Brett D. Jones

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Virginia Tech

Authors since William James (1892/1968) have implied that the structure of the self-concept can influence motivation and outcomes in particular domains. The value or importance an individual places on a domain influences how motivated that individual is to expend effort in that domain, ultimately influencing the positivity or negativity of the outc...

The purpose of this article is to present a model of academic motivation that can be used by instructors to design courses that will engage students in learning. The model, based on research and theory, consists of five components that an instructor should consider when designing instruction: (1) empowerment, (2) usefulness, (3) success, (4) intere...

Women almost always comprise a minority in engineering programs and a smaller percentage of women pursue engineering than other science and technology majors. The culture of engineering departments and negative stereotypes of women’s engineering and mathematical ability have been identified as factors that inhibit women’s entry into engineering and...

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are important at most colleges and universities. One purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which motivational climate was associated with SETs. Another purpose was to determine whether course ease was associated with SETs. Participants included 2,949 undergraduate students from 30 courses at a l...

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which students’ course perceptions (i.e., perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) and cost beliefs predict their effort and grades in an online course. We surveyed 1,446 students in an online geography course. Students completed closed- and open-ended item...

Plain language summary Increasing student engagement by changing teaching from lecture to activities Why was the study conducted? Most students in Chinese university language courses sit in a classroom and listen to the teacher lecture. We wanted to see if we could engage students more in the course by using teaching approaches that were designed t...

To address the demand for engineers and computer scientists in the workforce, and the fact that some engineering students dropout or change majors, we explored how the motivational climate in an undergraduate computer science (CS) course was related to students’ motivational beliefs and academic and career goals. Participants included 310 students...

Background The motivational climate within a course has been shown to be an important predictor of students’ engagement and course ratings. Because little is known about how students’ perceptions of the motivational climate in a computer science (CS) course vary by sex, race/ethnicity, and academic major, we investigated these questions: (1) To wha...

Purpose The aim of the study was to examine the validity evidence for the 19-item form of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (College Student version) within health science schools in three different countries. The MUSIC Inventory includes five scales that assess the motivational climate by measuring students’ perceptions related to f...

The attainment of professional competencies leads to essential skills for successful and employable veterinarians. However, the inclusion of professional competencies in veterinary curricula is often underdeveloped, and it is sometimes less appreciated by students than the science/technical skill curricula. The aim of this study was to better under...

This study examined whether the five scales of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory produced valid scores when used in university English language courses across four different countries. We surveyed 1,147 students in English language courses in Iran, Mexico, China, and Egypt and analyzed their responses by performing measurement invari...

A course syllabus can affect students’ perceptions of the motivational climate within a course. Yet, few researchers have conducted experimental studies of students’ perceptions of syllabi in courses in which they were currently enrolled. The purpose of the present studies was to assess the extent to which syllabi language and organization affected...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity evidence for the use of the 19-item and 20-item short forms of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (College Student version) with undergraduate students. These shorter forms of the MUSIC Inventory could be beneficial to teachers and researchers. Our analysis included inventory r...

Effective teachers create a motivational climate that engages students in course activities in ways that lead to increased learning and achievement. Although researchers have identified motivational climate variables that are associated with students’ engagement and achievement, less is known about how these variables are related in different cours...

The purpose of this study was to assess administrators’ professionally and personallyinviting behaviors and examine whether administrators’ reported behaviorswere correlated with school rankings, job satisfaction, school climate, ortime spent on instructional leadership. Overall, both principals and assistantprincipals reported engaging in high lev...

Creating a positive motivational climate in an online course can engage students in their learning. Instructors may be able to better manage their courses and create a positive motivational climate if they implement online survey tools that allow them to assess the motivational climate of their courses. Teachers and researchers have documented that...

Student perceptions of the complete online transition of two CS courses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the globe switched from traditional Face-to-Face (F2F) course delivery to completely online. Our university declared during our Spring break that students would not return to campus, and tha...

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether students’ motivation-related perceptions of mathematics courses were related to their ratings of instruction while controlling for their academic major, type of math class, and expected grade in the class. We investigated these relationships at both the student- and class-level because little...

This study presents an analytic inference methodology using probabilistic modeling that provides faster decision-making and a better understanding of complex relations. Two educational psychology models (i.e., the MUSIC Model of Motivation and the domain identification model) were coupled with a data-driven Probabilistic Graphical Model to provide...

Background It is uncommon for faculty development professionals to assess faculty attitudes towards their teaching responsibilities and their perceived obstacles to teaching effectiveness. The purposes of this study were (a) to document faculty attitudes and practices related to applying motivation principles, and (b) to identify the perceived cont...

