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 When students take educational ownership they take personal responsibility to do something meaningful and positive to change their lives. With ownership comes dignity and self-respect. With educational ownership students realize there may be challenges in their path but they will not allow them to become insurmountable roadblocks to their future.”

http://www.christian-parenting-source.com/motivatestudents.html

2) ” One of the hardest things for teachers to do is to inspire their students. In this groundbreaking book, authors and trainers Andi Stix, Ed.D. and Frank Hrbek show teachers how to do just that by adapting proven coaching strategies in the classroom. Whether you teach at the elementary, middle, or high school level, and no matter the content area, this book has everything you need to fire up students’ imaginations and get them engaged, inspired, and motivated to succeed. These strategies, which have been used successfully in some of the most diverse classrooms in the country, can help to increase student achievement by:

• Ensuring harmonious group work
• Improving organizational and note-taking skills
• Overcoming emotional and environmental roadblocks
• Resolving conflicts among students, and
• Empowering students by allowing them ownership of their work “

http://classroomcoaches.com/

3) ” Another aspect of formative assessment that encourages self-efficacy and student ownership of their learning is self-assessment.”

http://www.aimhi.ac.nz/downloads/MotivatingStudents3362.pdf

To get yourself mentally engaged in the weight loss process, it could be worth your while to create incentives for yourself. The most obvious incentive for most people is the effect losing the weight will have on the way their body will look. It’s easy to think things like If only I were thinner, that dress would look great on me or When I lose 20 more pounds, I’ll look GOOD!

One fun way to give yourself a concrete version of the “you” in your mind’s eye is to go to www.myvirtualmodel.com. By answering a few questions about your weight, body type, face shape, and hair coloring, you can create pictures of yourself at any given weight. Plus, there are even some stores online that allow you to try on clothes with your Virtual Model. It’s like taking the future you on a free shopping spree.

Another incentive to reaching your weight goals is to find rewards for yourself. Whether you want to mark specific weight loss milestones, like five pounds or ten pounds, or you want to reward certain healthy behaviors, like drinking 64 oz. of water, it’s good to have something to work for that you can “see.” Ten pounds doesn’t always make an immediate visual difference, but you can keep your eye on the earrings you bought yourself and know that you earned them, Some people even create Web sites and scrapbooks for themselves, chronicling their milestones and rewards – even the ones they haven’t reached yet.

Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself what your goals are and how you can keep yourself on track to reach them, because whether it’s a manicure at 10 pounds or a cruise when you meet your final goal, the best reward is going to be a new, healthy you.

http://www.hoodiagordoniidietpills.co.uk/weight-loss-tips/weight-loss-incentives.html

The mesolimbic system is a system of neurons in the brain that secretes dopamine, a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger, which mediates emotion and pleasure. The release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the mesolimbic system is traditionally associated with euphoria and considered to be the major neurochemical signature of drug addiction.

“Baseline dopamine levels were 50 percent lower and stimulated dopamine release was significantly attenuated in the brain reward systems of obesity-prone rats, compared with obesity-resistant rats. Defects in brain dopamine synthesis and release were evident in rats immediately after birth,” said Emmanuel Pothos, PhD, assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at TUSM and member of the neuroscience program faculty of the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences.

“Previous research has demonstrated that food intake leads to an increase in the release of dopamine, in the circuits that mediate the pleasurable aspects of eating,” Pothos explains. “Also, chronic food deprivation resulting in decreased body weight leads to decreased dopamine levels. Therefore, increased food intake may represent a compensatory attempt to restore baseline dopamine levels.”

Pothos says, “These findings have important implications in our understanding of the obesity epidemic. The notion that decreased dopamine signaling leads to increased feeding is compatible with the finding from human studies that obese individuals have reduced central dopamine receptors.” He speculates that an attenuated dopamine signal may interfere with satiation, leading to overeating.

Pothos and colleagues conducted their research using obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats. Adult obesity-prone rats consumed more food and were 20% heavier than obesity-resistant rats.

The researchers measured electrically-evoked dopamine release from nerve terminals. “We also measured regulators of dopamine synthesis and release in midbrain dopamine pathways,” explains Brenda Geiger, first author and graduate student in the pharmacology and experimental therapeutics department at TUSM. “Our molecular analysis suggests that the central dopamine deficits are most likely caused by reduced expression of the genes encoding two proteins, one that is involved in dopamine synthesis, and another that is a transporter responsible for packaging dopamine into vesicles from which it is later released upon stimulation.”

“Obesity has so far been approached mostly as a metabolic rather than as an addictive disorder; and obesity research has primarily focused on brain systems that regulate body weight through the maintenance of energy balance. The current study challenges this approach by focusing on brain pathways implicated in pleasure and reward. These pathways could override energy balance and induce hyperphagia and obesity by altering the reward value of food, particularly palatable high-energy food, very early in life,” says Pothos, who is the study’s corresponding and senior author.

According to Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal, “Now we know why so many people stay addicted to food: it fuels the mid-brain pleasure machinery. We eat not only for nourishment, but also for pleasure. This study provides the molecular link between eating and mental health.” The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) is published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

This research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, both institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research. The work was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR).

Geiger BM, Behr GG, Frank LE, Caldera-Siu AD, Beinfeld MC, Kokkotou EG, Pothos EN. The FASEB Journal. 2008 (August); 22 (8): 2740-2746. “Evidence for defective mesolimbic dopamine exocytosis in obesity-prone rats.”

About Tufts University School of Medicine

Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in innovative medical education and advanced research. The School of Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in education in general medicine, special combined degree programs in business, health management, public health, bioengineering and international relations, as well as basic and clinical research at the cellular and molecular level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and more than 30 health care facilities. The Sackler School undertakes research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation for its impact on the advancement of medical science.

