Student Characteristics; *Student Motivation; *Teacher Influence; Teaching Methods IDENTIFIERS Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire

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 at the sites and a review of literature suggested probable causes for low motivation: low socioeconomic status, inappropriate parental supervision, peer pressure to underachieve, lack of transfer of class content, and lack of opportunity for students to help make decisions in the classrooms. Review of instructional strategies suye6Led-ali inadequaLc:..vari.3ty cjf 1c2,:sc;r1-dc.:1i-sy 7-1'a 77-,Tssment. Three major categories of intervention were tried: use of learning activities that foster student awareness that knowledge and skills are transferable outside the classroom; increasing students ' choices in assessment areas and learning activities; and students employing multiple intelligence