1. Motivating Biology Students with Student-Led Presentations Afrodita Fuentes Belmont High School Los Angeles, California

2. Literature Review Motivation Student-Centered Learning Environments Collaborative Learning Contexts Student-Led Presentations

3. Motivation Students’ intrinsic motivation & extrinsic motivation decreases gradually from 8 th – 10 th grade (Otis, Grouzet, & Pelletier, 2005) Motivation increases when students –Build relationships with teachers & peers –See relevancy in the tasks and topics –Feel competent to perform tasks (Daniels & Araposthatis, 2005)

4. Student-Centered Learning Environments – A Constructivist Model Who are the students & what do they really want/need? (Daniels & Araposthatis, 2005) “Capitalize on student strengths and work around student needs” (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001, p.28)

5. Collaborative Learning Contexts Consider grouping structures (Saleh, Laonder, De Jong, 2005) Provide students with tools & opportunities for knowledge construction (Palinscar & Herrenkohl, 2002) Allow students to Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate (Burrowes, 2003)

6. Student-Led Presentations Use academic & scientific language Develop communication skills Appreciate & celebrate contributions Influence students to metacognate Empower students to take control & ownership of their own knowledge (Milbrandt, Felts, Richards, & Abghari, 2004)