A multitude of factors affect the attitudes and behaviors that students bring to the learning situation. This document discusses some motivation-related terms and concepts. It then examines several factors that affect students' basic beliefs about and attitudes toward learning. The first section differentiates between the following terms: ability…

Developed as part of a symposium on alternative learning and teaching methods for high-risk learners at all grade levels, six papers are presented along with an introduction by Sharon La Pierre. "What the Arts Teach: Comments on the Arts, Cognition and Learning" (Elliot Eisner) discusses the ways in which the arts teach qualities not addressed in…

Collaborative learning strategies can improve the learning of subject matter in content area classrooms, but they are only one aspect among many that influence how much learning will take place in a class period. The Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) is an effective teaching/learning strategy to use with content area material. Much of the…

This report examines whether cooperative learning can be used to promote individual achievement, and identifies conditions under which a benefit can be expected. Two experiments were conducted at the Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, Virginia. The first experiment compared test performance of 280 trainees after they had completed practical exercises…

The value of accelerated learning techniques developed by the national organization for Suggestive Accelerated Learning Techniques (SALT) was tested in a study using Administrative Policy students taking the capstone course in the Eastern Washington University School of Business. Educators have linked the brain and how it functions to various…

This manual describes the theory behind the Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ) used in Australia and defines what the subscale and scale scores mean. The LPQ is a 36-item self-report questionnaire that yields scores on three basic motives for learning and three learning strategies, and on the approaches to learning that are formed by these…

Examining the overseas experience of language learners in diverse contexts through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, studies in this volume look at the acquisition of language use, socialization processes, learner motivation, identity and learning strategies. In this way, the volume offers a privileged window into learner…

Discusses the following factors influencing learning: (1) environment; (2) emotional makeup; (3) persistence; (4) timing of learning; (5) teaching method; (6) cognitive style; (7) food intake; and (8) psychological factors, including the difference between analytical and global thinking. Discusses how to get a sense of one's personal learning…

Investigated whether specific strategies of commenting or questioning by the adult reader would influence the complexity and type of spontaneous comments to story details made by children listening to stories. Results suggest that parents and teachers should combine questioning and commenting during storybook readings to induce lengthier comments…

There is continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy, both as an effective means and valid goal of a language learning curriculum. However, the concept is recognised as emanating from Western tertiary educational contexts and as open to question in different sociocultural settings. This paper reports on a study of language learning…

This qualitative study investigated older Russian immigrants' reasons for studying English, their learning strategies, and barriers to their progress. Ten men and women in their 60s and 70s were interviewed. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings indicated that the participants' motivation for learning English was to…

One need not visit many classes to discover some students not sufficiently energized to do the work necessary to learn. Many of these same students, however, immerse themselves in complex computerized mystery/adventure games, becoming so engaged by the experience they lose track of time. Designers invest much of their energy in trying to figure…

This curriculum guide is a systematic instructional strategy designed to enhance the intrinsic motivation of learning disabled adolescents. The complete strategy encompasses three major phases. Phase P (Preparing for Challenges) describes steps in preparing the classroom environment and presenting program goals to students. Phase A (Attacking…

The bibliography contains 64 annotated references to journal articles and other sources of information about individual difference correlates of second language achievement. The journal articles appeared between 1984 and 1987. Where available, abstracts contained in the original articles are used; these are marked with asterisks. Entries are coded…

This manual describes the theory behind the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and explains what the subscale and scale scores mean. The SPQ is a 42-item self-report questionnaire used in Australia to assess the extent to which a tertiary student at a college or university endorses different approaches to learning and the motives and strategies…