This book is a guide to helping college students take charge of their learning in their school environment, by capitalizing on their motivation arising from curiosity. It helps students gain independence from the lecture-study-exam system, with a resulting sense of thinking "I know my stuff." The guide argues that many students who do not work to…

The more that educators understand about student motivation, the better that teachers can tailor their pedagogy to prepare students for the job market. The purpose of this study was to acquire a more complete understanding of what drives secondary students and how student motivation and development relate to effective teaching. It is hoped that an…

This chapter furthers the discussion of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by contending that learning and studying are multidetermined and that intrinsic motivation is typically accompanied by extrinsic motivation. The chapter begins with a discussion of the concept of future time perspective as a cognitive-motivational personality…

This study investigated children's practices and ideas or perceptions about self-regulation for two particular aspects of schoolwork: completing homework and learning for a class test. Subjects were 86 Anglo children (ages 7, 9, and 11) who were interviewed about their practices and ideas concerning homework completion and test preparation.…

This document presents a curriculum (based on the author's own experiences listening to music) that aims to get children to become aware of themselves by having them write down their thoughts and feelings (their "contemplations") after listening to music or in response to famous quotations. The document discusses how the curriculum was…

Many of the reasons offered for the difference between boys and girls in certain kinds of cognitive tasks have been attributed to biology. However, other factors need to be considered, and so the role that motivation and learning play in gender differences is addressed in this paper. The focus rests on gender differences, both in the individual…

Designed to provide community college instructors with an understanding of how to improve the motivational level of their students, this four-part guidebook reviews theoretical concepts and offers practical advice concerning student motivation and frustration. Section I provides an overview of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and of…

The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive and non-cognitive variables that will predict a student's ability to achieve success in the lowest level developmental mathematics course at San Jacinto College. The study examined the ability of cognitive variables (standardized entrance examinations, high school grade point average, and type of…

Self-regulation consists of the metacognitive processes, behavioral skills, and associated motivational beliefs that underlie youths growing self-confidence and personal resourcefulness in acquiring the skills needed for adulthood. This chapter discusses the role of school organization in the attainment of self-regulation in terms of four levels…

Examines gender differences between 60 male and 67 female third graders concerning motivational orientation for correlation with incidence of depression. Results indicate that females were more often extrinsically motivated and more often depressed than males. Males were intrinsically motivated and had fewer incidents of depression than females.…

Argues children's natural drive to discover is intrinsic and that adults cannot instill it from the outside. Dispels common myths about child motivation and describes the optimal conditions for self-motivated learning. Provides examples of how the Montessori-prepared environment makes the most of children's inborn curiosity, interest, and wonder.…

Notes that, while children are born with an innate curiosity to learn, by the time they reach school, their motivation has often been lost or replaced by extrinsically motivated learning strategies. Discusses the development of intrinsic motivation in the early childhood years, and how teachers and caregivers can foster and strengthen it. (TJQ)

Research on the motivational aspects of multimedia games may provide ways to design more engaging user information systems which increase users' exploratory and information-seeking behaviors. Two small-scale exploratory studies examined the effects of introducing information on the intrinsic motivation of users of a CD-ROM game. Results of the…

The purposes of this study were: to examine the terms "intrinsic motivation" and "extrinsic motivation" by defining and analyzing characteristics of each; to investigate their relevance to classroom practice; and to determine if students' motivational orientations can be changed. A modified version of Harter's Self-Report Scale…

This paper suggests that the processes one would have college teachers use to motivate students closely parallel those that should be used to gain the cooperation, commitment, and preparation of teachers for this task. It discusses the "learning orientation" versus "grading orientation" of students, along with "class-side manners" that college…