International tests indicate that students in the United States rank lower in mathematical achievement than students in many other countries (NCES, 1998; OECD, 2014). More than one-quarter of American 15-year-olds do not reach a baseline proficiency in math and do not have the requisite skills to effectively participate in day-to-day life…

As the population of English Learners (ELs) continues to rise in the United States, there is a need to investigate the efficacy of teachers who are assigned to instruct them. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contribute to teacher efficacy when mainstream elementary/middle school teachers instruct ELs while addressing the…

Classroom activities aimed at changing students' identity-based motivation (IBM) improve student outcomes by helping students experience school as the path to their adult future identities and their difficulties along the way as signals of the importance of schoolwork. One way to scale these effects would be to have teachers deliver IBM…

Students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are in high demand. Over 1 million STEM graduates will be needed by 2022 to meet the projected workforce needs (The Progress Report on Coordinating Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education, 2016). If students are needed to fulfill jobs in areas…

This paper presents several methods for motivating students taking a power system protection (PSP) course. The paper reviews the laboratory activities developed for the PSP course at Curtin University, Australia; these methods are applicable and can be used for PSP course instruction at any institution. These activities were developed to improve…

The past decade has witnessed an increase in research on teacher motivation which has been proved a crucial factor closely related to a number of variables in education such as student motivation, educational reform, teaching practice and teachers' psychological fulfilment and well-being. To address the constant calls for teacher motivation…

The purpose of this study was to gather information on measures of motivation among year 7, 8 and 9 students enrolled in class music in a major Australian secondary school. The rationale for the study was to gain insights into why retention in the class music program had dramatically increased since the introduction of a new teaching program. A…

The contributions of academic achievement motivation and social status to peer-reported academic influence were explored in a sample of 322 children in grades three through five. Latent moderated structural equation modeling indicated that children who value academics are more likely to be rated by peers as academically influential. Social status…

Senior secondary mathematics students who develop conceptual understanding that moves them beyond "rules without reasons" to connections between related concepts are in a strong place to tackle the more difficult mathematics application problems. Current research is examining how the use of challenging tasks at different levels of…

We investigated the effect of an innovative technology-supported learning environment on pre-service student teachers' motivation and 21st century skills. Students and instructors filled-in the Active Learning Post Occupancy Evaluation (AL-POE) questionnaire. Analysis included tests for individual items and a comparison of the overall mean,…

Although much of the scientific community concerns itself with ideas of a sustainable future, very little of this interest and motivation has reached the classroom experience of the average chemistry major, and therefore, it is imperative to expose students to these ideas early in their careers. The focus of most undergraduate chemistry curricula…

This study researches how first-year engineering students perceived the influence of curricular activities on their own learning autonomy, measured with an adaptation of the Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-direction in Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS). Participants were questioned to assess the influence of the teacher's role. The results…

People frequently engage in the process of "heutagogy" (i.e., self-determined learning). Unlike pedagogy and andragogy, heutagogy occurs without a structure or leader setting the context and directing the learning toward a specific goal. The lack of structure and the possible self-determination of topic, value, source, and trust in…

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of fostering creativity in higher education. The benefits of creativity to individuals and societies have also been increasingly recognized, as well as the key role of higher education in the information age. In spite of this recognition, there has been little research exploring creativity in…

This article explores the implementation of experiential learning affordances to improve skills in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education. The administration of an online anonymous survey to 100 students of different undergraduate degrees presents current learning reflections from EFL students at the Universidad de Las Palmas de…