Improving student interest in the spanish 1 classroom through democratic teaching

Abstract

This action research describes the curricular and activity changes in my classroom when a new curriculum was adopted. Interest-orientated classrooms can increase the amount of learning that takes place among students. Mortimer Adler's Paideia Philosophy gave the incentive to rewrite the Spanish 1 curriculum, and use the textbook as a reference only and allow students to make decisions about what to learn, how to learn the material and how to assess. The Paideia Philosophy is described, including its objectives and the teacher's role in the learning process. © 1999, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.