This document summarizes the results of a study which evaluated whether school instruction with Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboards improves memory skill and whether school instruction with MIDI keyboards improves sentiments toward school and instructional media. Pupils in early elementary grades at five schools were evaluated…

A multitude of factors affect the attitudes and behaviors that students bring to the learning situation. This document discusses some motivation-related terms and concepts. It then examines several factors that affect students' basic beliefs about and attitudes toward learning. The first section differentiates between the following terms: ability…

The idea that schooling socialization practices may influence students' self-regulated learning through their effects on attributions and perceived self-efficacy is discussed, focusing on students' beliefs about their abilities. From an attributional perspective, ability is generally viewed as a relatively fixed quality, but researchers have begun…

Questionnaires were completed by parents and fifth- and sixth-grade children (1,180 healthy, 151 chronically ill, 54 hyperactive, and 54 with severe vision or hearing impairments). The instruments were designed to measure three types of value: utility value (how important success at a task is for achieving future goals); attainment value (the…

It was found in this study that agency-paid adult students were more likely to rate educational goals higher in importance than self-paid students, contrary to the popularly held belief of adult secondary-school staff that these students are unmotivated to study and learn. (Author/AJ)

An investigation was undertaken of end-of-course reactions of students who experienced varying numbers of test-taking failures during an introductory psychology course presented under two different formats: a mastery structure (multiple study/test options and absolute grading standards) and a conventional structure (one try on each midterm with…

Teachers in the content areas of the curriculum must expend effort and use ingenuity in motivating students to learn the literacy skills of listening, speaking, thinking, reading, writing, and computing. To foster this enthusiasm for learning, seven elements are essential in any teaching strategy: interests (knowing the students' interests and…

A research project is described which, using Gardner and Lambert's scales plus 10 other instruction-related items, sought: (1) to examine the stability of attitudes, as changes might occur from the beginning of a course to its end; (2) subsequently, to draw inferences as to the impact that a German language and/or culture course might have on…

This paper describes recent research on causal attribution (ways people construe the events in their lives) and how knowledge of this psychological phenomena can be used to aid students in developing attributional processes that will enhance motivational factors and have positive effects on academic achievement. Four specific suggestions are made…

Semistructured interviews in 11 schools questioning headteachers about their concerns about modern language teaching policy provided the following: Quality of teaching crucial; continuance of one foreign language rather than another is attributed to ability, industry, and enthusiasm of teacher. Emphasizes that young entrants to the teaching…

Since polysemy narrows down the semantic autonomy of the isolated word and increases the importance of the surrounding context, teaching children this concept is critical in order to prevent ambiguity and confusion. Concerning socially disadvantaged children, it is particularly essential to convey the idea that one phenomenon can have different…

A threefold approach, presented for combatting boredom in the classroom, involves (1) understanding the dynamics of boredom; (2) interpersonal skills to help students understand and manage boredom; and (3) guidelines for selecting classroom procedures to decrease boredom. (Author/PP)

Three aspects of foreign students' resistance to learning English are examined: (1) preconceived ideas of learning and teaching; (2) attitudes to the culture and its effects on the student; (3) effect of the teacher and teaching techniques on motivation. (CHK)

Drawing on theories of educational motivation, this study investigated how perceptions of the school psychological environment predict change over time in educational expectations among low-income adolescent mothers. Findings indicated that teenage mothers' perceptions that teachers devalued them intellectually by underestimating their abilities…

A study compared students' orientations toward learning Spanish to their orientations toward learning English or French as a second language, and examined other variables, including interethnic attitudes and contact, motivation, self-confidence, and Spanish competence. Results do not permit a clear delineation of a sociomotivational basis for…