Five explanations for students not learning effectively are examined for their soundness, support from research evidence, and implications for attempts to improve students as learners. Explanations examined are these: (1) students lack the necessary study skills; (2) students are of different types, and some student types have limited learning…

Previous research has suggested that extrinsic rewards operate to decrease intrinsic motivation to perform a task when they are offered for an initially intrinsically motivating task and then removed. To determine the initial intrinsic motivation of studying, 170 Canadian community college students were divided into one control and four treatment…