As every early childhood teacher knows, providing children with activity and material choices, stimulating multi-sensory activities, and positive support and novel challenges can truly inspire children's love of learning. Now there is the additional support of brain research. Marian Diamonds of the University of California at Berkeley reports that…

Academic delay of gratification (ADOG) refers to students' postponement of immediately available opportunities to satisfy impulses in favor of pursuing academic goals that are temporally remote but ostensibly more valuable. This important form of self-regulation was studied among college students to determine how it serves to sustain effort over…

A study used a progressive delay procedure to teach self-control to six adults with mental retardation. At baseline, participants chose an immediate smaller reinforcer rather than a larger delayed reinforcer. Progressive increases in work requirements for gaining access to a larger reinforcer resulted in participants selecting larger delayed…

This publication provides findings from two related areas of research for people who work outside the classroom in supporting roles (e.g., principals, service providers, policymakers, and change agents): human motivation in general and teacher motivation to change practice. After discussing the creation of conditions which will motivate growth,…

The use of Learner Centered Psychological Principles in instruction and training emphasizes self-motivated, self-directed, and interactive learning. Topics include traditional versus learner-centered instructional approaches, the Learner-Centered Psychological Principles, the challenge of designing learner-centered instruction, and…

Discusses the effects of different motivational orientations on students with learning disabilities and the variables affecting intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Instructional recommendations are made for enhancing academic intrinsic motivation, including involving students in the learning process, responding positively and praising students,…

This study explored how some aspects of achievement goals theory can be integrated into the education of gifted and/or academically talented students. Specifically, the study addressed whether teachers of gifted students utilized task-focused instructional practices more often than performance-focused instructional practices, whether teachers of…

Presents experimental data on how to form learning motivation. Discusses the influence of the content of teaching materials and of learning methods, the motivational structure of the lesson, and the type of assessment made by the teachers. Urges teacher to observe recurring attitudes of the students toward learning and promote optimistic student…

Examines recent research on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and social-emotional and cognitive development and what has been learned about DAP in early childhood classrooms. Finds that, in general, child-initiated environments are associated with higher levels of cognitive functioning, which, coupled with findings on stress and…

Describes a flexible format for a literature unit which avoids the problems associated with a structure which is too rigid or allows too much latitude for students. Notes that the students produce some excellent thinking and writing. (MG)

Discusses the use of correspondence training in the classroom to improve learning outcomes. Defines the training as an experimental behavioral strategy that takes into account the degree to which people achieve what they are aiming to do. Concludes from research involving middle school students that the subjects achieved a better work output in…

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 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…

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…

This report considers the various facets of metacognition and their relation to adult literacy. The first section provides definitions of literacy and discusses the issue of single versus multiple factor hypotheses. The second section looks at the foundation of research on metacognition and literacy development in children. It examines whether…