College Students’ Psychological Needs and Intrinsic Motivation to Learn: An Examination of Self-Determination Theory

Over the last several decades, instructional communication scholars have studied and measured student motivation as an important learning outcome. Unfortunately, this research has lacked theoretical guidance and has treated student motivation as a construct that varies only in quantity, ignoring existing theory that suggests student motivation is best understood as a construct that differs in quality (i.e., intrinsic motivation). To create two new measures that incorporate theoretical explanations of student motivation, three studies (N = 1,067) were undertaken using self-determination theory (SDT) to operationalize students’ intrinsic motivation as a product of basic psychological need satisfaction. In the first two studies, the Student Psychological Needs Scale and the Intrinsic Motivation to Learn Scale were developed and validated. In the third study, parallel mediation analyses supported SDT’s prediction that the fulfillment of students’ psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness) would mediate the relationship between personalized education practices and intrinsic motivation to learn.     

Take home tests: An experimental study

The take home test was compared with the conventional closed and open book tests at the college level. It was found that scores on knowledge items were significantly higher with the take home test, and that additional time spent looking up answers was important. An additional factor was the level of anxiety, perceived by students to be less with the take home test. Rampant cheating does not appear to be a problem with take home tests.     

State Policy and the Affordability of Public Higher Education: The Influence of State Grants on Persistence in Indiana

The coordination of state finance strategies has been widely advocated as a means of maintaining affordability in public colleges and universities. This article examines the influence of state grants on equalizing opportunity for persistence among full-time resident students in Indiana's public system of higher education. The findings indicate that the state has maintained a commitment to a balanced approach to higher education finance, with increases in state grants that corresponded with tuition increases in the middle 1990s. This investment has been sufficient to equalize opportunity to persist.     

Swedish Universities towards Self-Regulation: A New Look at Institutional Autonomy

Swedish universities are required to change towards more effective self-regulation as the government has recently reduced state steering and devolved further responsibilities to them. In this paper, self-regulation is related to the concept of autonomy, a concept which is analysed on the two dimensions of purpose and authority, resulting in four models of state governance and consequently in a different space of action for the institutions. However, in order to develop self-regulation, the space granted must also be used effectively to realise autonomy. Six Swedish higher education institutions are analysed concerning how they have used their new space of action and what restrictions they have met in their efforts for self-regulation.     

Conceptual learning in relation to near and far transfer in the secondary school subject of economics

In this study we investigated the effects of two treatments supplementing students’ (16 to 18 years of age and in pre-university education) regular course in economics. One treatment, labelled concept treatment, aimed at the solidification of the students’ knowledge about economic concepts and their interrelations. The other treatment, labeled context treatment, aimed at the solidification of the connections between economic concepts and practical contexts. The aim of the study was to find out which treatment was most effective in meeting two demands that have been made by educators and advisory boards. The first demand is that students should gain competence in analysing practical problems from an economic perspective. The second demand is that students should be prepared for transfer of what they learned in the lessons to problems that are new to them.     

The Teacher Research Update Experience: Perceptions of Practicing Science, Mathematics, and Technology Teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine how the practicing science and mathematics teachers participating in the University of Florida's Teacher Research Update Experience (TRUE) perceived their experiences in Summer 2000. We conducted in-depth interviews and collected data from survey questionnaires and addressed research in the following areas: How do participants perceive their experiences during the 7-week program designed to enhance science, mathematics, and technology knowledge and skills? How have these experiences contributed to their professional and personal growth and development, and how will they influence teaching and student learning? Findings from interviews provided insights into the thoughts, motivations, and, in some cases, insecurities of these adult learners. Follow-up studies are indicated on long-term impact of immersion professional development programs.     

Perfectionism in Academically Gifted Students: A Systematic Review

Educational Psychology Review - Perfectionism has long been recognised as a psychological factor that can enhance or interfere with the healthy adjustment of young students who are academically...     

Fear of Death and Examination Performance in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course with Cadaveric Dissection

Cadaveric dissection offers an important opportunity for students to develop their ideas about death and dying. However, it remains largely unknown how this experience impacts medical students' fear of death. The current study aimed to address this gap by describing how fear of death changed during a medical gross anatomy dissection course and how fear of death was associated with examination performance. Fear of death was surveyed at the beginning of the course and at each of the four block examinations using three of the eight subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale: Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. One hundred forty-three of 165 medical students (86.7%) completed the initial survey. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant changes in Fear of the Dead (F (4, 108) = 1.45, P = 0.222) or Fear for the Body After Death (F (4, 108) = 1.83, P = 0.129). There was a significant increase in students' Fear of Being Destroyed (F (4, 108) = 6.86, P < 0.0005) after beginning dissection. This increase was primarily related to students' decreased willingness to donate their body. Concerning performance, there was one significant correlation between Fear for the Body After Death and the laboratory examination score at examination 1. Students with higher fears may be able to structure their experience in a way that does not negatively impact their performance, but educators should still seek ways to support these students and encourage body donation.     

Too Much Familiarity! The Developmental Path of the Fluency Heuristic in Children

We tested whether changes in attribution processes could account for the developmental differences observed in how children’s use fluency to guide their memory decisions. Children ranging in age from 4 to 9 years studied a list of familiar or unfamiliar cartoon characters. In Experiment 1 (n = 84), participants completed a recognition test during which the perceptual fluency of some items was enhanced using a prime. In Experiment 2 (n = 96), participants completed a source recollection judgment on their recognition decisions. Primed items were recognized at a higher rate than unprimed items. However, while young children rely on fluency for all items, older children use fluency only for unfamiliar items. This pattern came together with a reduction in familiarity-based—but not recollection-based—memory responses.