If students are explicitly taught about their brain's capacity to change, their motivation to learn can greatly increase. Marcus Conyers and Donna Wilson, author of "Developing Growth Mindsets," share examples from elementary to high school classrooms where students who are taught about brain plasticity show a greater potential for…

Helping young people develop good hearts and good minds is key to developing emotionally healthy kids. Carol Ann Tomlinson lays out some principles for educators to both teach and practice as they guide students to becoming more human in their minds and hearts. Developing healthy minds involves more than simply building academic knowledge. It also…

Drawing on their research in creating the Vibrant School Scale, Megan Tschannen-Moran and Davis Clement describe the three characteristics of vibrant schools: enlivened minds, emboldened voices, and playful learning. The authors also detail a four-step, strengths-based process called appreciative inquiry that can help school members have…

Personalized learning has the potential to greatly improve student achievement--but realistic teachers know that any instructional strategy will only be effective if students are willing to do the work. That is why Larry Ferlazzo emphasizes the importance of weaving intrinsic motivation into every personalized learning classroom. Four key elements…

Psychologists and researchers have long puzzled over questions regarding "curiosity" and have more or less settled on a two-pronged definition as: (1) trait curiosity (an intrinsic drive for exploration and learning); and (2) state curiosity (an interest sparked by external conditions). Many studies have shown that human beings are…

Genius Hour is a time built into the school day or week to enable students to actively create their learning rather than passively consume it. During the time set aside for Genius Hour, students choose what they will learn about, the strategies they will use to learn it, the pace of their work, the materials and resources they will use, and the…

The author has looked at four decades of scientific research on human motivation and found a mismatch between what science tells us and what organizations actually do. In this interview with "Educational Leadership," Pink shares his insights on how schools can create more optimal conditions for learning--and how they can dial up…

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the time spent talking about, preparing for, and taking tests has increased exponentially in schools. The authors contend that all this testing has done little to increase achievement or close achievement gaps, but has had unintended negative consequences. "The tests," they write,…

Kindergarten students in the Portland, Oregon, Writing to Read program are learning to use typewriters and computers to write creatively even before they begin using conventional spelling based on the assumption that children are curious about language. A 13-item reference list is provided. (Author/DCS)

When teaching to the "typical" student doesn't work, teachers can tap into students' areas of greatest comfort, confidence, and passion and teach to their strengths. Five principles guide this work, which involves learning to recognize diverse student strengths, helping students see their capabilities in a positive light, helping students…

Educators commonly believe that praising students' intelligence builds their confidence and motivation to learn and that students' inherent intelligence is the major cause of their school achievement. The author's research shows that, on the contrary, praising students' intelligence can be problematic. Praise is intricately connected to how…

Synthesizes the conclusions drawn from a literature review on principles for motivating students to learn. Outlines numerous pointers for creating essential learning preconditions and for motivating, including maintaining high expectations, supplying extrinsic incentives, and capitalizing on students' intrinsic motivation. Provides strategies for…

Incarceration, mandatory education, and the freedom to learn all present confounding, yet novel realities for Arizona State Prison inmates assessed below eighth grade levels in reading, language, or mathematics. A profound transition occurs when prisoners choose to succeed in this second-chance program. When they truly appreciate learning's…

When they write on topics with personal meaning and read one another's papers to see whether they are communicating, even hard-to-teach students recognize the power of language and their ability to use it. An 11-item reference list is provided. (Author/DCS)