Enhancing Adolescents' Motivation for Science: Research-Based Strategies for Teaching Male and Female Students

Because motivation is the key to scientific literacy

Within every science classroom there are students waiting to be inspired. All these students need is the right motivation. That’s exactly what this one-of-a kind guide will help you provide. And along the way, you’ll quickly learn that the motivational tools that are most effective with adolescent boys don’t always work with adolescent girls―and vice versa.

At the heart of Enhancing Adolescents’ Motivation for Science is a collection of research-proven strategies on how best to motivate students in science―and once students are motivated, scientific literacy soon follows. Across chapters, Shumow and Schmidt
• Detail key motivational constructs specific to science with illustrative vignettes
• Address gender differences that influence how girls and boys are motivated
• Describe how to make science learning relevant, accessible, and enjoyable
• Reduce science anxiety and build student confidence, especially among girls
• Offer motivational strategies that are consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Much more than a professional book, Enhancing Adolescents’ Motivation for Science also includes a companion website packed with video clips, links, and tutorials. All in all, there’s no better resource for fueling the student motivation so central to science literacy.

"This is an impressive book. . . .One of the greatest challenges you face as a teacher is how to motivate all of your students―girls and boys―to learn science. In this book, Shumow and Schmidt help you to meet this challenge."
― Shawn M. Glynn,
Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor,
University of Georgia

"If you want to help your students succeed in science and could use some help achieving this goal, this book is for you. It is practical, driven by research, and has something for every science teacher to use."
― Randy Cook, Science Teacher
Tri County Area Schools, Howard City, MI

Lee Shumow is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Educational Psychology at Northern Illinois University. She teaches graduate level courses in adolescent development, family and community partnerships, and research methodology in learning environments. She began her career as a classroom teacher and is dedicated to preparing preservice teachers for middle and secondary school teaching. Her recent research has been dedicated to understanding the role of families and teachers in fostering adolescents’ school success.

Jennifer Schmidt is Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at Northern Illinois University. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology: Human Development from the University of Chicago. Her current research focuses on resilience, motivation, and adolescent engagement in daily challenges. She has been conducting research involving the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) for over 10 years. Dr. Schmidt is former Director of Research at the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work at the University of Chicago, where she directed an ESM study involving parents and children from 500 families across the United States. Her work to date has involved samples of children, adolescents, and adults. She has conducted ESM research within the context of families, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Dr. Schmidt has trained national and international teams of researchers in ESM study design, administration and analysis.