In 1994, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) discovered that reading difficulties permeate all segments of the school-aged population. As a result, Congress asked the director of the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) and the former Secretary of Education to assemble a panel on reading. This National…

Curiosity is a heightened state of interest resulting in exploration, and its importance in motivating scholarship cannot be ignored. It is also a critical component of creativity, and fostering curiosity and creativity in today's learners is a challenge faced by educators and instructional designers alike. Following a background on the definition…

The network of causal relations between academic self-concept and academic achievement was examined using five waves of the Flemish longitudinal research in secondary education project (J. Van Damme, et al, 1997). Participants were 6,411 students in 59 secondary schools in Flanders, followed for 7 years. Correlational and regression analyses were…

Intended for use in grades 4-8, this book provides teachers and librarians with everything they need for a successful literature-based history program in upper elementary and middle school grades. Through recommended reading selections, extension activities, and other supplementary information, the book integrates historical fiction and nonfiction…

Problem-based learning is an approach to professional education that stresses the use of real life problems in education. This paper focuses attention to the commitment of students to engage in the problem-based learning process. Subjects, approximately 1,300 undergraduates in a health sciences curriculum, completed a questionnaire covering…

This booklet presents parents with 10 "easy and fun" tips for helping their children be motivated to learn, value learning, and achieve his or her best. The 10 tips in the booklet are: be a model of curiosity; encourage your child's natural curiosity; praise and reward efforts to learn; solve real problems; lay out the steps to success; show…

This study examined whether the effects of context variables (i.e., perceptions of environmental factors) on student motivation are mediated by personal variables. It was hypothesized that effects from context variables are weak and would be totally mediated by personal variables in the beginning of the first high school year. It was also…

There is substantial evidence that the disposition of test takers is central to performance. This research extends previous work by replicating the experimental design of L. Wolf and J. Smith (1995) and conducting a secondary analysis of their data to attempt to demonstrate differential effect sizes for examinees reporting varying motivation…

Suggests that to get students to want to read, a reading program must consider the student, diagnose and revise the curriculum, and see the teacher as the key to the entire program. (TO)

Suggests an activity designed to stimulate student interest in optical illusions. By preparing posters of a number of optical illusions and mounting them on the classroom wall, many students will be motivated to seek an explanation for these phenomena. (JR)

Article discussed the development of a new educational calendar that will entail attendance at school all year-round and which will allow for greater student enrollment, educational efficiency, and flexible scheduling. (RK)

Article considered the issue of private interests versus social concerns and examined doctrine that springs in children at an early age in their educational experience and which has caused considerable concern. (RK)

Considered the arts as the center of the curriculum and how they relate to open education. (RK)

The author presents a number of unique programs and projects which have proved successful in one high school's woodworking and graphic arts classes in terms of motivating high student interest, growth in skills, good community relations--and a financial profit. The chief objective is self-discovery, the model is Outward Bound. (AJ)

This article describes a program at Niles North High School in Skokie, Illinois which helps first-year students make the adjustment to high school. (Author/HV)