Biography
Dr. Avi Kaplan’s research interests focus on student and teacher motivation and identity development, with particular interest in the role of the environment in these processes. His recent research involves the application of the complex dynamic systems approach to identity and motivation, and employing collaborative design-based interventions that focus on promoting educators’ and students’ motivation and identity exploration around the curriculum. His recent publications include chapters in the 2012 APA Educational Psychology Handbook on the application of motivation theory to educational practice, in the 2016 Handbook of Motivation at School on learning environments and motivation, and in the 2019 Advances in Motivation and Achievement volume on motivation and identity in the 21st century. Avi is a Fellow of the Association of Psychological Science, of Division 15 of the American Psychological Association, and of the Eastern Psychological Association. He is the former editor of the Journal of Experimental Education, and serves on the editorial boards of the Educational Psychologist, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and Contemporary Educational Psychology.
Research Interests
- Motivation
- Identity
- Learning Environments
Courses Taught
Number | Name | Level |
|---|---|---|
EDUC 5402 | Child and Adol Develop | Graduate |
EDUC 8501 | Motivation in Education | Graduate |
EPSY 5523 | Introduction to Educational Psychology | Graduate |
EPSY 5561 | Development and Learning Over the Lifespan | Graduate |
HIED 8262 | Advanced Practice-Based Qualitative Research in Higher Education | Graduate |
Selected Publications
Recent
Mara, K., Kaplan, A., Balsai, M., Cromley, J., Perez, T., & Dai, T. (2021). How instructors can enhance biology students' motivation, learning, and grades through brief relevance writing and worked-example interventions. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 22(2). doi: 10.1128/JMBE.00110-21.
Garner, J. & Kaplan, A. (2021). A complex dynamic systems approach to the design and evaluation of teacher professional development. Professional Development in Education, 47(2-3), 289-314. doi: 10.1080/19415257.2021.1879231.
Carver, A., Garner, J., Kaplan, A., & Pugh, K. (2021). Visitors’ attendance motivation and meaning making at a public science event. International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement, 11(1), 75-89. doi: 10.1080/21548455.2021.1874620.
Hathcock, S., Garner, J., & Kaplan, A. (2020). Examining micro-change within and among science teachers' identities: A multiple case study. Science Education, 104(5), 827-856. doi: 10.1002/sce.21577.
Kaplan, A. & Garner, J. (2020). Steps for Applying the Complex Dynamical Systems Approach in Educational Research: A Guide for the Perplexed Scholar. Journal of Experimental Education, 88(3), 486-502. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2020.1745738.
Kaplan, A., Cromley, J., Perez, T., Dai, T., Mara, K., & Balsai, M. (2020). The Role of Context in Educational RCT Findings: A Call to Redefine “Evidence-Based Practice”. Educational Researcher, 49(4), 285-288. doi: 10.3102/0013189X20921862.
Urdan, T. & Kaplan, A. (2020). The origins, evolution, and future directions of achievement goal theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101862.
Garner, J., Kaplan, A., Hathcock, S., & Bergey, B. (2020). Concept Mapping as a Mechanism for Assessing Science Teachers’ Cross-Disciplinary Field-Based Learning. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 31(1), 8-33. doi: 10.1080/1046560X.2019.1625573.
Bergey, B., Ranellucci, J., & Kaplan, A. (2019). The conceptualization of costs and barriers of a teaching career among Latino preservice teachers. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101794.
Kaplan, A., Neuber, A., & Garner, J. (2019). An identity systems perspective on high ability in self-regulated learning. High Ability Studies, 30(1-2), 53-78. doi: 10.1080/13598139.2019.1568830.
Perez, T., Dai, T., Kaplan, A., Cromley, J., Brooks, W., White, A., Mara, K., & Balsai, M. (2019). Interrelations among expectancies, task values, and perceived costs in undergraduate biology achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 72, 26-38. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2019.04.001.
Garner, J. & Kaplan, A. (2019). A complex dynamic systems perspective on teacher learning and identity formation: an instrumental case. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 25(1), 7-33. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2018.1533811.
Kaplan, A., Garner, J., & Brock, B. (2019). Identity and motivation in a changing world: A complex dynamic systems perspective. In Advances in Motivation and Achievement, 20 (pp. 101-127). doi: 10.1108/S0749-742320190000020006.
O'Shea, A. & Kaplan, A. (2018). Disability identity and use of services among college students with psychiatric disabilities. Qualitative Psychology, 5(3), 358-379. doi: 10.1037/qup0000099.
Hartwell, M. & Kaplan, A. (2018). Students' Personal Connection with Science: Investigating the Multidimensional Phenomenological Structure of Self-Relevance. Journal of Experimental Education, 86(1), 86-104. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2017.1381581.
Kaplan, A. & Garner, J. (2018). Teacher identity and motivation: The dynamic systems model of role identity. In Research on Teacher Identity: Mapping Challenges and Innovations (pp. 71-82). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-93836-3_7.
Kaplan, A. & Garner, J. (2017). A complex dynamic systems perspective on identity and its development: The dynamic systems model of role identity. Developmental Psychology, 53(11), 2036-2051. doi: 10.1037/dev0000339.
Granit-Dgani, D., Kaplan, A., & Flum, H. (2017). Theory-based assessment in environmental education: a tool for formative evaluation. Environmental Education Research, 23(2), 269-299. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2016.1144172.
Madjar, N., Weinstock, M., & Kaplan, A. (2017). Epistemic beliefs and achievement goal orientations: Relations between constructs versus personal profiles. Journal of Educational Research, 110(1), 32-49. doi: 10.1080/00220671.2015.1034353.
Kaplan, A. & Yahia, Y. (2017). High school students’ academic causal attributions in the cultural-political context of the Arab school system in Israel. Intercultural Education, 28(1), 60-74. doi: 10.1080/14675986.2016.1271558.