Instructional interventions that motivate classroom learning.

Abstract

Motivation takes place at every point in the learning and achievement process. Many factors drive students’ motivation, ranging from external rewards or schools’ environments to students’ personal goals and interests. Authors in this special issue utilize the research findings that students’ beliefs about themselves, their environment, and what it takes to succeed in intellectual pursuits can influence their motivation and, as a result, their performance in school. This means that shaping these beliefs can potentially affect students’ academic motivation and performance. Building on this insight, this special issue showcases a promising but underexplored approach to improving students’ motivation and learning in schools: the design and implementation of psychologically informed instructional activities to change students’ attitudes and beliefs. All of the authors studied motivational processes in schools and classrooms, and they tested the effectiveness of interventions against rigorous control conditions. Together, this issue reflects a genuine effort to thoughtfully and painstakingly understand the instructional processes that lead to improved motivation and learning in schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)