When kids truly have their hearts set on something, they can seem like sturdy puppies locking jaws on a rag doll and tugging, tugging, tugging away. It's hard to change their focus. You might say it's the epitome of motivation. Wouldn't it be great if kids could set their hearts on doing well in school? A booklet from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory offers educators some insight into what research says about motivation, and parents may find also find the information useful.
Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation: From Time-on-Task to Homework draws on the research to talk about the forces at play, from the influences of parents and teachers to those of peers, which increase in intensity as kids grow older. It's tougher to keep kids motivated and engaged as they grow older, write authors Cori Brewster and Jennifer Fager. "However," they say, "research has shown that teachers can influence student motivation; that certain practices do work to increase time spent on task; and that there are ways to make assigned work more engaging and more effective for students at all levels." Also included are tips for parents who, say the authors, play the most important role in cultivating students' motivation to learn.
The Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation booklet is part of the Laboratory's By Request series, and another separate but related booklet points out the potent influences that parents have on their child's learning.
Parent Partners: Using Parents to Enhance Education, by the same authors, speaks to educators about the importance of parent involvement with their child's learning and their child's school. It points out that in the over three decades of research on parent involvement researchers found positive results for children time and time again. The benefits included:
The most effective forms of parent involvement are those where parents directly work with their children in learning activities at home. "The earlier in a child's education process this begins, the more effective it will be," advise the authors. They note that among the ways parents can help their kids become successful in school is to:
Increasing student engagement and motivation: from time-on-task to homework is available for sale, and online. Parent Partners: Using Parents to Enhance Education is also available for sale and online. These booklets, and others, are also available on the Web at www.nwrel.org/request/.
This column by Karen Lytle Blaha is provided as a public service by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit institution working with schools and communities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
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Date of Last Update: 9/6/01 
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