Instructors should fully explain the "purpose" behind the assignment, and should ask themselves before assigning it: a) am I offering "any autonomy over how and when to do this work?"; b) does doing this assignment promote mastery by being "an engaging task?" And c) is the purpose of this assignment clear to the students?

Teachers, students and others in the classroom community are inspired when there is a larger cause for everyone to focus on. For example, by teaching to students' strengths (their interest in wildlife), have the students write and illustrate reports on the loss of wildlife habitat in their county -- by going out into the natural world with a biologist who can point out the ways urban sprawl, pollution, and over-grazing has done damage to the ecosystems and hence taken away habitat for birds, coyotes, deer and rabbits. Students use the concepts of autonomy, mastery, and purpose...
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