Goal Based Scenarios

I think Roger Schank rally hit a good point that young children learn because they are motivated to do so and that older students learn for extrinsic rewards. I have seen children that excel in classes in which they have a good rapport with the teacher and in other classes, they have behavior problems and poor grades. Students typically retain material when it is presented in a manner that is fun and relevant to their interests. They can be "tricked" into learning. The answer to the age old question" why do we have to do this" is one that students always ponder. Once the lesson is presented in a useful and interesting format, the answer is obvious to the studnet and they actually will embrace the knowledge and use it consistently.