The Common Instrument Suite

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

The fundamental ideas in John Dewey’s 1913 essay, Interest and Effort in Education, are as true today as they were when he published it more than a century ago. His key point was that interest can motivate students to undertake efforts that may not be immediately engaging, and once they are engaged, they will start to develop skills and knowledge, leading to intellectual growth and development. The importance of interest and motivation is reflected in A Framework for K–12 Science Education, which states that “Learning science depends not only on the accumulation of facts and concepts, but also on the development of an identity as a competent learner of science with motivation and interest to learn more” (NRC 2012, p. 286).

Keywords:

• Administration
• Teacher Preparation
• Informal Education

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Noyce Foundation (now STEM Next Opportunity Fund), as well as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the National Science Foundation for their support in developing these assessment instruments. We also want to acknowledge Dr. Patricia Allen for her careful reading, critique, and intellectual support of this paper.

Dimensions of Success is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1008591. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Author Contributions

Cary Sneider ([email protected]) is a visiting scholar at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Gil G. Noam ([email protected]) is founder and director of The PEAR Institute at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cary Sneider

Cary Sneider ([email protected]) is a visiting scholar at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Gil G. Noam

Gil G. Noam ([email protected]) is founder and director of The PEAR Institute at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.