COVID-19 caused universities to switch from traditional face-toface (F2F) course delivery to completely online in Spring 2020. This transition took place on short notice in the middle of the semester. We present results from surveys of students in two CS courses offered at Virginia Tech. Results indicate differing perceptions in the two courses reg...

The aim of this article is to explain a faculty development approach used with faculty who teach general education courses. The purpose of the professional development was to help faculty intentionally create a class environment that engages students. Key to this process was introducing faculty to a research-based motivation model that they could u...

The overall aim of this article is to explain how the MUSIC Model of Motivation can be applied to L2 instruction in a manner that is consistent with positive psychology, which emphasizes individuals’ strengths and the conditions in which they thrive. The article begins by describing the MUSIC model, which is a research-based framework that organize...

This study examined the effects of a motivational strategies-based edutainment intervention on college students’ motivation and engagement in College English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. The participants were junior students in the school of business who were divided into an experimental group and control group (N = 230). Independent sample...

This guide contains the instructions, items, and scoring instructions for many versions of the MUSIC Model of Motivation Inventory (referred to in this guide as the MUSIC Inventory). In addition, this guide contains some open-ended items and interview questions that have been used to assess perceptions of the MUSIC components. The MUSIC Inventory w...

Further validation of the MUSIC® Model of Motivation Inventory (MMI) for use in Cognitive Remediation (CR) for schizophrenia is needed. The MMI was compared to the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory - Schizophrenia Research and Perceived Competency Scale following early treatment exposure in a CR clinical trial. MMI Usefulness, Success, and Interest sc...

Manuscripts The editorial Board of the Virginia English Journal welcomes contributions related to the teaching of language arts and English at all school levels, especially manuscripts of 3-12 pages on announced themes. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically, as e-mail attachments, preferably in either WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, but oth...

The purposes of this study were to investigate the extent to which students’ course perceptions of the components of the MUSIC Model of Motivation (Jones, 2009, 2018) were related to their engagement in college courses and their instructor and course ratings. Participants included 285 college students who completed questionnaires once or twice duri...

Researchers have demonstrated the value of teacher professional development programs (PDPs) as an effective strategy to improve teaching. The purpose of our study was to design and test an intervention that could be used as part of a PDP with three English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at a Chinese university. The primary aim of our interven...

Background: About 70% of teachers who instruct healthcare students are considered sessional (adjunct/temporary part-time) faculty and receive limited instruction in pedagogy. Sessional faculty may feel isolated and struggle with their teacher identity, and are often assumed to vary in their commitment, motivation, and ability to teach. However, re...

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which college students’ perceptions of a course predicted their engagement and, subsequently, their learning in the course. This study is needed because relatively few studies have examined the relationships between several different class perceptions, engagement, and learning (as opposed to ac...

Context Researchers suggest that teachers’ work environment affects their sense of connectedness and appreciation, which affects their educator identity. However, sessional (also known as adjunct, clinical, contingent and non‐tenured) faculty members may struggle with their educator identity. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the...

The MUSIC® Model of Motivation is used to help instructors select strategies that can increase students' motivation and engagement in courses. The MUSIC model is comprised of five categories of strategies titled: empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the MUSIC® Model of...

Because there are many positive effects of active learning approaches on students’ motivation and achievement, some authors have recommended that these approaches be widely implemented. A research-intensive university located in the Mid-Atlantic US was interested in adopting this instructional technique, and therefore, experimented with it. The pur...

We investigated patterns of relationships among a sample of undergraduate students' motivation-related perceptions in an Introductory Psychology course. Using cluster analysis (N = 552), we identified person-centered profiles of students' perceptions of the course, including their beliefs about empowerment/autonomy, usefulness/utility value, expect...

This study examines how rural elementary school administrators perceive the effects of high-stakes testing in comparison to suburban and urban elementary administrators. High-stakes testing had a greater impact, both positively and negatively, on rural administrators than on their counterparts in suburban and urban schools. Specifically, the positi...

Aim: Low motivation is a core symptom of schizophrenia which significantly impacts successful engagement in and benefit from psychosocial treatments. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to design psychosocial treatments to effectively motivate and engage patients during the treatment. The MUSIC® Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MMI) i...

This book is now available for FREE to download at: https://tinyurl.com/MotivatingStudents2pdf Or get the print version for $19 at: https://tinyurl.com/MotivatingStudents2 The title of the book, Motivating Students by Design, was chosen because the author explains how instructors can motivate students intentionally through the design of their cour...

Focused on the big ideas of education psychology, this text gives readers a practical understanding of the core concepts in educational psychology and of the research-based strategies needed to facilitate student learning and development. While generally shorter than competing educational psychology textbooks, Essentials of Educational Psychology...

