Yan Yang, Ph.D.

Dr. Yan Yang is a tenured Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of West Georgia, holding a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and an M.A. in Linguistics. She teaches educational psychology courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels, focusing on innovative strategies like individualized project-based learning (iPBL) to enhance student engagement and the practical relevance of learning.

Dr. Yang’s research explores motivation in distance learning and diversity in education. Beyond her teaching and research, she actively contributes to the academic community through editorial board service, journal reviews, and participation in conferences.

  • PhD, Educational Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 2009

Spring 2025 Sections

Fall 2024 Sections

Fall 2023 Sections

Spring 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Summer 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Summer 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Yang, Y. (In Press). An Exploratory Value-Cost Approach in Predicting College Students’ Achievement Goals in Multicultural Education. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology.

Yang, Y. (2018). Knowledge or Praxis? An Attributional Perspective in Multicultural Teacher Education. Hauppauge, NY: NOVA. [View Publication External Resource]

Yang, Y., Cox, C., & Cho, Y. (2019). Development and Initial Validation of Cultural Competence Inventory - Preservice Teachers. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. [View Publication External Resource]

Human Motivation

I specialize in research-based application of human motivation theory to instructions and human interactions.