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e within their cooperative groups or partnerships. For example, if the class is working on using descriptive adjectives in their compositions, one student could be assigned to review another's writing. He or she could provide positive feedback, noting several instances of using descriptive vocabulary, and provide constructive feedback, identifying several sentences that could be enhanced with additional adjectives. After this, the students could switch roles and repeat the process. Goals: Set specific goals for the writing assignments that students are to complete. The goals can be established by the teacher or created by the class themselves, with review from the teacher to ensure they are appropriate and attainable. Goals can include (but are not limited to) adding more ideas to a paper or including specific elements of a writing genre (e.g., in an opinion essay include at least three reasons supporting your belief). Setting specific product goals can foster motivation, and teachers can continue to motivate students by providing reinforcement when they reach their goals. Word processing: Allow students to use a computer for completing written tasks. With a computer, text can be added, deleted, and moved easily. Furthermore, students can access tools, such as spell check, to enhance their written compositions. As with any technology, teachers should provide guidance on proper use of the computer and any relevant software before students use the computer to compose independently. Sentence combining: Explicitly teach students to write more complex and sophisticated sentences. Sentence combining involves teacher modeling of how to combine two or more related sentences to create a more complex one. Students should be encouraged to apply the sentence construction skills as they write or revise. Process writing: Implement flexible, but practical classroom routines that provide students with extended opportunities for practicing the cycle of planning, writing, and revie

I've watched this before - very good. Today I read Larry Ferlazzo's posting on the effects of praise on motivation http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/01/20/video-carol-dweck-on-the-effect-of-praise-on-mindsets/. Stresses the big differences and impact that praising intelligence vs. effort have on what people are willing to do and how they feel about themselves.

An interesting post about whether a teacher is really useful. There are issues with this argument (student motivation being one) but it likely sums up the experiences of many and prompts the need for more individualized learning.

Granted, this is not about digital technology, but it could be part of the fuel to light the fire for change. What do we do when we fall so short of helping almost anyone foster a passion for learning? The quotes here are memorable and relevant: the writer is currently in university.

Interesting article about how even successful organizations need to reflect and learn about their teaching and learning practices. On page 4 they speak to the skills we all know we need to teach: presentation and communication skills, how to collaborate.