The "Contemporary Health Series" covers critical health and family life topics in a sequence of modules with two curricular divisions: "Into Adolescence" for middle school teachers and "Entering Adulthood" for high school teachers. This module uses eight activity-based lessons to help 9th through 12th graders make better life choices through…

Provides a teaching technique for improving instruction through awareness of the personality of the learner. (MD)

Describes two cases where an elementary school teacher's behavior influenced a student to either pursue or avoid math. Reviews the tenets of attribution theory, and theories regarding autonomous learning behaviors in relation to these cases. Discusses ways teachers can help students develop beneficial and useful attributions about mathematics…

While the computer is commonly viewed as a tool for simplifying and enriching lives, many individuals react to this technology with feelings of anxiety, paranoia, and alienation. These reactions may have potentially serious career and educational consequences. Fear of computers reflects a generalized fear of current technology and is most…

This article describes an approach to student discipline which is based on getting students to take responsibility for their own behavior, rather than forcing obedience. Strategies are suggested which offer practical alternatives to less effective control-oriented methods. (IAH)

The "Contemporary Health Series" covers critical health and family life topics in a sequence of modules with two curricular divisions: "Into Adolescence" for middle school teachers and "Entering Adulthood" for high school teachers. This module presents a six-lesson curriculum for grades five through eight to provide students with the information…

Results are reported from a study in which Cognitive Behavior Modification (CBM) was used successfully to modify the behavior of students (N=55) with mild behavior problems. This method teaches individuals to reinforce or rebuke themselves for their own behavior. Also outlined are steps in implementing a CBM program. (IAH)

Many children who live in information-rich and eventful situations seem to know and to care relatively little about what is going on around them. Stimulating prosocial behavior and getting children involved in actual caring activities in their own environments may enhance children's interest in others, make them more open to relevant information,…

A study examined the effects of rationale emotive psychoeducational procedures on aspects of mental health with 22 Australian fourth grade girls and 14 control subjects who received an attention control intervention. Rational emotive education increased perceptions of internal locus of control and rationality but did not reduce trait anxiety.…

This project was designed to investigate the effect of the use of cause-and-effect activities in the science curriculum on the locus of control of the learner. The purpose of this research is to find the effect of the activities on the learner's locus of control and attitude toward science at grades 7 through 10. A multivariate analysis of…

Summarizes comparisons of self-reported interest by gender and experimental condition for middle school students (n=101) who performed scientific experiments under conditions designed to vary across difficulty levels, social contexts, and scenarios of fantasy to realism. Findings indicate that boys were more attentive to aspects of experimental…

This curriculum guide is a systematic instructional strategy designed to enhance the intrinsic motivation of learning disabled adolescents. The complete strategy encompasses three major phases. Phase P (Preparing for Challenges) describes steps in preparing the classroom environment and presenting program goals to students. Phase A (Attacking…

This article demonstrates how to improve students' learning motivation by means of an attributional dialogue between teachers and students. Students are asked to describe events and to explain to what they attributed success or failure. Dialogue pages of a typically achieving learner and a student with learning disabilities are provided. (Contains…

An interview study examined the assumptions about adult learning held by 28 educational policy-makers, researchers, and staff developers. Fifteen assumptions were inferred from the interview data, each forming a dimension that describes learning as experienced by the participants: (1) Adult learning experiences are envisioned as similar for all…

Reports on a study of 120 (60 boys, 60 girls) middle school students in Bophuthatswana on the relation of academic achievement to self-concept and locus of control. Finds that measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism are related negatively to school achievement. (CFR)