This study investigated motivation in the context of L2 Chinese in the USA. A total of 120 college students took the survey and 27 of them participated in post-survey interviews. Through a mixed-methods design, the study captured interactions between motivation and the learning environment in the learning process. The results revealed six…

Currently, the majority of e-learning lessons created and disseminated advocate a "one-size-fits-all" teaching philosophy. The e-learning environment, however, includes slow learners in a noticeable way, just like in traditional classroom settings. Learning analytics of educational data from a learning management system (LMS) have been…

The current NCLB/ESSA-generation [No Child Left Behind/Every Student Succeeds Act] of pre-service teachers in the U.S. received their K-12 schooling during the standardized test-focused education accountability era. There is little research exploring how they perceive the disconnect between their K-12 teacher-centered, test-focused school…

Starting from difficulties that students display when they deal with correlation analysis, an e-learning environment ("Koralle") was developed. The design was inspired by principles of situated and example-based learning. In order to facilitate reflective processes and thus enhance learning outcomes, reflection prompts were integrated into the…

This article explores what it takes to develop systemic strategies and structures that engage youth as coconstructors of their learning environment and experience. It looks at efforts nationwide to engage young people in educational change endeavors, draws on lessons learned from a national high school reform initiative, and addresses some…

Five elements in a lesson will motivate students to become and remain engaged in learning: (1) teachers must ensure that students see some value in the content of the lesson; (2) students must believe that they have the potential to be successful in the activity; (3) teachers must communicate to their students that they care about them as…

The theme of this book is self-initiated learning. It provides a framework to examine the dynamics of how children learn in this new environment. Chapter 1, "Underlying Rationale and Overview," discusses the rationale underlying a new philosophy of education. Chapter 2, "Background and Characteristics of a Self-Initiated Learning…

Examined differences in children's perceptions of school tasks. Found that even kindergarten children are able to understand the learning purpose of tasks if teachers include that information in their lesson presentations. Results suggest that in order to motivate children's learning, teachers should emphasize the learning aspects of tasks, and…

This action research project evaluated an intervention to improve student motivation, attendance, homework return, and academic growth. Participating were 22 third graders and 53 middle school students in two growing middle class communities in north central Illinois. Inadequate student motivation was documented through data on attendance, student…