A study involving thirty-four schools in New York State examined the influence of parents, peers, and school personnel on students' attitude toward selecting and enrolling in particular occupational education programs. Information was collected from a sampling of tenth grade general curriculum students, eleventh and twelfth grade occupational…

Drawn largely from the experiences of Bloomfield College (Illinois) with its Freshman Core Program, but citing other efforts to develop thinking skills as well, this essay considers several questions and issues concerning the cognitive skills approach to teaching. The paper begins by identifying some of the increasingly common learning problems…

Teaching techniques for motivating students to acquire a second language are discussed. The methodology must be suited to the aptitudes, interests, and personalities of learners and teachers. Objectives must relate to the student population, linguistic performance, and communicative competence. Crucial to motivation are the techniques of…

University of California Santa Barbara students were surveyed in 1996 to learn about student life and culture in the 1990s. Fifty-five percent of 815 randomly selected undergraduates responded to a mail survey. Responses were grouped according to students' race, gender, and social class. Reasons identified for attending college included: to…

This paper describes the use of folktales in the classroom, noting the instructional benefits, challenges and potential problems, and techniques for presenting and expanding on the stories. Of nine folktales told during the school year, five are told in English and four in Spanish, and most are closely tied to the social studies curriculum. Four…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of a Factors Influencing Pursuit of Higher Education (FIPHE) Questionnaire which addresses factors influencing a person's decision to pursue higher education. Researchers used a literature-based, rational factors approach to develop the questionnaire; the three-part study included a…

This study examined the effects of a prototype of motivationally-adaptive CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction), developed in accordance with the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) model of motivational design, on achievement, perceived motivation (both overall motivation and for each of the ARCS components), efficiency, and…

The aim of this research was to study applicability of a teaching method of using supplementary printed student worksheets together with two educational Web sites--"Estonian Vertebrates" and "Estonian Plants." The teaching method was fully approved by the expert group of 27 pilot teachers. A case study focused on development of…

How different evaluation formats affected test scores for different tracks of high school biology students was studied in an action research case study. For purposes of the study, "A" tracked students were generally college-bound; "B" tracked students were those who had no desire to attend college, especially those in vocational education, or who…

Over the last decade there have been a number of approaches for recruiting minorities to enter teaching careers. One such program has been that of the Consortium for Minorities in Teaching Careers (CMTC). CMTC uses several replicable models to encourage minority high school students' interest in teaching careers. At all CMTC sites, the following…

Two ethnic groups of students, majority and minority, were compared on variables of a Psychological Productivity Model. Black and Hispanic students were grouped as minorities, and White students were considered majority students. Participants were 120 high school students from an urban high school in the Southwest. The Psychological Productivity…

This paper discusses the use of WebQuest, a World Wide Web-based multi-user game, in promoting learning motivation and navigation skills in K-9 students. WebQuest demonstrates ways to integrate games, Internet communication facilities, Web-based courseware, and database techniques together in order to assist learning. The following guidelines for…

This paper describes Project FORWARD, funded by the Texas Education Agency to develop a life skills curriculum for JOBS (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills) participants. The Project FORWARD curriculum is designed to promote individual self-worth and independence so that participants can achieve self-sufficiency and eliminate dependency on…

The Delta Project involves an interdisciplinary team of 4 middle school teachers and their approximately 100 students working together throughout grades 6, 7, and 8 for the 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992-93 school years in Elberton (Georgia). The relationships between the classroom structures used by the Delta Team teachers and the motivation of their…

A study was done to compare Asian American and Anglo American students' attitudes toward motivation, learning environment, academic self-concept, involvement, affiliation, and parent involvement in the learning of mathematics. Survey data of 1,200 Asian- and 1,200 Anglo-American middle school students were collected. A stratified sampling…