The
positive effects of providing students with a clear understanding of the
purpose, goals, and content of an activity has been repeatedly confirmed by
research (Boulanger, 1981; Wise & Okey, 1983). If students are to derive the intended learning
benefits from engaging in an activity, their interest in or recognition of the
value of the activity needs to be motivated (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Malone & Lepper,
1987), and they need to understand its goals and what these imply about how they
should respond to the activity (Tasker & Freyberg, 1985). This category
includes criteria to determine whether the material attempts to make its goals
clear and meaningful to students, either in the student text itself or through
suggestions to the teacher in the teacher's guide.
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