ERIC Number: ED443135
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 126
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-86552-141-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Student Motivation: Cultivating a Love of Learning.
Lumsden, Linda
Motivation is the ultimate product of many aspects of the school experience: significant relationships between teachers and students and among students; a meaningful, well-taught curriculum; teachers who maintain high expectations and look for ways to help each student connect to the curriculum; and opportunities for choice and self-evaluation that foster students' ownership of learning. This book posits that young children's natural motivation to learn will survive only in schools where the curriculum is worth learning; where students focus on learning (not on competition or grades); and where students feel valued, and, therefore, are disposed to care about the school's values, including learning. The job of schools is to help students develop a commitment to learning that sustains them even when a particular task seems too difficult or unappealing. They are most likely to develop this commitment in a school that meets their needs for belonging, contribution, and meaningful work. Research suggests that practitioners who shift away from systems of rewards and punishment and, instead, actively involve students in shaping classroom climate and learning promote both students' motivation to learn and their commitment to democratic values. (Contains 63 references.) (DFR)
Descriptors: Classroom Techniques, Competition, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Problems, Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Strategies, Motivation Techniques, Public Schools, Self Concept, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Expectations of Students, Teacher Student Relationship
ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 5207 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5207; Tel: 541-346-5044; Fax: 541-346-2334; Web site: http://eric.uoregon.edu.
Publication Type: Books; ERIC Publications
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene, OR.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Foreword by Catherine Lewis.