Translating Research to Practice

In our lab, we value the production of knowledge that contributes to scientific knowledge in social psychology, motivation science, and education. In our view, however, producing knowledge is necessary but not sufficient for meeting our goals. We view the translation of research to practice and the communication of how to apply our research findings to communities that will benefit from it as essential to our mission. We carry out this part of our mission in a wide variety of ways, and on this page we provide a few examples. 

Professional Development Courses

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To improve equitable student outcomes, we must change policies and behaviors throughout our educational institutions, rather than trying to “change” the students. 

Although we do not have an in-house curriculum development team, we work closely with other organizations to develop and facilitate professional development opportunities. For example,in his work with Motivate Lab, Dr. Thoman helped create the Motivating Learners Course (MLC). The MLC is a professional development course drawn heavily from motivation science and education research on learning mindsets. This two-part, hands-on course equips instructors to kick off their courses with motivationally-supportive tools and language designed to excite students for the semester ahead and sustain that motivation via pedagogical practices.

With support from the College Futures Foundation and the California State University GI 2025 program, we have been able to offer this course (free of charge) to hundreds of instructors across several California State University campuses. Motivate Lab uses the MLC as a key professional development tool in its partnerships with several state higher education systems. 

For more information, visit the Motivate Lab