Student Motivation and Thinking


dianliwenmi.com

Through the physical interactions required in rough-and-tumble play along with taking risks incrementally, children are learning the give-and-take of appropriate social interactions. Successful participation in this play requires children to become adept at both signaling and detecting signals from their brains — a social skill they will need and use throughout their lives.   more…

As the previous post indicated, both animal and human studies have strongly suggested that free play, rough-and-tumble, and exploration in children is important for emotional development. According to Frances Carlson "social roles practiced ..... [1] more…

montessoriguide.org
To find out if students can benefit from certain after school activities, Dr. Silvia Bunge, a neuroscientist, got permission from an elementary school in Oakland, California to coordinate 75-minute sessions twice a week. The sample of children in the Bunge investigation came from a poor demographic..... more…

wikipedia
The interplay between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system is a critical aspect of brain physiology that determines our drive in all matters, including the desire to perform tasks in school. If the message obtained by the amygdala from the sensory cortex is perceived as leading to a rewarding experience, the brain will set in motion the process to obtain that reward.more…

I went from 6th grade in a very small public school to a 7th through 12th grade junior and senior high school combination. From a somewhat nurturing elementary school setting I found myself (along with my friends) in the state's largest high school. . more…

A study was conducted to measure levels of happiness in children in 6th through 12th grade. The students wore special wristwatches that sent a signal at random times from 7:30 am to 10:30 pm for one week. It encompassed twelve communities, 33 different schools, and eight hundred participants.  ..... more…

philmckinney
Interestingly Dr. Alex Pentland, computer science professor at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has investigated group dynamics in a very objective way. His team does not simply visit business settings and take notes while eyeballing employees carry out tasks, but rather accumulates digital data from a machine. more…

Two research groups were discussed in previous posts.
Csikszentmihaly and Hunter concluded that:
Teenagers ascribe happiness to their moods when they are in situations of relative freedom, in the company of age-mates, able to engage in flow activities that stretch their skills and makes them feel alive and proud. [1] more…

In order to investigate the value of cooperative learning as professors of education at The University of Minnesota, David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson devoted research to observing children in group settings in schools. The results were published in the 1975 text Learning together and alone, cooperation, competition, and individualization. [1] more…

Education is a personal transaction among students and between the teachers and students as they work together. [1] Having students work in groups is a pedagogy distinct from the traditional lecture-discussion-worksheet mode. more…

Were you ever in a meeting and found yourself glancing at your watch from time to time? It got to the point where you hoped it would end soon. It was interesting at first but your mind started to wander and the speaker kept emphasizing the same point over and over again. Finally you heard: “in conclusion….”  more…






lmscommunitygarden
The exercises below are samples of cooperative efforts that emphasize positive interdependence. The roles (Leader, Desks/Folders, Recorder, Summarizer/Clarifier, Checker, Wildcard, and Reader) have a purpose in each of the cooperative lesson types below. This is a short list of many possibilities that educators have developed. more…






doctoryum.org
13) Boys have distinct issues that are hormonal and culturally defined
Imagine the enormous humiliation Rehtaeh Parsons experienced when she was gang-raped by four boys at 15 years of age. An innocent person was violated in the most dehumanizing way possible. To make matters worse, pictures of the incident were posted online by the perpetrators after the incident. [1] more…

From the biological perspective humans share many of the adaptations with their animal counterparts. Our lives revolve around resource procurement for food and reproduction. Even though our culture has changed over multiple millennia, the drives to obtain nutrients and sex are still part of our make up because they are genetically-determined.  more…

Wikipedia
Mikulincer used participants of different emotional attachment personalities: secure, avoidant, and anxious and got similar results throughout. Avoidant and anxious individuals are particularly prone to demonstrate less tolerance based on racial and political backgrounds. However, the experiment showed that even those with avoidant or anxious rearing could be primed to have secure feelings. more…






16) Trust is a crucial element in bring out the best in people
blog.newscom
Since Gregg Popovich has taken over as head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs they have won five titles. He has guided them to 18 consecutive seasons winning at least 60 percent of his games. No team in history, not even the Boston Celtics of the 60s, has ever come close to that. He is a skilled tactician and will, at times, be very critical in his approach toward his players, professional athletes in an unusually competitive and demanding atmosphere..... more...





edutopia
17) Students excel when they are rewarded for participation
The implementation of cooperative learning not only provides face-to-face benefits but allows students to have a meaningful stake in the learning process. By appointing roles each member has a valued responsibility and intervenes from time to time to maximize knowledge flow.....  more…
In a previous post I discussed primes, conscious or subliminal words or thoughts that create a mood that alters a person's avoidant or anxious lifelong personality to become temporarily secure. The volunteers in the experiment evaluated other people in a room in a favorable manner including those of known opposite religious or out-group affiliation. more…




Wikipedia


Mrs. Browslowski, my third grade teacher, had us read silently at our seats. She walked around the room and when she came to my desk brought her face close to mine and asked how I was doing. I was embarrassed because I saw words on the page but they did not register. There was feeling of failure, and that I let my teacher down in not being able to remember what I was reading...... more…





Every element of the adult-run society was looked upon with skepticism, including the President, Congress, corporate leaders, and basically all adults. Colleges, in particular, echoed that phrase because they saw their presence on campus as not just a degree-giver but a place to gain an understanding of the relevance of the world around them. .......more…