Middle school has been documented as the period in which a drop in students' science interest and achievement occurs. This trend indicates a lack of motivation for learning science; however, little is known about how different aspects of motivation interact with student engagement and science learning outcomes. This study examines the…

Does the use of rewards to motivate children to learn or to follow classroom rules run counter to fostering a true desire for mastery? This column, which consists of two separate articles, provides the opposing opinions of the authors regarding the appropriateness of giving rewards in an early childhood classroom. In "Using Rewards in the Early…

Purpose: The study's purpose was to determine the degree to which connoisseurship and educational criticism exists in student work evaluation; to identify master teachers' methods utilizing verbal feedback; and to determine the degree that project-based learning (PBL) principles serve as a "model of practice" for selected PBL technology…

A developmental model for collaborative learning at the college level, based on the notion of the development of expertise, is outlined. Five stages are described: (1) the learning of rules, techniques, and strategies; (2) applying the techniques and strategies to the particular teaching context; (3) developing competence; (4) becoming proficient;…

The monograph summarizes characteristics of effective instruction of mildly handicapped and non-handicapped students by focusing on two literature areas: Instructional Psychology and Models of School Learning. The review on instructional psychology covers the following areas: definitions of instruction, principles of learning, models of the…

Awareness of the need for more effective instruction for heterogeneous groups of students has resulted in the development of the "mastery learning" model through which students are provided with the additional time necessary to achieve mastery of the content to be learned. The mastery learning model does not, however, provide a…

A review of research and proposed models on classroom processes allows identification of four key characteristics of effective classrooms in elementary and secondary education. The four characteristics encompass (1) teacher attention to student characteristics, including prior learning and learning styles; (2) congruence among the course goals,…

American schools might improve their performance by emulating certain successful businesses that, while distinctly American, have much in common with Japanese corporations. William Ouchi attributes Japanese business success to worker involvement; the typical Japanese corporation, he asserts, unifies its employees around a corporate philosophy…