Debido al éxito de la propuesta Reggio Emilia en la educación de la infancia temprana, tanto para investigadores como practicantes sería útil identificar y explicar qué componentes de dicha propuesta la hacen efectiva para motivar a los estudiantes. En este artículo, examinamos la propuesta Reggio Emilia a través de la lente del modelo de motivació...

The purpose of our action research project was to improve students' motivation in a multi-section introductory neuroscience laboratory course. In this paper, we present: (a) how we collected data related to students' motivation and engagement, (b) how we analyzed and used the data to make modifications to the courses, (c) the results of the course...

Background One significant factor in facilitating students’ career intentions and persistence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is targeting their interests and motivation before eighth grade. To reach students at this critical stage, a design-based afterschool STEM program, titled Studio STEM, was implemented to fo...

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which (1) a domain identification model could be used to predict students’ engineering major and career intentions and (2) the MUSIC Model of Motivation components could be used to predict domain identification. The data for this study were collected from first-year engineering students. We use...

We investigated students’ perceptions related to psychological constructs in their science classes and the influence of these perceptions on their science identification and science career goals. Participants included 575 middle school students from two countries (334 students in the U.S. and 241 students in Iceland). Students completed a self-repo...

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has become more popular in higher education over the past several years. It has proven to be effective in engineering education to increase students’ motivation and the acquisition of skills required by the labour market and today’s society. However, even when PBL is gradually introduced at an institution alongside trad...

One purpose of this study was to determine whether patterns existed in pre–high school students’ motivation-related perceptions of their science classes. Another purpose was to examine the extent to which these patterns were related to their science identification, gender, grade level, class effort, and intentions to persist in science. We collecte...

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which Chinese and Spanish translations of the College Student version of the MUSIC® Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MUSIC Inventory; Jones, 2012) demonstrate acceptable psychometric properties. We surveyed 300 students at a university in China and 201 students at a university in Colombi...

Student retention is a common concern in engineering education, and first-year retention is a priority in engineering colleges throughout the United States. In an effort to broaden participation, engineering colleges also seek opportunities to engage women and minorities as early as possible. In view of these situations, many colleges offer summer...

Because of the success of the Reggio Emilia Approach in early childhood education, it could be useful to researchers and practitioners to identify and explicate components of the approach that make it effective in motivating students. In this paper, we examine the Reggio Emilia Approach through the lens of the MUSIC® Model of Motivation, a model ba...

In this qualitative study, we examined how two professors (a physicist and biochemist) of first year college students perceived their students’ development of identification in biochemistry or physics and how they actively supported this development. The professors described students who entered college with different levels of domain identificatio...

Introduction: The purpose of our study was to assess whether the Elementary School version of the MUSIC® Model of Academic Motivation Inventory was valid for use with elementary students in classrooms with regular classroom teachers and student teachers enrolled in a university teacher preparation program. Method: The participants included 535 firs...

Simulations can be powerful learning tools that allow students to explore and understand concepts in ways that are not possible in typical classroom settings. However, research is lacking as to how to use simulations most effectively in different types of learning environments. To address this need, we designed a study to examine the impact of usin...

This study provides validity evidence for the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (MUSIC Inventory; Jones, 2012), which measures college students’ beliefs related to the five components of the MUSIC Model of Motivation (MUSIC model; Jones, 2009). The MUSIC model is a conceptual framework for five categories of teaching strategies (i.e., eM...

Developing and implementing integrative curricula that enhances STEM literacy by providing meaningful connections to the lives of youth is challenging. Equally demanding is to invoke the desired cognitive, social, and affective changes that could positively influence motivation in STEM learning (Katehi, L., Pearson, G., & Feder, M. (Eds.). Engineer...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of using a motivation inventory with music students in upper-elementary, middle, and high school. We used the middle/high school version of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory to survey 93 students in the 5th to 12th grades in one school. Our analysis revealed th...

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which a 12-week afterschool science and engineering program affected middle school students' motivation to engage in science and engineering activities. We used current motivation research and theory as a conceptual framework to assess 14 students' motivation through questionnaires, struc...

Up until the Renaissance, architects had been considered master-builders. However, the complexity of modern construction required more specialization in trades and caused fragmentation of the responsibilities of individuals involved in design and construction. Nowadays, architects are mainly responsible for the issues related to aesthetics, form, a...

There has been a significant gap between the tools used for the design of a building's architectural form and those that evaluate the structural physics of that form. Seeking to bring the perspectives of visual design and structural engineering closer together, we developed and evaluated a design tool for students and practitioners to explore the i...

Simulations can be powerful learning tools that allow students to explore and understand concepts in ways that are not possible in typical classroom settings. However, research is lacking as to how to use simulations most effectively in different types of learning environments. To address this need, the authors designed a study to examine the impac...

