"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Course Credits on the Quick: Controversial Online Recovery Programs Speed the Path to Graduation (Andrew Brownstein); (2) Collaborating to Make Schools More Inclusive…

We present a method of analyzing the development of self-efficacy in real time using a framework of self-efficacy opportunities (SEOs). Considerable research has shown a connection between self-efficacy, or the confidence in one's own ability to perform a task, and success in science fields. Traditional methods of investigating the development of…

Is materialism systematically related to teenagers' learning motivation as well as actual learning outcomes? The reported research tested a theoretical model of associations among materialism, achievement goals, and exam performance among teenagers. Study 1 tested the theoretical model in 4 groups of teenagers drawn from 2 different educational…

Using the Goodman and Beenen (2008) organizational learning contract framework as a diagnostic tool, this study investigates the effectiveness of an academic institution's learning environments by examining students' perception of their mastery of the institution's established curriculum learning goals. Students at a major Southeastern university…

Research and theory suggest several instructional practices that could enhance student self-efficacy. However, little is known about the ways these instructional practices interact with individual students to create opportunities or challenges for developing adaptive self-efficacy. In this study, we focused on two sources of efficacy, mastery…

This report describes the implementation of blended learning programs in Idaho, and three key takeaways are apparent: (1) Blended learning has a positive impact on teachers; (2) Self-pacing enables students to take ownership and achieve mastery; and (3) Teachers must prepare with comprehensive teacher training. The authors emphasize the need for…

The study aimed to investigate the benefits of teaching pre-vocational education (PVE) through the collaboration of the other teacher with the PVE teacher. The study adopted experimental and descriptive methodologies. An experiment was conducted through collaboration of teachers of different subjects in Pre-Vocational Education (PVE) to teach a…

Although the causes of achievement are many and varied, it is widely assumed that "motivation" and "self-regulation" are crucial determinants of academic performance. Substantial evidence indicates that students who focus on learning and understanding course material are more likely to perform well academically (Dweck and Leggett, 1988).…

Motivation and leadership are two important factors influencing achievement in today's classrooms. Whereas some students are naturally self-motivated, other students struggle to find the basic motivation to reach their full potentials. Goal theory states that people naturally select goals based on mastery learning achievements or performance…

This review of the theoretical framework for Mastery Learning Theory and Sense of Community theories is provided in conjunction with a review of the literature for mobile technology in relation to language learning. Although empirical research is minimal for mobile phone technology as an aid for language learning, the empirical research that…

A number of U.S. higher education institutions are converting from quarter-to semester-based academic calendars; in fall 2012, seventeen Ohio institutions did so. Over a two-year time period, college student samples were recruited from a large, public, urban, Midwestern university that was undergoing a transition from a quarter-based to a…

The "College and Career Readiness and Success Organizer" is a graphic that displays a consolidated overview of the many elements that impact a learner's ability to succeed in college and careers at both the institutional and individual levels. The "Organizer" is intended to be a comprehensive and visual representation of the…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of underprepared students regarding the effectiveness of two teaching strategies: cooperative learning and mastery learning, and the strategy the students perceive to be more beneficial than the other. Specific questions that guided the study are: How do underprepared students perceive the…

The study of knowledge transfer rarely draws upon motivational constructs in empirical work. We investigated how students' achievement goals interact with different forms of instruction to promote "transfer," defined as preparation for future learning (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999) Students were given either invention or tell-and-practice activities…

A firm grounding in change theory can provide educational leaders with an opportunity to orchestrate meaningful organizational improvements. This article provides an opportunity for practicing leaders to review four major theories of organizational change--continuous improvement, two approaches to organizational learning, and appreciative inquiry.…