The Motivated Brain: Improving Student Attention, Engagement, and Perseverance

by Gayle Gregory, Martha Kaufeldt

Overview

What really motivates students to learn? Although educational neuroscience has focused primarily on how the brain learns, little has been said about the underlying motivation that keeps us interested and eager to learn. Recent neuroscientific findings have, however, uncovered the source of the drive to learn, or as neuro-scientist Jaak Panksepp terms it, seek, Seeking is the motivational drive that gets us out of bed in the morning, the engine that drives us to act, look, and find, and the need that manifests as our curiosity. Based on these new, powerful scientific findings on the nature of this seeking system, internationally renowned educators Gayle Gregory and Martha Kaufeldt have developed and field-tested an exciting approach to teaching and learning that improves student motivation, knowledge acquisition, retention, and academic success. In this book, readers will learn: The science behind the motivated brain and how it relates to student learning. Strategies for preparing a motivational environment and lesson. Strategies for creating engaging learning experiences that capitalize on our natural, favorite ways of learning. Strategies for improving depth of knowledge, complex thinking, and synthesis to get students into the ever-desired state of flow. How all of this will improve your classroom environment and student learning. This book will enable teachers to harness the power of their students' intrinsic motivation to make learning fun, engaging, and meaningful.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416620488
Publisher:	Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Publication date:	09/23/2015
Sales rank:	164,605
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction 1

Part I Understanding Motivation

1 The Challenge of Motivating Students 9

2 The Science of Motivation: The SEEKING System 32

Part II Seeking in the Classroom: A Framework for Motivation

3 Exploratory Investigations: Level 1 The Need to Seek 49

4 Learning and Anticipation: Level 2 Seeking and Making Connections 72

5 Imagination and Synthesis: Level 3-Applying Higher Cognitive Processing 93

Part III Bringing It All Together: Engaging the Seeking System

6 Leveraging the Seeking System to Maximize Student Attention, Engagement, and Perseverance 125

References 150

Index 161

About the Authors 167