Although teacher enthusiasm is a relevant variable in the teaching context, a clear definition is still lacking. Research on teacher enthusiasm is characterized by ambiguous conceptualizations of enthu siasm as either an affective characteristic of teachers or behaviors of expressiveness. Integrating these two notions, a new conceptualization of dispositional teacher enthusiasm, defined by teachers' positive affect and positive emotional expressivity, was developed. It was hypothesized that dispositional teacher enthusiasm would relate to students' interest, mediated by students' perceived teacher enthusiasm. Based on a correlational study design, secondary teachers (N ¼ 75) from Switzerland reported on their enthusiasm, complemented by student ratings (N ¼ 1523) on perceived enthusiasm and interest. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that dispositional teacher enthusiasm positively pre dicted students' interest, which was fully mediated by students' perceived enthusiasm, providing the basis of a valid definition of teacher enthusiasm. Based on this integrative definition, implications for future research are discussed.

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The present study examined the relationships between perceived leadership, group cohesion, online engagement, self-regulation and learning outcomes. Data included surveys and online discussion logs from 171 students in an undergraduate online course. Through correlation analysis and structural equation modeling, the results revealed unique contributions of task and relationship leadership in small group collaborative learning. Each form of leadership may translate into greater use of selfregulation strategies that align with students' focus on either the instrumental or interpersonal resources related to academics but may bring about a corresponding lower utilization of other types of self-regulation strategies. Further, results indicate that students' perceptions of group cohesion provided the most robust and multifaceted positive associations with learning engagement.Online posting and reading as behavioral engagement in online discussions Behavioral engagement refers to on-task behavior, compliance with school rules, classroom participation or the involvement in extracurricular activities. In online settings where students' 3

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