#student-engagement

#student-engagement

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced the winners of its fourth annual "Name a Snowplow" contest on Dec. 19, 2025, unveiling 12 clever names for plows that will be in service during the 2025-2026 winter season. The statewide competition invites elementary and middle school students to dream up creative names for the agency's fleet, drawing entries from public school classrooms across the Commonwealth.

Extrinsic motivation (also known as external motivation) involves using rewards such as praise, stickers, or grades to encourage effort and engagement. Such extrinsic rewards can work to boost student motivation, and extrinsic motivation has its place, but it is often not enough to maintain engagement in the long term. Too often, the "external payoff" isn't enough to sustain efforts, especially when the task seems overwhelming.

Since 2020, faculty, staff and administrators have noticed a trend among incoming college students: They don't know how to make friends. Data affirms this-fewer students said they studied with classmates, volunteered or participated in clubs or organizations in 2023 than in 2019, according to a 2025 report from the Student Experience in the Research University Consortium. At the same time, student engagement and belonging correlate with academic success.

"You keep everyone on campus, have them fed, give them water, give them drinks, and people stay to watch another movie and talk between screenings," festival associate director Emma Hannaway told me. "We want people to go out and explore Baltimore-have a morning or something-but most of your time should be spent here, and that's what we like." The entire fest is contained to one city block in the Station North neighborhood,

You're in the pick-up line waiting for your little darling, and finally your kid slumps into the car. You ask the obligatory question, "So, how was school today?" It's only week two, but by now you know the dreaded response. After another soul-searching day at school, they mutter, "When am I ever going to use this junk?" Sound familiar? Before you launch into your well-rehearsed lecture about education's importance, consider this: Your child might be right.

Witnessing students who once struggled feel the joy of understanding math is the most rewarding part of teaching. The moment they grasp a concept is priceless.

Many students associate mindfulness with boredom and sitting still. To combat this, it's essential to present practices in engaging ways that resonate with their curiosity.

I think my research has made me a better educator - and my role as an educator has made me a better researcher. Running discussion sessions for the Society and Natural Resources and Environmental Governance course has been among the most memorable and meaningful aspects of my Ph.D.

Colleges can offer undocumented students non-employment-based educational opportunities (NEBOs) to develop personal, academic and professional skills that also provide students with financial aid.

The truth table for the material conditional often confuses students because a false antecedent yields a true conditional, challenging intuitive understandings of logic.

Being right is kind of like a drug—once you get the buzz of such confirmation, you want it again and again.

Witnessing the subtle ways that the once familiar nylon carpet-laden halls have changed feels like staring at a flipped portrait of yourself.

First-year composition classes provide essential skills for students to learn to articulate disagreement respectfully, fostering a new way to participate in public discourse.

The Green Ribbon program provides a template for schools to focus on reducing environmental costs, improving health and wellness, and increasing environmental literacy among students.