The following strategies are presented for creating conditions in which gifted students consistently move forward academically: curriculum compacting and differentiating for gifted students in heterogeneous classes; pre-testing content; and allowing gifted students to be grouped together to work on alternative tasks during cooperative learning…

The concept of student motivation is discussed, with applications for facilitating competence development in special and remedial education. Consideration is given to 4 prerequisites to competence development, historical obstacles to motivational interventions, motivational systems theory (MST), and 17 MST principles for motivating students. (SW)

This article offers guidelines for increasing the homework completion rates of students with mild disabilities: (1) vary the amount and type of homework assignments; (2) provide motivating acts so that students complete their homework; (3) use peer-mediated strategies; and (4) involve parents in the homework process. (Author/DB)

Learning-oriented physical education students tend to focus on improving skills or mastering the task at hand. Certain teaching behaviors and classroom structures create motivational environments where the importance of goals is conveyed and their adoption facilitated. The article presents guidelines for creating a learning goal orientation in…

Presents ideas to help parents make readers and writers out of their 11 and 12 year olds. Reading ideas include subscribing to teen magazines, reading aloud, and finding movies based on books. Writing ideas include writing lyrics to popular melodies, creating time lines, and making crossword puzzles. (SM)

Examines skills and understandings that preservice teachers need to create caring classroom communities, noting the supportive conditions they need, both as student teachers and as teachers, to make positive contributions to students' character development. Discusses why it is necessary to create caring environments, how to teach the various…

Presents discipline tips from several teachers to keep classrooms running smoothly all year. Some of the suggestions include the following: a bear-cave warning system, peer mediation, a motivational mystery, problem students acting as the teacher's assistant, a positive-behavior-reward chain, a hallway scavenger hunt (to ensure quiet passage…

This article discusses what happens when students are asked to tell some of what they know about something on which they are experts-- themselves. Students' views of their own learning are shared, and reasons for engaging students in self assessment and goal setting through the use of portfolios are discussed. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/CR)

Based on current knowledge about cognitive processes, this article presents strategies for preparing the learner, managing the environment to motivate students, gaining and keeping learner attention, and increasing memory and recall by making learning personally relevant to students. Resources are listed for brain-based teaching and learning. (CR)

This handbook describes how a New York City high school transformed itself into a model school. Boys and Girls High School is located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of the city's toughest neighborhoods. Over the period 1986-94, the school experienced increases in school attendance, the graduation rate, the number of college-bound students, the number…

The road to competence in writing is best paved with joyful experiences, especially early experiences with writing in the elementary school. One such experience is writing a story and making a beautiful cloth-bound book. Materials needed, which are easily obtained, are: (1) a commercially produced material called Heat-N-Bond (Ultra); (2) mat board…

Presented in both Spanish and English, this guide for a parent involvement meeting is designed to help teachers and parents explore specific strategies to motivate children to become better readers and learners. The guide contains material necessary to conduct a 1- or 1.5-hour session on motivational techniques that parents can use at home with…

This book describes specific ways for teachers to assist their students in mastering skills needed for success in school. It is based upon the belief that thinking can be improved, human intellect sharpened, and academic ability increased. A case for study skills is made in Chapter I. Chapter II provides guidelines for the immediate improvement of…

Teachers can encourage the quiet child (who may have oral communication apprehension) by providing verbal feedback and encouragement, rearranging the classroom to increase positive verbal interaction, and directly asking students questions. (Author/CB)

Successful pronunciation of English as a second language can be influenced by the instructor's use of self-correcting and self-monitoring techniques which involve student motivation, adequate explanations, practice, and feedback. (CB)