If you are a member of the media interested in learning more about this topic, or speaking with a faculty member at the Tufts University School of Medicine, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, or another Tufts health sciences researcher please contact Siobhan Gallagher at 617-636-6586.

source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/tuhs-opt072908.php

There is currently a childhood obesity epidemic. Over 16 percent of children are overweight. Over the past four decades, childhood obesity rates have increased three- to fourfold, with even higher rates among minority and economically disadvantaged children and adolescents.

Today many kids are overwhelmed with sugary food choices. This increases their chances of obesity and a future of serious health problems once seen almost exclusively in adults, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep apnea, and orthopedic problems.

At home, school, and throughout the community kids are offered food as a reward for “good” behavior. Food is an inexpensive, easy choice that can cause immediate short-term behavior changes.

These food rewards are typically “empty calorie” foods—high in fat, sugar and salt with little nutritional value. They provide extra calories and replace healthier food choices.

Using food rewards teaches kids to eat when they aren’t hungry and can cause them to develop life- long habits of rewarding or comforting themselves with unhealthy foods. They also may tie food to emotions, such as feelings of accomplishment. “I did a good job, so I deserve to treat myself to a piece of double chocolate cake.”

Kids view certain foods that are used as rewards to be better or more valuable than other foods. As a result, they learn to prefer unhealthy foods that are given to them as rewards (e.g. candy, cookies and soft drinks) over healthy foods (e.g. vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy products).

Rewarding or punishing kids with food can lead to eating disorders. Withholding food for punishment may stimulate kids to overeat when food is available, because they are afraid they won’t have enough to eat later.

Kids naturally enjoy eating healthy and being physically active. Parents, schools and communities should provide kids with an environment that supports healthy behaviors and teaches them lifelong healthy eating habits.

Parents can provide non-food rewards at home. Respect and words of appreciation can go a long way. Saying “You did a great job” or “I appreciate your help” is often underestimated. Simply recognizing kids for good work or behavior is a great motivator and is always appreciated.

Here are other ways to reward a child’s good behavior and academic excellence while generating fun and great results:

Set up a system so that the child can earn movie tickets, coupons, gift certificates or discounts to skating rinks, bowling alleys, and other entertainment outlets.

Food is commonly used to reward students for good behavior and academic excellence. It brings about an immediate behavior change in kids.

If this food reward system is working, then why does it need to be changed? In addition to the many reasons already mentioned, giving students food rewards during class reinforces the bad habit of eating outside of meal or snack times.

Rewarding kids with food also can contribute to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems. Non-food items or activities, on the other hand, can support good health while recognizing kids for their achievements or good behavior.

Here are some non-food alternatives that students can enjoy as rewards at school.

sit by friends

• watch a video

• read outdoors

• teach the class

• earn extra credit

• get extra art time

• have an extra recess

• receive verbal praise

• enjoy class outdoors

• play a computer game

• read to a younger class

• go on a walking field trip

• get a “no homework” pass

• make deliveries to the office

• take care of the class animal

• listen to music while working

• read morning announcements

• play a favorite game or puzzle

• be a helper in another classroom

• eat lunch outdoors with the class

• walk with a teacher during lunch

• eat lunch with a teacher or principal

• design a class/school bulletin board

• be recognized during announcements

• be featured on a photo recognition board

• dance to favorite music in the classroom

• earn play money to be used for privileges

• get “free choice” time at the end of the day

• listen with a headset to a book on audiotape

• have teacher share a special skill (e.g. sing)

• receive a note of recognition from the teacher or principal

• go to the library to select a book to read

• have a teacher read a special book to the entire class

• receive a 5-minute chat break at the end of the class or at the end of the day

• earn points for good behavior to “buy” unique rewards (e.g. autographed items with special meaning or lunch with the teacher)

select a paper back book

• enter a drawing for donated prizes among students who meet certain grade standards

• earn a trophy, plaque, ribbon or certificate

• get a video store or movie theatre coupon

• earn a pass to the zoo, aquarium, or museum

• earn a free pass to a school event or game

• get a flash cards set printed from a computer

• receive a “mystery pack” (gift-wrapped items such as a notepad, folder, puzzle, sports cards, etc.)

• earn a gift certificate to the school store or book fair

• receive a plant, seeds and a pot for growing

• earn an item such as a Frisbee, hula hoop, jump rope, paddleball or sidewalk chalk, which promote physical activity

• take a trip to the treasure box (non-food items such as water bottles, stickers, key chains, temporary tattoos, yo-yo’s, bubbles, spider rings, charms and pencil toppers)

• receive art supplies, coloring books, glitter, bookmarks, rulers, stencils, stamps, pens, pencils, erasers and other school supplies

These ideas are just a beginning and can be modified for different age levels. Options for non-food rewards are limited only by imagination, time, and resources.

Always match the reward with the action. For completing reading assignments, give a book, magazine, or word-play activity. When a class project is successfully completed, reward the child with a pencil or eraser. Allow extra time to play outside if the class behaves well.

Classroom nutrition education is meaningless if contradicted by rewarding kids with candy, soft drinks and other sweets. The classroom message is that kids need to eat healthy foods to feel good and learn better. However, when they behave well or perform their best, kids are rewarded with unhealthy food, like candy and cookies.

Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, sums it up this way: “Rewarding children with unhealthy foods in school undermines our efforts to teach them about good nutrition. It’s like teaching children a lesson on the importance of not smoking, and then handing out ashtrays and lighters to the kids who did the best job listening.”

Kids learn preferences for food made available to them, including those that are unhealthy.^{7 Poor food choices and inadequate physical activity contribute to overweight and obesity. Currently, obesity among kids is at epidemic levels and can often lead to serious health problems.8}

source: http://hgic.clemson.edu/pdf/hgic4110.pdf