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…

This paper explores the research of the learning styles manifested in the middle school classroom and the implications those differences have to a successful teaching-learning paradigm. Various projects in the field are examined, including how students are profiled, how instructional methods can be modified to suit the needs of each learner, and…

This practicum was designed to enhance the academic achievement of high school students in English in a suburban community in southeastern New England. Through a 12-week program of study skills introduced in the English 9 collaborative classroom, the practicum aimed to enable students to recognize their best learning strategies. A pre- and…

In machine learning there is considerable interest in techniques which improve planning ability. Initial investigations have identified a wide variety of techniques to address this issue. Progress has been hampered by the utility problem, a basic tradeoff between the benefit of learned knowledge and the cost to locate and apply relevant knowledge.…

The difficulties that students with learning disabilities experience in cooperative learning activities include failure to attend to their peers, low levels of participation, inappropriate interactions with peers, and inactive learning. Three techniques are suggested to improve performance during cooperative learning activities. The first…

This paper presents study results concerning the nature of successful academic performance, specifically examining to what extent self-regulated learning played a role in successful academic performance at the college level. (Self-regulated learning is defined as the integration and utilization of cognitive, metacognitive, motivational,…

The "Teach Me To... Teach Me, Too!" program is designed to meet the needs of secondary students with disabilities within the regular educational setting and with the regular educational curriculum. It utilizes a team teaching approach, allowing the regular educator and the special educator to work as a true team in an efficient and…

This issue of a newsletter from the American Bar Association emphasizes teaching about crime and punishment. The first article offers an overview of the diversity and common assumptions that underpin the teaching of criminology. Student interest in crime and criminology creates an opportunity for instructors interested in challenging students'…

This paper presents four studies which illustrate the variety of deficits in executive function displayed by individuals with autism. The concept of executive function is used to encompass all the mental operations which are involved in self-reflective and goal-directed behavior. Four forms of executive control are addressed: mental disengagement,…

This paper presents a model for implementation of behavior therapies in adventure programs that use Group Adventure Initiative Tasks (GAITs) to promote personal development. Behavior therapies include various techniques and processes based in learning and pedagogical theory and used to promote changes in behavioral responses to environmental…

Chemistry Quickies is not a textbook, but it can be used as a supplement to chemistry textbooks because it presents a questioning approach to critical thinking and critical reading. Since the book was arranged for daily sequence without dependence on topic grouping, students acquaint themselves with their textbooks through deliberate exploration…

The papers in this volume outline a vision for teacher education based on the concept of contextual teaching, defined as teaching that enables learning in a variety of in- and out-of-school contexts to solve simulated or real-world problems. They are based on the realization that the construction of knowledge is situated within, and greatly…

This practicum was designed to increase the use of study skills of sixth-grade students in the social studies. Study skills pretests were administered to students with results showing student difficulties in acquiring the concepts of social studies and achieving passing scores on tests. A unit on study skills was integrated within each chapter…

This study addresses the inability of eleventh-grade students to critically analyze and evaluate literature used in the classroom. The study was conducted in a medium-sized rural community in northern Illinois. Sixteen teachers and 24 students participated in the study. Surveys, analysis of standardized test scores, past performance in English…

This second issue of a new journal presents six essays all on the theme of the imagination. New programming at the Touchstone Center has begun to focus on the importance of finding new forums for reflecting upon the place of the imagination in people's lives. The essays in this issue come from presenters in recent public lectures and workshops…