What an instructor does on the first day of a course can impact students' motivation in the course. To build upon these prior research findings, we implemented a first-day intervention to influence students' motivation by increasing their perceptions of course interest, course usefulness, and instructor caring. The participants were undergraduate s...

The MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation and a model of domain identification have been shown to be useful models to explain students' motivation. We used these models to examine the extent to which students' perceptions of a first-year engineering cornerstone course affected their engineering identification and motivational beliefs (i.e., engineerin...

The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence to confirm the theoretical factor structure of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation that was developed to help instructors understand how current motivation research can be applied to instruction. We hypothesised the MUSIC model as a hierarchical five-factor correlated model and compared...

In this paper, we describe and reflect on our experiences building a full-featured Web3D design tool for architects and structural engineers: the Structure And Form Analysis System (SAFAS). The SAFAS intends to tighten the design cycle for space frame structures by coupling an interactive 3D design interface with a structural simulation server. In...

Immersive display features can improve performance for tasks involving 3D, but determining which types of spatial analysis tasks are affected by immersive display features for different applications is not simple. This research adds to the knowledge of how the level of display fidelity (i.e., the realism provided by the display output) affects task...

Students who view intelligence as malleable tend to be more academically motivated and perform at higher levels than students who view it as a fixed trait. We examined the beliefs of students from Malawi because the culture and schooling process in this country is very different from some other areas of the world in which students' views of intelli...

The aim of this study was to examine the factors that motivate students in large online courses. Specifically, the purposes were: (a) to document how highly men and women rated motivational beliefs in a large online course; (b) to determine why men and women rated their motivational beliefs the way in which they did; and (c) to provide recommendati...

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether any of the six motivational constructs in the expectancy-value model of motivation (i.e., expectancy, ability perceptions, intrinsic interest value, attainment value, social utility value, and cost) would predict whether students intended to have a career teaching classroom music or performin...

This article describes the development of an instrument to assess beliefs about standardized testing in schools, a topic of much heated debate. The Beliefs About Standardized Testing scale was developed to measure the extent to which individuals support high-stakes standardized testing. The 9-item scale comprises three subscales, which measure beli...

We examined how students" motivation differed when they participated in three different types of mind mapping activities: one activity that was completed individually outside of class time, one that was completed individually in class with the instructor available for help, and one that was completed in class with other students and the instructor...

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical practice suggested as a possible way to promote learning outcomes, such as the ABET criteria. PBL is also gaining traction as a possible way to promote student motivation and retention in engineering programs, although research within this regard is still limited. Understanding the relationship between...

Studio STEM adopts a design studio model to provide middle school youth with the opportunity to work with peers and college student facilitators after school in a relaxed, non-threatening, collaborative environment. Two informal learning educators guided overall instruction and pacing, but youth directed their own step-by-step activities by appropr...

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach that has been identified as promoting learning outcomes consistent with ABET criteria. Although the learning benefits of PBL have been well documented, little is known about the effects of PBL on students’ motivation and engagement in learning. As problem-based approaches are becoming more wide...

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons why undergraduate music majors pursue a career in music performance. The authors surveyed music majors at seven institutions and asked them about the main reasons as to why they were considering a career in music performance. Participant responses yielded qualitative data that the authors coded,...

Blackwell et al. (Child Development 78(1):246–263, 2007) tested a motivational model of achievement in which an incremental theory of intelligence leads to learning goals and positive effort beliefs, which leads to fewer ability-based, helpless attributions, and more positive strategies, which leads to improved grades. In the present study, we test...

Introduction: The MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation consists of psychological components (i.e., empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) that have been derived from research and theory as ones that are critical to student engagement in academic settings. The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine whether men and women rate thes...

Our research project compares two first-year engineering course project pedagogies to identify approaches that enhance the likelihood of women continuing in engineering majors and entering engineering careers. Specifically, we compare the problem-based learning (PBL) model to a more general experiential learning approach centered on the engineering...

B ackground Researchers have identified many factors affecting undergraduate engineering students' achievement and persistence. Yet, much of this research focuses on persistence within academia, with less attention to career plans after graduation. Furthermore, the relative influence of expectancy‐versus value‐related beliefs on students' achieveme...

The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons why undergraduate music students choose a career in teaching classroom music and how these reasons are related to their beliefs about their identification with teaching classroom music, identification with music performance, teaching talent, and performance talent. Participants included 143 stude...

According to the National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, one of the ultimate goals of studying a foreign language is to better understand different cultures. To this end, we implemented a project in an undergraduate foreign language course that promoted a systematic inquiry-based approach to learning about the Hispanic culture. Th...