This report describes a program for improving motivation of eighth grade students. Attendance, grades, discipline referrals, and student surveys were used in measuring changes in student attitudes. Problems were documented from data showing grades, attendance, and discipline referrals from the second semester of the 1994-95 school year. A student…

This paper focuses on the role of self-evaluation during self-regulated learning. After a discussion of the social cognitive theory of self-regulation, self-efficacy, and achievement goals, two studies of fourth graders who were learning fraction skills and one ongoing research project with college students enrolled in their first computer class…

One of the current trends in education is the use of reward systems to motivate students. Students are being motivated by cash and other prizes for high grades, attendance, and good behavior. If this trend continues, educators may lose sight of the need to motivate students internally and to find better teaching methods to accomplish this goal.…

This paper describes a study of the connections between beliefs about mathematics, autonomy, and knowledge structures in mathematics. Assumptions underlying the study were (1) that students' beliefs and knowledge are constructs of the individual and play a dynamic role in the learning and doing of mathematics; and (2) that autonomy theoretically…

This book is an easy-to-read inspirational book that was written to show adult literacy students how to achieve fulfillment by taking charge of their lives. The eight short chapters of the book are printed only on the right-hand page, with inspirational quotations and space for the reader's personal thoughts on the left-hand page. Chapter titles…

This paper shares preliminary findings from a study of the development of leadership self-efficacy in the principals of a statewide middle-school network in the Midwest. The study was conceptualized to be carried out in three phases. As this paper was being written, the data collection for the first two phases had been completed, and preliminary…

This paper presents three vignettes to help teachers engage students in self-regulated learning. "Vignette One: Strengthening Your Will Power--Taking Charge of Your Life" explains how to help students take charge of themselves by "working smarter, not harder," i.e., by developing the habit of using such strategies as…

This handbook provides advice to help parents, caregivers, and teachers arrive at personal answers to basic questions that affect children's achievement. The handbook is intended as a personal notebook in which are recorded reader responses to the home/school problems raised in the book "What Do We Say? What Do We Do?" The sections are:…

Building upon the work of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project in raising the quality of early learning for young children in the United Kingdom, the 3-year Accounting Early for Life Long Learning Project (AcE Project) focuses on enhancing in 3- to 6-year-olds those attitudes and dispositions that are important to life-long learning. This…

Drawing upon extensive theoretical knowledge and decades of empirical research, this book traces changes in the structure and content of self-representations from early childhood through late adolescence. Chapter 1 includes a discussion of the self as subject (I-self) and object (Me-self) and describes the historical roots of contemporary issues…

Examined relationship between the cognitive demands of instruction and student motivation in fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade mathematics classrooms. Found through observation and survey data that sixth- and seventh-grade math lessons were characterized by significantly fewer elements of higher-order thinking than fifth-grade math lessons, and…

Differences and relationships between home environment and motivational orientation were examined for 28 higher and 29 lower achieving mainland Puerto Rican children in grades 5 and 6. Post-hoc multiple regression analysis revealed that family involvement accounted for a significant amount of variance with regard to achievement. (SLD)

This practicum project implemented a program designed to improve the motivation to learn among fourth- and fifth-graders in a fast growing, industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms in northern Illinois. The problem of low motivation was documented by systematic classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student surveys. Analysis of…

In addition to traditional study skills, the Master Student (MS) course at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), in Pennsylvania, includes subjects related to career decision making, human development, and psychology. A study was conducted to track the academic achievement, including grades, number of semesters enrolled, and total credits…

This booklet is intended to help teachers, aides, and parents of preschool-age children to establish desirable behaviors and eliminate inappropriate behaviors in their children. Following a list of definitions, the booklet discusses how to discriminate between different types of behavior and how to choose the appropriate level of response. Major…