The use of graduate students in the behavioral sciences to supervise undergraduate research is a viable approach. To be successful such a program must involve well prepared and highly motivated graduate and undergraduate students, and there must be a congenial and open relationship between the two. (RM)

Addresses the problems inherent in constructing reading courses for the English as a foreign language student who is not a motivated reader. Proposes an alternative type of reading course, which attempts to cover these problems by taking note of some of the preconditions necessary for comprehension. (SL)

The purpose of this study is to examine a limited number of variables that have been documented in the literature as influential factors for women science majors and to determine which significantly influence undergraduate expectations to obtain science-related occupations. The results of this study indicate that several factors are worthy of…

Surveyed adult college students regarding their motivation for attending college and the relative importance of college choice criteria. Getting better jobs, gaining general knowledge, and enhancement of self-esteem were most frequently mentioned. Availability of desired programs, days/times of needed classes, locations of courses, cost, and…

Describes research conducted at the United Kingdom's Open University that examined the motivation, experience, and performance of undergraduate students aged 60 and over. Older Open University students are compared with the rest of the student body and with older students in a variety of other educational organizations. (10 references) (LRW)

A controlled experimental study tested the relative effects of computer-mediated and person-mediated feedback on the task performance and motivation of 97 undergraduate students. Results show students prefer computer-mediated feedback, that feedback may reduce motivation, and that person-mediated feedback may debilitate the performance of…

Administers an experimental college version of the Musical Aptitude Profile (CMAP) and 2 motivation measures to 187 nonmusic majors in a music appreciation course. Eliminates CMAP results from analysis resulting from low reliability. Includes data table that were significantly related. (NL)

Undergraduate students in an introductory-level geoscience course successfully designed and conducted a science badge day for the Junior Girl Scouts. With national concerns that girls turn away from science at a young age, a service-learning project was incorporated into a college course with the end result providing a group of girls a positive…

Students in business communication classes are expected to write various types of documents. Research has illustrated that undergraduate student writing skills have not improved even though most states have begun writing proficiency tests at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. By the time students enroll in college, students are…

This study examined how midterm student ratings feedback provided to teaching assistants via a theory-based ratings instrument, combined with consultation on instructional practices, would affect teaching practices, ratings of teaching effectiveness, and student learning and motivation. The student ratings instrument that was employed focused on a…

This report is a comprehensive account of the accumulated research on the measurement of quality of effort and its significance in understanding the achievement of college students with regard to the College Student Experiences questionnaire (Pace, 1979). Results are based on the responses of 12,000 undergraduate students from 40 different…

Subjects were 46 undergraduates attending a major West Coast university who self-monitored their study behavior for four weeks under one of four conditions: (1) expectation of reactivity; (2) cumulative charting, (3) combined expectation and charting; and (4) control group (given no expectation or cumulative chart). Although definitive conclusions…

Conceptualizing progress through college as a sequential process, the study examined factors that affect rates of persistence and dropping out, using longitudinal data for a national sample of young men attending college in the late 1960's. A principal conclusion was that factors important to understanding persistence vary with the stage of the…

Student ratings of instruction for lecture types varying in substantive teaching points covered (high, medium, low) and expressiveness of delivery (high, low) were investigated. Half were offered an incentive to learn before the lecture; the other half after the lecture. Students then rated lecture effectiveness and completed an achievement test.…

Examines the effects on student performance in an undergraduate engineering design course of two techniques designed to engender professional attitudes among student engineers and shift learning responsibility toward the students. Neither the awarding of a prize for the best project work nor Socratic dialog in the classroom significantly affected…