Welcome to the Motivation & Academic Success Research Lab!

Because all students deserve más—more opportunity, more support, more success​​

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Mission

We advance equitable educational research and practice by investigating how motivation and identity shape learning experiences and outcomes for diverse college students.

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About the Lab

The MAS Research Lab conducts research on motivation, learning, and identity in higher education. Our work unfolds across three interconnected research areas:

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Motivation: We investigate what drives students to engage, persist, and succeed. This includes studying the factors that shape motivation, understanding how motivation influences learning outcomes, and developing and testing interventions designed to enhance students' motivational beliefs and behaviors.

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Identity: We examine how students' identities—including race, gender, social class, and reader identity—shape their educational experiences and learning outcomes. Using intersectional frameworks, we explore how multiple, overlapping identity dimensions influence students' achievement across diverse educational contexts.

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Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): We bridge research and practice by studying effective teaching approaches, with a particular focus on motivation-enhancing pedagogies. This work translates empirical findings into actionable strategies that support student learning in real classroom environments.

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Our research spans contexts from reading to online learning environments and draws on theoretical frameworks including situated expectancy-value theory, self-determination theory, and social cognitive theory. Through rigorous, theoretically grounded research, we work to understand and support the success of all college students.

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