This publication provides information and activities for teaching about water, whether certain objects will sink or float, and process skills including observing, classifying, inferring, measuring, predicting, and collecting and interpreting data. There are 14 lessons in the unit. The first four lessons deal with the classification of objects and…

In order to be motivated to include reading aloud in classroom reading instruction, teachers sometimes need to be informed of the specific benefits this method provides. When children listen to stories being read aloud they become aware of story components, can recognize plot, character, and theme, and they learn that a story involves one or more…

Employing learned helplessness theory as a trait orientation, a study examined the interrelationships existing between instructor classroom behaviors, student perceptions of control, and student behavioral responses in the college classroom. Subjects, 317 male and female undergraduate students who were enrolled in communication courses at West…

Reported are data from the initial use of the Motivation Checklist, a rating scale for teachers designed to help them think about student motivation problems in terms of an extended, research-based typology. Over 50 teachers rated 261 students in grades one through six who differed in their level of motivation and in their level of achievement.…

The fine and performing arts have long been a part of the two-year college curriculum, though the organizational structures of the colleges have afforded these courses limited visibility and widely varying roles within the curriculum. In 1987, a study was conducted by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges to determine the goals and…

It is sometimes difficult to motivate Japanese students to learn English because it is not connected with their everyday life or interests. One method found to be effective at the college level in Japan is to teach students about other cultures in English by preparing slide programs with narration, vocabulary lists, and exercises, supported by…

This practicum was designed to enhance methods and procedures used with 15 low-achieving, disinterested, and disruptive seventh grade students assigned to a middle school's alternative education program. The primary goal of the practicum was to increase students' responsibility for their own actions and their attention to learning. A secondary…

This instructional packet is one of the components of "Work Skills," a set of competency-based instructional materials written for low-level readers that prepares students with specific job search and job keeping skills. ("Work Skills" is part of the "Connections" package, which represents a synthesis of significant work on education and…

Six learning-disabled second-grade resource room students with auditory deficits had poor listening skills that inhibited their attention to directions and their accurate completion of assignments. Using a curriculum which incorporated visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities, the practicum project encouraged and motivated the children and…

A discussion of the use of voice as an effective tool in second language instruction examines the role of teachers as readers, the process of selecting and interpreting texts, preparation of reading passages, and reading aloud in class. The dimension of voice added to other aspects of language emphasizes the communicative purpose of the language,…

This updated handbook is designed as a guide for teachers and students in choosing and developing mathematics projects, from simple demonstrations of mathematical problems or principles that the teacher has assigned as classroom learning experiences to complex, sophisticated exhibits, intended for entries in fairs and competitions. The use of…

This book presents a philosophical and pragmatic approach to the teacher's active role in fostering a developing understanding of painting in 1-11 year-old children. Cognitive processes behind children's painting are explored; each phase of imagery is seen as emerging from and building on the thought processes of the previous phase. Tasks are…

There is a strong popular belief that self-concept and motivation are intricately related to performance. To test this theory, a study was conducted to determine if increases in student self-enhancement and intrinsic motivation would explain increased academic performance. Students (N=472) in experimental groups completed interest inventories,…

Previous research has suggested that extrinsic rewards operate to decrease intrinsic motivation to perform a task when they are offered for an initially intrinsically motivating task and then removed. To determine the initial intrinsic motivation of studying, 170 Canadian community college students were divided into one control and four treatment…

Disadvantaged secondary school students with special reading needs can be motivated in the reading room. The school year can start with "popcorn" reading involving materials that are funny, interesting, and exciting. The teacher reads to the students or the students read silently, using materials on the students' independent rather than…