The longitudinal effects of achievement goals and perceived control on university student achievement

In the area of achievement motivation, students’ beliefs pertaining to achievement goals and perceived control have separately guided a large amount theoretical and empirical research. However, limited research has considered the simultaneous effects of goals and control on achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine primary and secondary control as potential mediators of the effects of mastery and performance goals on achievement, measured as final percentage in Introductory Psychology and GPA. The sample consisted of 224 first-year university students at a Canadian doctoral granting university. All participants completed two surveys and consented to release their grades to the researchers. We found that neither performance goals nor mastery goals had direct effects on achievement. However, performance goals had a positive indirect effect on achievement through primary control. Indirect effects also emerged for mastery goals, positively through primary control and negatively through secondary control. These results offer one explanation for the often-found non-significant relationship between mastery and achievement and are discussed in light of interventions aimed to modify goals and/or control and thereby increase achievement.     

Patterns of boredom and its relationship with perceived autonomy support and engagement

The impact of academic boredom on learning and achievement has received increasing attention in the literature; however, the questions of how academic boredom changes over time and how the change relates to antecedents of boredom and student engagement during a course of study remain unexplored. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to: (a) examine the patterns of change in two types of academic boredom (i.e., learning-related and class-related) and in four types of student engagement (i.e., vigor, absorption, dedication, and effort regulation); (b) to examine how the trajectories of boredom and student engagement relate to one another; and (c) to investigate the relationship between perceived autonomy support and the pattern of change in boredom, in a sample of 144 university students. Results of latent growth curve analysis showed that learning-related boredom, vigor, and absorption remained relatively stable over time, whereas both class-related boredom and effort regulation showed a linear change, a pattern of increase and a trend of decrease, respectively. Interestingly, students’ dedication decreased at the beginning and increased when approaching the end of the course. Our results also revealed the fact that changes in boredom in class were linked with changes in both effort regulation and dedication, and the inverse association between perceived autonomy support and class-related boredom experience.     

质体醌的合成研究

异成烯醇在KHSO_4的作用下,与苯醌发生作用,合成了含有异戊烯基的质体醌。其结构由紫外光谱,红外光谱,核磁共振谱得到证实。     

Keep It Simple: A Lesson in Linking Teens to Health Care

The Keep It Simple package, which includes a short animated film (available online for streaming or download), a lesson plan, and supporting materials, was designed to be used with adolescents ages 15–19 to empower them to seek sexual and reproductive health care, and emphasize the availability of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). The materials in the package can be used together to deliver a 45 minute educational session that provides information to teens about the sexual health services available to them at local health centers, their rights to obtain those services, and how they can link to high quality and adolescent friendly sexual health care. The animation can also be used as a standalone product. All components of the Keep It Simple package are available for free and are also offered in Spanish as No te compliques.     

Concordance Between Preservice Teachers' Personal Responsibilities and Intended Instructional Practices

During their education, preservice teachers begin to assume professional responsibilities and gain pedagogical knowledge. However, the question remains whether preservice teachers intend to use instructional practices that are effective in meeting their assumed responsibilities. Thus, we examined the concordance between preservice teachers' responsibilities and their intended instructional practices. At the start of the semester there was no concordance. At the end of the semester there was high concordance in two instances: Responsibility for student motivation negatively predicted performance goal-oriented practices; responsibility for teaching positively predicted rationales and negatively predicted extrinsic rewards. Instructional practices associated with responsibility for achievement and motivation were not concordant. We discuss how preservice teachers understand these responsibilities and their readiness to adopt evidence-based practices.     

Depression,Control, and Climate: An Examination of Factors Impacting Teaching Quality in Preschool Classrooms

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship of preschool teachers’ self-reported depressive symptomatology, perception of classroom control, and perception of school climate to classroom quality as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K. The sample consisted of 59 urban preschool classrooms serving low-income and linguistically diverse students in the northeastern and southeastern United States. Results of hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ individual reports of depressive symptomatology were significantly and negatively predictive of the observed quality of their instructional support and classroom organization. Practice or Policy: The findings of this study have implications for increasing access to mental health supports for teachers in an effort to minimize depressive symptoms and potentially improve classroom quality.     

Promoting effective teacher-feedback: from theory to practice through a multiple component trajectory for professional development

This study describes an evaluation of a theory-based trajectory for professional development called FeTiP (Feedback-Theory into Practice) that aims to have an observable effect on teacher classroom behavior. FeTiP is a multicomponent trajectory for professional development and combines several types of interventions. Its goal is to help teachers expand their feedback behavior in the classroom to provide more, and more effective (i.e. learning-enhancing), feedback. We first describe the foundation of FeTiP, with a central focus on how classroom behavior can be influenced by a multicomponent trajectory of professional development, as this is often a major aim in initiatives for the professional development of teachers but is the most difficult to establish. We describe the effects of FeTiP on the feedback behavior of teachers and attempt to explain why these effects occurred.