This report describes a program designed to increase students' on-task behavior. The students in the sample population consisted of kindergarten, first, and fifth graders. These classrooms are located in a community in northern Illinois. The problem of student behavior adversely affecting on-task behavior was well documented through a review of…

Researchers implemented classroom interventions to improve the intrinsic motivational behaviors of 4th and 6th grade elementary students and to strengthen teacher/student and student/student relationships in a positive supportive learning environment. The problem of low intrinsic motivational behaviors was documented through classroom observation…

This report described how implementation of differentiated assignments provided documentation of how students' motivation increased. The volunteers that participated in this study were 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Students struggle academically to meet the expectations of their instructors. These struggles impact how students learn academically,…

A project was created to help seventh and eighth grade students improve their academic success. Students attended a middle school located in a growing urban community in the Midwest. Existence of the problem included records of low grades; an observation checklist to measure off-task behaviors; teacher surveys that determined the effect of missing…

This report describes a program for increasing class achievement by raising the motivational level of adolescents. The targeted population consisted of high school mathematics students from a metropolitan area located in central Illinois. The problem of low motivation level found in the targeted students was documented by student surveys. Evidence…

This action research project sought to improve student motivation in order to increase academic performance among eighth graders in an urban community. Evidence of academic underachievement and lack of student participation was documented by means of teacher observations, incomplete and missing assignments, and student questionnaires. Student,…

Following research that documented inadequate motivation as a problem through assessment of academic performance, student motivational surveys, teacher class records, and teacher journal entries, a program was conducted to increase the level of motivation of junior high school students in a middle-class community in central Illinois. Observations…

This paper reports on a project created to improve high school students' academic success. Students in three schools in the suburbs south of Chicago were targeted. Lack of student success was attributed to several probable causes: teacher-student relationships, curriculum relevance and choice, family issues, teacher expectations, lack of…

A metacognition instructional strategy was employed to increase class participation and motivation in 21 seventh grade "at-risk" students at 2 schools in the context of the national problem of meeting the needs of "at-risk" students. A survey of the students' content area teachers and of the students themselves found evidence…

This report describes a program for increasing student readiness for and achievement in mathematics. The targeted population consists of third grade students in an expanding suburban community and kindergarten students in a culturally diverse urban community, both located in Northern Illinois. The problems of achievement in and attitudes towards…

This report examines the problem of a lack of motivation in secondary mathematics students. A large percentage of our students view upper level math courses as only a means to an end. They lack self motivation and are driven by either parental concerns or the desire to score well on college entrance exams. They see very little transfer from the…

This study describes a program designed to increase reading practice at home and at school. The targeted population consisted of elementary students from separate river communities located in the Midwest. Evidence for the existence of the problem included teacher observation of apathy to reading practice, student attitude surveys to gauge…

This report describes a program for increasing motivation in writing that will enhance students' skills at a variety of grade levels. The targeted population consisted of first, second, and third grade classes as well as ninth through twelfth grade Learning Disabled students in a Midwestern state. The evidence of lack of motivation was documented…

This report describes a program for increasing levels of leisure time reading and heightened awareness of age and ability appropriate literature with an effort to encourage targeted students in grades 2, 3, and 6 to become lifelong readers. The targeted population lives in a growing rural, low to upper middle class community located in north…