Assessment can accomplish so much more than assigning a grade! It can deepen the bonds of trust and shared commitment between teacher and student--and among students--helping the class see that when it comes to mastering content, they're all in it together. With this 8-page durable guide that is part of our Curiosity Works® series, teachers can…

This manual adapts the pedagogy used on the playing field, the studio, and the stage to the classroom. This method, called "Pep Talk," encourages teachers to: (1) create a need to know; (2) challenge students to know; (3) show how to know; (4) apply know-how; and (5) know how to inspire cooperation. Pep talk is the method coaches use when they…

Discusses the failure of students with learning disabilities to complete their homework assignments, lists criteria for planning assignments to motivate secondary students, and offers suggestions on procedures and outcomes for inviting students to participate in the assignment completion process. An Assignment Idea Chart is provided. (CR)

This synthesis derived from literature on effective teaching and learning motivation consolidates the current and best knowledge available for post-secondary educators interested in instructional improvement. It presents ten key motivating principles which graduate teaching assistants and other educators can use to inform their instructional…

Describes potential role of flow experiences in motivating students to learn. Discusses the characteristics of flow: goals are clear, feedback is immediate, skills match challenges, concentration is deep, problems are forgotten, control is possible, self-consciousness disappears, sense of time is altered, and experience becomes autotelic. Then…

The article describes a data-based method by which teachers can differentiate motivational problems from learning problems and increase the academic performance of learners with mildly handicapping conditions. The method involves graphing work attempted and percentage correct, reinforcing work attempted, and analyzing performance data for…

This booklet presents parents with 10 "easy and fun" tips for helping their children be motivated to learn, value learning, and achieve his or her best. The 10 tips in the booklet are: be a model of curiosity; encourage your child's natural curiosity; praise and reward efforts to learn; solve real problems; lay out the steps to success; show…

The article raises concerns about educational approaches which rely heavily on extrinsic reinforcers and offers instructional guidelines to promote intrinsic motivation in children with learning problems. Stressed is the importance of mediational dynamics between teacher and student in the learning process. (DB)

This document offers teaching tips to be used if, on administration of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), a class were to present a profile of scores that would suggest the need for help in one or more of the motivation or learning strategies areas assessed by the MSLQ. Some tips are supported by research; others are based…

Guidelines for use by school practitioners in assessing students' motivation to learn are presented. Most of the instruments reviewed and literature discussed pertain primarily to the academic motivation and achievement of students in kindergarten through grade 12. Most are paper-and-pencil, self-report, group-administered measures that can be…

This book, one of a series, shows how to help motivate children to learn. The message of the series urges parents and children to spend time together, talk about stories, and learn together. The first part of each book presents stories appropriate for varying grade levels, both younger children and those in grades three and four, and each book…

Taking into consideration the motivational needs of different students, the book discusses both internal and external motivators such as attaining a sense of achievement or leadership versus earning a physical reward such as candy or a field trip. These and other motivating factors are then incorporated into discussions of how to create productive…

Describes and interprets what 65 elementary and secondary classroom teachers revealed about the techniques and importance of generating student interest in content areas. Finds that generating interest was considered a major aspect of teaching, and the most successful technique was "hands on" activities, including doing, planning, and…

The Enneagram is a model of human consciousness. It describes each of the nine strategies that people adopt to understand the world and others. This guidebook is intended to be used with the video of the same name, which describes the nine perspectives on learning. The book provides a Type-related context to the comments made by the students on…

Noncoercive student management practices to promote quality school work are examined in this book, which is based on the assertion that student motivation to perform quality work should not be compromised by focusing on minimal goals, such as dropout reduction and discipline problems. Replacement of the traditional coercive, divisive management…