A study tested a resampling methodology (bootstrap simulation) by examining the effects of class size and student motivation on students' ratings of teaching effectiveness. Results suggest that evaluations based on student ratings should look at more than class averages, and that class size and student motivation affect overall ratings. Examples…

Suggests that educators must address: (1) What should be learned? (2) When should it be learned? (3) How would it best be learned? and (4) How can we tell how well we have answered the first three? Addresses the first three questions by offering principles of practice for early childhood educators, ranging from curriculum to learning disposition…

Reproduces a teaching strategy from the "Beginning and Intermediate Band" volume of the "Strategies for Teaching" series. The reproduction includes the objective, procedures, materials used, prior knowledge and experiences, indicators of success, and follow-up activities. The strategy supports the musical instructional standard 4C: composing and…

Explores reasons why teenage students who know how to read choose not to do so, and emphasizes the importance of reading as an enjoyable and valuable pastime. Discusses aspects of reading that reluctant readers may not know and lists 25 titles that may appeal to such students. Provides teachers and librarians with suggestions for helping reluctant…

Claims that parents and teachers should reinforce students to persist until they master a challenging task. Compares children in America and Asia in terms of perseverance. Provides suggestions to parents on motivating their children to achieve goals. Concludes that it is important to explain to the child a task's difficult aspects, brainstorm new…

Reviews Miami-Dade Community College's (Florida) efforts to promote service learning, highlighting the Partners in Action and Learning project. Indicates that the project involves service learning centers, faculty development opportunities, and contributes to college planning. Includes results from surveys of participant satisfaction, reviewing…

Investigates whether exposure to discourse elements affects idea production in novice writers. Results indicate that students given discourse prompts generated significantly more ideas than those given purely motivational prompts and that they spent more time generating ideas, suggesting that instruction in discourse elements may prove beneficial.…

Investigates changes in preservice teachers' conceptions about projectile motion brought about by a combination of reading and demonstration and appeal to usefulness. Results indicate the effectiveness of a combined Demo-Text condition on immediate posttests and effectiveness of text in producing long-term change. Analysis also indicates an…

Teachers in a large, urban school district created Wellness Wednesday, a program in which students invite family members and school staff members to join them every other Wednesday for an aerobic workout. The article describes how the program works and notes successful program ideas. (SM)

Highlights group and task differences between teaching and coaching which favor coaching, thus making it more amenable to exercise influence by coaches and more motivational than teaching. A model synthesizing antecedents of role preference, influences of organizational and environmental elements, enacted role, role congruence, and resulting job…

Examines previous research on the motivational implications of emphasizing task- versus ego-involved goals in various achievement situations endemic to sports programs and in the context of physical education, proposing that students' and athletes' task involvement should be fostered in order to enhance their motivation to engage in physical…

Investigated linguistic and affective outcomes of summer study abroad participation by 25 college French students. Sought to determine if significant changes occurred in two linguistic factors--oral and listening French skills--and two affective factors--integrative motivation and language anxiety after study abroad. (Author/VWL)

A study examining Mexican-born parents' influence on their children's academic outcomes surveyed 273 Mexican American students attending three Los Angeles high schools. Girls reported higher academic motivation and educational aspirations than boys. Parent behaviors of helping, monitoring, and supporting positively affected academic motivation.…

Seven classroom projects that motivate student writing in Northwest schools are described. The projects vary in grade level. Themes include local history, fairy tales, "Flat Stanley" exchange students, student book publishing, art, poetry, and science. Common practices include having students write about local and personally meaningful…

Analyzes a case of a struggling student writer who was not helped by good classroom techniques. Proposes that for educators to help struggling writers, they need to focus on both the student and the activity system within which the student works. Concludes that educators need to take account of: teachers' and children's ideas; organization for…