Discusses the problems trainers encounter when dealing with resistant or reluctant learners. Recounts experiences and offers suggestions for dealing with students who do not want to be in the class. (JOW)

Sources of organizational learning were studied for 131 employees, 109 of whom were managers, who participated in projects with external consultants in a large public-transport company in Norway. A multiple regression analysis explained 69% of organizational learning as a function of attitude toward learning. Differences between managers and other…

Looks at the learning achievements of those who have suffered and survived including concentration camp survivors, migrants, prisoners, and others. Suggests that continued learning under adverse conditions may be necessary for emotional and physical survival. (JOW)

Describes a replication study that explored differences between intermediate experts and novices mastering recurrent demands using a computer-based simulation. Functionality of mental models, declarative knowledge, acceptance of the learning environment, and intrinsic motivation to learn are discussed, and results that show no advantage for…

Describes how, giving an exam that included working with uncontextualized poetry, a teacher inadvertently discovered that the least accomplished students were the biggest risk-takers; the so-called best students were ironically self-limited by their own drive to succeed; tracking only encouraged this lack of risk-taking; and the less good students…

Examines two aspects of continuity, stability of individual differences and means, in a study from the middle elementary through high school years. Two hypotheses were supported: academic intrinsic motivation is a stable construct through these years, and with advancement in age, academic intrinsic motivation becomes increasingly stable. (Contains…

Analysis of responses from 330 African-American participants in church-based adult education identified seven motivational factors. Four were consistent with prior research: spiritual/religious development, love of learning, service, and social interaction. Three added new insights to participation research: familiar cultural setting, support for…

For beginning students in Scottish further education colleges (n=701), printed material was the most important preenrollment communication method. Support for attendance in the form of child care and financial aid was crucial. Location, local reputation, and the development of social relationships were also important motivational factors. (SK)

Undoubtedly, every secondary school teacher at some point in his or her career has had a student ask, "Why are we learning this?" or "What is this stuff good for, anyway?" The authors have found in talking with teachers and students that, while the responses to these questions may vary, most leave students unsatisfied or frustrated. In some cases,…

For many teachers and students, it was ThinkQuest that gave them their first experiences with the Internet. A collaborative competition, created by Advanced Network & Services (now managed by the Oracle Education Foundation), ThinkQuest asked students to form teams and create Web sites that were designed to help other students learn something. In…

What has changed and what has stayed the same in the years since the first publication of James's "Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on some of Life's Ideals" (1899) and the 10 editions of McKeachie's "Teaching Tips"? Although research and theory have given us better understanding of learning, memory, cognition, and motivation, much…

Encouraging students to read historical fiction can lead to greater interest in historical events and fictionalizing history enables young people to feel what it is like to be there. "The Bear that Heard Crying" by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, "A Lion to Guard Us" by Clyde Robert and "Meet Felicity: An American Girl (Book 1)" by Valerie Tripp are some…

Often times, teachers and prospective teachers repeat the "common knowledge" that young children have short attention spans. How often this becomes another self-fulfilling prophecy as teachers switch frequently from one activity to another, before student attention can wander, in an imitation of the Sesame Street model of teaching as…

Encouraging young children to think themselves as writers helps them to achieve more in their life than one have ever imagined. When young students are given an open-ended ongoing invitation to write books, they build identities as writers around their daily work of composing texts and they also gain a sense of ownership and control over literacy.

Despite the ready availability of computer algebra packages, from a pedagogical point of view, the authors still feel that integration should be taught extensively the classical way, by means of carefully selected examples which combine as many fundamental techniques as possible for their evaluation. Furthermore, whenever possible, these examples…