Teachers, parents, and librarians are constantly looking for methods and materials that engage students as readers and motivate them to increase the time they spend reading. In this article we describe findings from a study of middle schoolers' magazine reading habits that gave us a close look at the power of magazines as supplemental supports for…

There is international concern about falling enrollments in higher education, particularly the sciences, by gifted students. In this mixed methods study, the top-performing 200 students (approximately 2%) within a particular education jurisdiction at the beginning of their first year at university were surveyed, and 20 interviewed about their…

Situational interest has been identified as an important motivational variable that has an impact on students' academic performances, yet little is known about how the specific variable of the learning environment might trigger students' situational interest. The purpose of this study was to investigate sources that stimulate the interest of…

Most academic science educators encourage teachers to provide their students with access to more authentic science activities. What can and do teachers say to increase students' interests in participating in opportunities to do real science? What are the discursive "resources" they draw on to introduce authentic science to students? The purpose of…

This paper extracts and elaborates rural secondary teachers' most effective reported motivating strategies. From the data generated by two years of mixed method research in rural secondary schools, these strategies emerged as among the most successful. Selection of best practices was based on a synthesis of what both teachers and students reported…

This study compares US and Chinese elementary mathematics teachers' beliefs about how students learn mathematics. Interviews with teachers in each country revealed that Chinese and US teachers have distinct ways of thinking about how mathematics should be taught and how students learn. Many Chinese teachers talked about developing students'…

This study examined college students' attitudes towards science in a course designed with Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibilities (SENCER) ideals. SENCER uses socially engaging issues to teach basic science to non-science majors. A combination of methods was used to measure changes in attitudes (confidence and interest) and…

The challenge many teachers face is how to incorporate new technology into their classrooms that strengthens classroom learning by capitalizing on students' media literacies. Blogs, a new and innovative technological tool, can be used in math and science classrooms to support student learning by capitalizing on students' interests and familiarity…

Many short-duration science outreach interventions have important societal goals of raising science literacy and increasing the size and diversity of the science workforce. Yet, these long-term outcomes are inherently challenging to evaluate. We present findings from a qualitative research study of an inquiry-based, life science outreach program…

In this article, we examine the evolving influences and literacy beliefs of two elementary teachers during their second year of professional teaching. Interview and observational data indicated that teaching context and personal dispositions most influenced the participant's literacy beliefs during this time. In particular, instructional decisions…

The Preschool Interest Inventory (PSII) has been developed to meet the need for an informal measure of the interests, play behaviors, and communication skills of young children between the ages of 2 and 6 years, particularly those exhibiting delays in language development. The first step in the Inventory process is the Caregiver Interview. In the…

Examined are the type of physics applications that students are interested in learning more about in school. Gender differences within that choice are explored. Interview methodology and the results of the interviews are discussed. (CW)

A guide to the use of role playing in the foreign language classroom outlines in general terms what role play is, provides examples, analyzes its uses, and gives practical assistance in planning activities. The following topics are examined: aspects of role behavior (formality, register, function, attitude, para-linguistic and extra-linguistic…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project focused on science teaching/learning in the Form 1 to 4 level (ages 10 to 14) and sought to identify problems and difficulties in several areas. Provided in this paper are comments obtained during structured/unstructured interviews (from students, ex-students, teachers, headmasters,…

Compares East and West Berlin before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Offers divergent viewpoints on German reunification from interviews of two professors: one from East Germany, the other from West Germany. Recommends that social studies classes incorporate current events such as German reunification. (CH)