To support and continue the motivation of participants in virtual learning environments it is important to achieve a successful learning atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to reach the participants on a personal level and to perceive their personal needs and emotions when conversing with them. These factors of learning motivation depend on the…

This article explores the benefits of the Internet to enhance history instruction for all learners. The authors describe a Web-based learning environment, the Virtual History Museum (VHM), that helps teachers create motivating, inquiry-based history units. VHM also allows teachers to build supports for learners with disabilities or other learning…

The objective of this investigation was to examine the influence of self-efficacy and other motivational self-beliefs on the achievement of college intermediate French students (N= 303). Self-efficacy for self-regulation was a stronger predictor of intermediate French language achievement than were self-efficacy to obtain grades in French, French…

Peer-mediated instruction holds particular promise as an effective educational strategy for children with learning disabilities. When properly implemented, peer-mediated instructional approaches permit active engagement, frequent opportunities to respond, immediate error correction, prompt feedback on the correctness of responses, and motivational…

In an experiment conducted in 7 eighth-grade (Ages 13-14) classes in Singapore, the authors evaluated the effects of the group investigation method of cooperative learning versus the effects of the traditional whole-class method of instruction on students' academic achievement and on their motivation to learn. The authors also investigated…

Bilingualism (Sanz, 2000), motivation (Pintrich, 1989), and language aptitude (Grigorenko, Sternberg, and Ehrman, 2000) are crucial individual differences that contribute to successful adult language learning. Since Gardner's (1985) seminal work on motivation, many studies have shown that motivation is dynamic and that it affects language…

Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) electronic environment where members can socialize, hold virtual meetings, or conduct economic transactions. Utilizing virtual environments like Second Life is believed to provide educators with a new medium for teaching and information dissemination that bypasses the normal boundaries associated with…

Instructors and trainers are increasingly using online education and technology-mediated learning (TML) to supplement or replace traditional approaches to classroom teaching. Because mandatory involvement requirements may not intrinsically motivate learners to achieve high quality learning, social factors with commitment, such as identification…

These two decades have seen a surge in interest in the study of motivation throughout the field of language acquisition. Several distinguished motivational theories have been established: self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), goal-setting theories (Locke & Latham, 1990), attribution theory (Weiner, 1992), self-worth theory…

Motivating high school students is a complex and challenging task. Add the resource shortfall and issues that result from the small size and remoteness of rural districts, and it may seem a nearly impossible undertaking. Motivation theory and research offer potential tools for teachers to use, but what are the needs of rural students, and what…

A study examined teachers' perceptions and students' literacy motivations to assist teachers in bolstering students' self-determination and literacy competence. The theoretical framework was derived from E. L. Deci's self-determination theory which focuses on individuals' opportunities to make choices or decisions about how to behave or think as…

The more adult educators understand about motivation and the forces that affect it, the better their chances of helping adults attain learning objectives. Program planning partly involves applying leverage or extrinsic pressure on the forces for growth and safety inherent in every learning situation to bring about learning and change. (Author)

This review examines the available evidence in support of the argument that serum uric acid (SUA) possesses considerable promise as an indicator of one type of biochemical influence on achievement behavior. The evidence arguing for further research into the role of serum cholesterol in achievement behavior is also examined. (Author/JR)

Tallahassee's New Adventure in Learning project seeks to show that positive thinking can generate important advances in the classroom. (Editor)

Considered what further education provided for students and how students can satisfy their own practical needs through further education. (RK)