 students were engaged in 20 lesson units of volleyball, using either the SEM or a traditional approach. Data was collected using a…

Self-determination theory posits that individuals who have basic psychological needs satisfied while engaging in an activity will be more likely to value and persist in that activity. Scholars in this area have also posited that autonomy-supportive social contexts are top-down determinants of individual need satisfaction. To understand better the…