Examined four- and five-year-old children's abilities to use a newly learned strategy in recall tasks. Subjects in strategy training groups showed increases in sorting, group naming, and category self-cuing activities in posttraining tasks. (BC)

Developed and investigated measurement properties of the Children's Academic Motivation Inventory (CAMI) using 382 junior high school students. Found evidence of the psychometric integrity of the CAMI. Suggests CAMI may have some utility in future research and in interventions designed to target specific aspects of motivational difficulties of…

This study examined behaviors reflecting mastery motivation in 17 young (ages 2 and 3) children with moderate and severe cognitive delays. Results supported the application of the mastery motivation model to this group of children who used mastery behaviors significantly more often than lower level exploratory behaviors. Use of mastery behaviors…

Discusses how teachers can build and sustain students' positive self-images within the classroom. States that emphasizing effort instead of reading ability and focusing on learning goals instead of performance goals will help the "learned helpless" child immensely. Discusses the role of teacher expectations in the success attained by…

Discusses the study of second language learning motivation, and suggests that social and psychological aspects of language learning and use are a source of fruitful exploration. Calls for a triangulation of methodology, using hard sociolinguistic data and personal statements from second language learners. Provides examples from studies of…

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)

Case studies from longitudinal research on adult educational participation identified important determinants of lifelong learning patterns: age, place, gender, family background, and religion. The data suggest that adults' learning choices are made within the framework of subjective opportunity structures, including notions of what is appropriate…

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…

Studies differences in boys' and girls' (N=158) mathematical problem-solving behavior in relation to two types of tasks, computations and applications. Differences were dependent on contents of tasks and gender. Girls rated themselves lower on confidence and attributed bad results more often to lack of capacity and to the task difficulty. No…

Comparison of residential care staff in England and Germany showed that, in the care industry, England has a training framework that is not yet widely used. Despite its strong vocational policies, Germany has none. Care assistants are not expected to have formal skills and rarely participate in training. "Emotional labor" is undervalued…

A phenomenological study examined the meaning 11 women attributed to life and work experiences that influenced their choice of nontraditional majors. Most returned to school because of triggering events, were interested in their chosen field and opportunities for career development, and desired independence. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Discusses the effects of age on second language acquisition, considering recent data and highlighting the misconceptions. Claims that proponents of the critical period hypothesis have misinterpreted research on speed of acquisition, misattributed age differences to neurobiological factors, and misemphasized poor language learners in research on…

Examined the conceptions of learning held by second-year medical students in South Africa in relation to their academic achievement. Found that students with a good academic record expressed more transformative conceptions of learning than did their lower-achieving peers, who appeared to rely on memorization and recall. (EV)

This study explored the likelihood of midlife and older adults attending a family life education program by assessing learner characteristics and deterrents to and motivators of attendance. Data were collected through a survey mailed to a stratified sample of adults aged 50 and over. Discriminant analysis results based on survey responses from 264…

This report uses meta-analysis to derive correlations between the variables of teacher immediacy, cognitive learning, and affective learning. A model was constructed such that the perception of teacher immediacy, a behavior, generates an intermediate outcome of affect, a motivation, which in turn increases cognitive learning outcome. The data…