Because low-achieving second-grade students were not motivated to acquire math skills, a teacher employed at a large, inner-city elementary school with a black student population implemented a practicum aiming to improve acquisition of mathematics skills. Major causes of the problem were the lack of manipulative materials for concept development,…

Outlines a year-long program for fifth-grade students who feel shy and insecure about writing and/or who make gross spelling errors. Emphasis is on remedial spelling activities. (RH)

By exploring languages other than their own, children can learn important concepts about the nature of language. The center described here was designed to help a class of sixth graders understand that within their own structure languages assign meanings to symbols arbitrarily and to stimulate interest in the way languages operate. (Author)

Examines the degree to which experiencing confusion during the acquisition of new academic material differentially affects classroom performance of helpless and mastery-oriented fifth-graders. Provides an initial test of a theoretical approach to understanding differences between male and female performances in different subject areas. (AS)

Because intermediate grade students were not working up to their potential, a coordinator of elementary school instruction implemented a practicum to increase students' motivation. In-service meetings were held with six intermediate grade teachers from each of two schools for the purpose of planning techniques and devising activities for…

This text reviews academic, emotional, motivational, and social learning theories that help children to be their own teachers and teachers to be aware of the advantages of taking charge of one's own learning, rather than depending on teacher education methodology. Learning is described as more than learning facts and figures or directive…

While it is commonly assumed that teaching children is unrelated to teaching at the advanced level, the two kinds of teaching are closely related and mutually effective. The experience of teaching young learners can benefit the instruction of college students of English as a second language. In both cases, providing motivation is a challenge.…

Teachers are faced with the effects of the fragmentation of the family structure and an increasing number of children who are neglected, misbehave, and have trouble with learning. This book offers a solution to teachers in a system bound by legal educational requirements based on the various labels given children in schools today. The book is…

This book explores ways that teachers can work to motivate elementary, middle, or high school students who have lost interest in learning by explaining motivation and providing suggestions for student and teacher empowerment. It opens with two case illustrations of difficult to reach students and invites the reader to offer their response. The…