When Choice Motivates and When It Does Not

This article addresses the controversy regarding the value of offering choices as a teaching practice. Inconsistent of results regarding the effects of choice in various settings suggest that choice can be either motivating or de-motivating. Based on the self-determination theory of motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000), we propose that choice can be motivating when the options meet the students’ need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. For example, choice is motivating when the options are relevant to the students’ interests and goals (autonomy support), are not too numerous or complex (competence support), and are congruent with the values of the students’ culture (relatedness support). Given the many factors involved, it is not surprising that in some studies choice was not found to promote engagement. However, when choice was offered in a way that met the needs of the students, it was found to enhance motivation, learning, and well-being.     

Estimation of relative elasticities of substitution and relative compensation for part-time faculty

Part-time workers have become a visible and noticeably larger component of the labor force in recent years. From an economic perspective, relative compensation changes may be a major factor determining the growth of the part-time sector. Yet, surprisingly little has been done to explore the effects of these changes on the relative rates of growth in part- and full-time labor markets. In part, this is because of the difficulty in obtaining data on the compensation paid to part-timers. In this paper, we suggest a methodology for deriving such data through statistical estimation and use survey data of over 2,100 institutions of higher education, conducted by the American Association of University Professors.     

Mothering matters: Maternal style predicts puppies’ future performance

Bray et al. (2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(32), 9128–9133) recently showed that maternal interactions between service dog mothers and their puppies were predictive of puppies’ future success as a candidate service dog. These findings prompt questions into the role of genetics and early experiences and may provide useful selection tools for working dog breeding programs.     

Taking the Show on the Road in Holding Academic Classes in Community Agencies: Exploratory Study Findings

Social work educators often teach students clinical knowledge within a university classroom, whereas students tend to learn clinical practice through their practicum experiences. This article describes data from a cross-sectional, mixed-method study on one way to effectively bridge the gap between teaching clinical knowledge and practice to graduate students. In this study, students participated in a newly developed and delivered 3-hour weekly course, over 12 weeks, based around students’ observation of ongoing live family therapy sessions at a children’s mental health organization. Findings suggest that this course design can fill a gap between the classroom and practicum experiences for students.     

Computerized guidance and the structure of occupational information

Visiting professor in numerous universities. Author of over 100 publications in the field of vocational guidance and careers counselling.     

“From the Intuitive to the Intentional”: Designing a Constructivist Online Course

Online programs are becoming more ubiquitous in higher education; however, there has been a lack of research on the merit of this style of educating. Using the concept of constructivism as a framework, the idea that individuals construct their own understanding of world experiences, the authors generated a case study to explore the efficacy of teaching “havruta study,” text analysis in student pairs with instructor facilitation, in an online format. Findings suggest that, through careful consideration of communication styles and student needs, highly interactive in-house courses can be adapted to online settings.