Discusses how to motivate students to learn history. Suggests using primary sources, relating subject matter to what students already know, and avoiding lectures whenever possible. Recommends formulating goals in advance, preparing reading lists, preparing questions for students, and assigning individual projects. Argues that such a course will…

An investigation of the effects of integrative and instrumental motivation on the learning of French/English vocabulary demonstrated that both types of motivation facilitated learning, and that computer administration of an attitude/motivation test battery did not detract from the internal consistency reliability of the subscales. (19 references)…

Adults participating in an Ulpan method Welsh program were surveyed to determine their motivation for learning Welsh and for choosing an intensive course. Integration was found to be the major motivating factor for studying Welsh and the students believed that an immersion setting would result in superior language learning. (JL)

An Ohio school board member contends that standardized tests wrongly assume a standardized test-taking population and that legislatures and others believe education is not successful unless students pass tests. Believes the goal should be to help all students perform up to their own potential and to instill in children a love of learning. (MLF)

Concerned that many students were barely surviving introductory chemistry rather than thriving, one college teacher used classroom research to assess and encourage student involvement and to understand students' difficulties with the material. Although student achievement has not risen measurably, students appreciate the techniques and participate…

Describes a questionnaire sent to 90 publishing researchers who were members of college music faculties asking why they engaged in research activities and what specific rewards they believe were obtained because of their research. States that the main reasons for research were intellectual curiosity, enjoyment, self-improvement, and perceived…

Suggests that music and drama offer excellent opportunities for "pleasant repetition," a practice of structures and vocabulary that is motivational and contextualized. (Author/VWL)

Examines the mindset of six educators who work successfully with juvenile offenders. Based on personal interviews, explores how these educators maintain their will to help, despite a barrage of discouraging evidence that would dampen the motivation of many. (Author/GCP)

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…

British nurses (n=275), many of whom had to upgrade skills for conversion to registered nursing, participated in an upskilling exercise. Participants and a comparison group of nonparticipants were categorized as either opportunity-takers or conscripts (those who viewed retraining as obligatory). (SK)

Investigates the effects of two types of motivation--integrative and instrumental--on the English proficiency of English-as-a-foreign-language senior students at Islamic Azad University of Kerman. Results showed a significant difference between the means of the English proficiency scores of the integratively motivated students and the…

Presents a rationale for learner-centered education. Outlines learner-centered psychological principles in terms of cognition/metacognition, motivational/affective, and developmental/social factors. Discusses research on the impact of teachers' beliefs and perceptions on teaching practices. (Contains 37 references.) (SK)

Explores the ongoing, complex, and difficult task of trying to inspire students. Discusses some of a teacher's first steps toward learning how to inspire, including a good will toward students, a trust in the significance of the momentary encounter, and a confidence in the significance of the subject and passionate attachment to its truths. (EV)

This study investigated the relationship among new measures of motivation, such as persistence, attention, and goal specificity, and existing measures of motivation and achievement in 75 students enrolled in a francophone secondary school in Ontario. It concluded that these new motivational measures add to the understanding of the effects of…

Addresses the role of multiple goals, both mastery and performance goals, and links them to multiple outcomes of motivation, affect, strategy use, and performance. Data from 8th and 9th graders (N=150) reveal that, in line with normative goal therapy, mastery goals were adaptive; but also that performance goals, when coupled with mastery goals,…