Too often students perceive history as boring with no relevance to their lives. Although students describe history as boring, this does not seem to be the case with one aspect of social studies education--Holocaust studies. Courses about the Holocaust have grown in number in recent years; and classes are routinely full. Why do students choose to…

Motivation is one of the most frequently discussed variables due to its crucial role in successful second or foreign language learning. Several studies have shown the construct of motivation and relationships between motivational components and language achievement. However, it is still unclear whether or not these individual-difference variables…

Elementary school is the critical stage during which the development of listening comprehension and oral abilities in language acquisition occur, especially with a foreign language. However, the current foreign language instructors often adopt one-way teaching, and the learning environment lacks any interactive instructional media with which to…

The author began her career teaching kindergarten. All 38 of her students showed up to school excited to be there and eager to learn. When she moved to the middle school, it was an entirely different story. She was stunned when most of her students didn't care whether or not they were successful academically. She encountered the same attitudes…

This study aims to identify the two principal reasons why college students choose a certain language to satisfy a general education second language requirement by polling 172 students enrolled in first-year language courses in 13 languages at a large Northeastern research university. Students answered a questionnaire and chose the two main reasons…

Understanding the reality of students who aren't engaged in literacy, Kittle proposes nothing less than revolution. She asks you to evaluate whether your students read enough, write enough, and rewrite enough, then challenges: If not, what would you have to change to make that happen? She shares examples from her classroom, and leaves us with a…

In order to get undergraduates interested in mathematics, it is necessary to motivate them, give them good reasons to spend time on a subject that requires hard work, and, if possible, involve them in undergraduate research. This article discusses how cryptography can be used for all these purposes. In particular, a special topics course on…

Current science assessments typically present a series of isolated fact-based questions, poorly representing the complexity of how real-world science is constructed. The National Research Council asserts that this needs to change to reflect a more authentic model of science practice. We strongly concur and suggest that good science assessments…

With the requirement of economic development, English has become more and more important that people begin to learn English with fully enthusiasm even from younger age. Learning a foreign language is not a simple and easy job but sometimes it is boring and dull. Motivation is critical in English learning, thus, how to effectively motivate students…

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree,…

In "Language awareness and language learning" (Svalberg, 2007) I concluded that the otherwise diverse and multidisciplinary field of language awareness (LA) is given coherence by its focus on engagement with language. I argued that LA is seen as active and not merely as a state of conscious awareness or sensitivity. This paper goes one step…

This study investigated the effect of using advance organizers on students' motivation to learn biology. The research design used was quasi-experimental design where the non-randomised Solomon Four group was adopted. The focus was on the topic pollution. The sample comprised of 166 form three (third grade in the secondary school cycle) students in…

Given an unfamiliar audience, an undervalued skill, and a limited time to present, librarian information specialists need a prescriptive means to generate motivation to learn. Tailoring, more commonly used in health communications, could enhance perceived task attractiveness and relevancy. In a controlled trial, two groups were compared on the…

There is a missing piece to America's education agenda, and children will continue to be left behind until that piece is addressed. Furthermore, children are not being systematically prepared for their complex roles as citizens in our democracy. A growing body of evidence from research and practice suggests reconceptualizing education as an…

The aim of this study was to explore students' perceptions of their learning environment and on-task orientation across different achievement levels. Data were gathered in two independent cross-sectional studies of Norwegian students in grades 8, 9, and 10 (n = 3453 in 2001 and n = 2987 in 2004). Students within the middle achievement levels…