Why tie a student's personal goals and interests to the research process?

  1. Children "study" the things that delight them, without coercion, and without a test on Friday. Motivation is a critical component of learning and especially of the desire for life-long, self-directed learning.Carol Kuhlthau, author of Teaching the Library Research Process, believes "One of the key considerations in designing a research task is motivation of the students."Children are born with an amazing eagerness to learn and explore. We can use their interests as tools to keep that "motivation to learn" alive and well in school."One never learns to understand truly anything but what one loves." --Goethe
  2. Gathering information on students' interests and goals early in the school year will help you build a variety of effective learning opportunities around student interests throughout the school year.

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