<p>What really motivates students to learn? What gets them interested--and keeps them interested--in pursuing knowledge and understanding? Recent neuroscientific findings have uncovered the source of our motivation to learn, or as neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp terms it, the drive <em>to seek</em>. Seeking is what gets us out of bed in the morning, the engine that powers our actions, and the need that manifests as curiosity.<br /><br /> Informed by new findings on the nature of the brain's seeking system, internationally renowned educators Gayle Gregory and Martha Kaufeldt have identified key brain-friendly strategies for improving student motivation, knowledge acquisition, retention, and academic success. In this book, readers will learn<br /><br /> * The science behind the motivated brain and how it relates to student learning.<br /> * Strategies for preparing a motivational environment and lesson.<br /> * Strategies for creating engaging learning experiences that capitalize on the brain's natural ways of learning.<br /> * Strategies for improving depth of knowledge, complex thinking, and synthesis to get students into the ever-desired state of flow.<br /> * How attention to the neuroscience of motivation will improve the classroom environment and student learning.<br /><br /> <em>The Motivated Brain</em> shows teachers how to harness the power of their students' intrinsic motivation to make learning fun, engaging, and meaningful.</p>