In response to a shift to high-stakes assessments, teachers are changing their instruction and approaches away from research-based formal training on best practices teaching in response to the stress and pressure this shift has created (Avalos et al., 2020; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Musoleno & White, 2010). More research is needed on teachers who…

Simulation-based learning environments have been proposed by researchers, as educational tools to support learning in complex business systems. However, studies have evidenced that subjects may nevertheless have great difficulty understanding and managing dynamic systems. Previous research has revealed positive learning and performance effects of…

How do we motivate students to practice and persist when facing challenges inherent in learning to play an instrument? In this article, I synthesize research findings into strategies to encourage students' mastery goal orientations and intrinsic motivation. Educators can use these strategies in the classroom or as inspiration to create innovative…

The goal of this study is to identify the relationship between K-12 teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, classroom goal structure and use of instructional strategies. The study also aims to determine if there is variance in the relationship between these constructs for primary versus secondary school teachers. Data collection involved completion of a…

In 1990, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi warned against an excessive emphasis on how well music learners perform rather than on the experiential aspect of music in and of itself. Whereas the former approach is, in his words, "a source of psychic disorder," the latter approach offers access to "flow": the optimal,…

Within the context of Pintrich's self-regulated learning model, recent reviews of the literature show that motivational factors are the strongest predictors of academic performance. Even so, gaps remain in terms of which goal orientation constructs area most strongly related to performance, and whether academic self-efficacy is involved in such…

Mental toughness (MT) is defined as a set of attributes that allow an individual to persevere through difficult circumstances that ultimately can lead to successful outcomes. It is also a critical component of maximizing the performance of an athlete. These attributes assist with and promote a state of mind that enhances performance. A negative…

Ensemble practices have been essential to the performing and visual fine arts over centuries. The skills of working in ensembles, including team work and collaborative learning, are increasingly understood to be critical and transferable professional attributes. However, much teaching of ensembles is practical and embodied, relying on tacit…

This paper reports on first-year conservatoire students' reflections on their one-to-one performance learning through a reflective journal. One-to-one lessons have been a central part of the education of performing musicians, although their place in the twenty-first-century conservatoire is not beyond challenge. Recent research has indicated that…

Technology-rich learning environments (TREs) provide opportunities for learners to engage in complex interactions involving a multitude of cognitive, metacognitive, and affective states. Understanding learners' distinct learning progressions in TREs demand inquiry approaches that employ well-conceived theoretical accounts of these multiple facets.…

The study used a phenomenological lens to explore middle level classroom goal perceptions and classroom experiences that were pivotal in motivating students to achieve their learning goals. A total of 46 participants (31 students and 15 teachers) from two middle schools in a Midwestern city participated in focus group discussions and one-on-one…

Surveys were conducted of two multi-state samples of educators, who provided ratings of the importance of two preliminary versions of the classroom performance assessment criteria being developed for The Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers(TM). One sample, with 114 respondents, was chosen primarily on the basis of its…

Self-regulation refers to the process whereby students activate and sustain cognitions, behaviors, and affects, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of goals. Effective self-regulation requires that students have goals and the motivation to attain them, and maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning and performing well. A social…

Recent research documents students' misconceptions about key math and science ideas, parochial views of history, and tendency to reduce complex literary works to stereotypes. To improve understanding, learners should focus on activities asking them to generalize, find new examples, and apply principles thoughtfully. Teachers should pursue…

Compares the effects of positive goal interdependence and positive resource interdependence on individual performance in teamwork and taskwork situations. Although early performance revealed difficulties with the interdependent nature of the work, performance improved as the students adapted their skills. Briefly discusses a number of variables…