Words can be powerful tools to engage students with disabilities in self-determined behaviors. When teachers are cognizant of their choice of words and manner of interaction, they can empower students to develop a sense of who they are, what they are capable of doing, and why they behave the way they do. This article explores how everyday…

This paper takes a ethnomethodological look at a typical Experiential Self-Empowerment Approach (ESA)-using speech class to see how the ESA uses 12 assumptions as background expectancies (Heritage, 1984) to accomplish personal growth in college public speaking classes. The following assumptions are addressed: (1) students deserve "something…

This publication offers teachers and principals a program for customizing schooling to individual students' learning needs and motivating them to take increased responsibility for deciding what and how to learn. It presents a comprehensive framework for introducing self-directed learning (SDL) approaches in the classroom. Nine chapters include:…

This paper investigates the importance of responsible teaching, examining how professionally empowered teachers can move students in the direction of becoming empowered and independent learners. It explains that empowerment is integral within teacher education. Teachers must provide minimum conditions for success in terms of responsible teaching…

Creating an empowering and positive classroom environment requires focusing on the processes of developing trust in self and others, participation and communication in the classroom. Establishing a classroom that accommodates diverse students who have varied backgrounds, interests, and preferences poses a challenging situation for university…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) "R" is for Resilience: Schools Turn to "Asset Development" to Build on Students' Strengths (Nancy Walser); (2) Beyond Bargaining: What…

This report describes a program for improving the on-task behavior of at-risk students to increase their academic achievement. The targeted population consisted of high-school students in a growing middle-class community located in a rural area of a midwestern state. The problems of academic under-achievement were documented through data including…

Noting that developing self-motivated, empowered students is an ongoing challenge for teachers, administrators, and parents, this action research project sought to build intrinsic learners, using cooperative learning and multiple intelligences. Participating in the project were students of two third-grade regular division classes and sixth and…

Eight percent of the population of the People's Republic of China is comprised of ethnic minority people, people with cultures (particularly languages and religions) that are distinct from the majority (or Han) Chinese. Ethnic students in China and elsewhere face considerable obstacles to getting a good education. A tiny percentage of Chinese…

Much can be learned from California's Puente Project Model that would help students' success in classrooms as well as in college in general, and in their daily lives. Puente, which means "bridge" in Spanish, began in 1982 at Chabot College in northern California and is now in 38 colleges and 19 high schools statewide. Originally designed…

A teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) to adult migrant workers from Central America describes the evolution of her efforts to create a sense of community within the classroom and Latino center and to empower students to bring about social change in the long term. While students were pressuring the teacher to teach grammar, the teacher…

The choice theory holds that people can control only their own behavior, and that all people need a sense of belonging, freedom, power, and fun. This article argues that teachers must recognize that these needs motivate student behavior, and describes how a middle school turned its discipline and achievement problems around by using choice theory.…

This practicum project was designed to increase student ownership of learning through student-kept assignment calendars and portfolios. The subjects, 63 junior high school students at a private Christian school, were also involved in frequent, cooperative sessions in which they checked each other's work and offered suggestions, with reports to the…

This action research project evaluated a program to improve student motivation, attendance rate, percent of homework returned, and student academic growth. The targeted population was a seventh-grade class in a middle school in north central Illinois. The problem of inadequate student motivation was documented by means of attendance rates,…

An outdoor education course for six at-risk female students at an Ontario alternative high school demonstrates how a flexible, emergent course design based on the theories of critical pedagogy, feminist pedagogy, and adventure-based learning can affect student engagement and learning outcomes, and may be incompatible with the usual practice of…