The Value (and Convergence) of Practices Suggested by Motivation Research and Promoted by Mathematics Education Reformers Deborah Stipek, Julie M. Salmon, Karen B. Givvin, and Elham Kazemi University of California, Los Angeles Geoffrey Saxe, University of California, Berkeley Valanne L. MacGyvers, University of Southwestern Louisiana In this study we discuss convergence between instructional practices suggested by research on achievement motivation and practices promoted in the mathematics instruction reform litera- ture, and we assess associations among instructional practices, motivation, and learning of frac- tions. Participants included 624 fourth- through sixth-grade students and their 24 teachers. Results indicated that the instructional practices suggested in literature in both research areas positively affected students’ motivation (e.g., focus on learning and understanding; positive emotions, such as pride in accomplishments; enjoyment) and conceptual learning related to fractions. Positive student motivation was associated with increased skills related to fractions. Key Words: Classroom interaction; Conceptual knowledge; Elementary, K-8; Motivation; Reform in mathematics education; Teaching practice Research on achievement motivation provides considerable evidence of class- room practices that nurture positive motivation (see Stipek, 1996, 1998, for reviews). These practices are similar to ones promoted by mathematics education reformers to achieve both motivational and mathematics learning objectives (California State Department of Education [CSDE], 1992; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1991). One purpose of this article is to exam- ine points of convergence between the practices suggested by theory and research on achievement motivation and the practices recommended by mathematics edu- cators—to link these two bodies of literature that have heretofore developed somewhat independently. In the study reported we also explore, in real classroom settings, associations among (a) teaching practices (suggested in both the motiva- tion research and mathematics reform literature), (b) student motivation, and (c) mathematics learning. The study, therefore, provides empirical evidence both for assumptions made in the mathematics reform literature about the effects of reform-minded instructional practices on motivation and for the effects of moti- vation on learning. We first discuss the rationale for the particular motivation vari- ables we studied. This discussion is followed by a summary of teachers’ practices that are often recommended in both the motivation and mathematics reform liter- atures to enhance motivational outcomes and mathematics learning. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 1998, Vol. 29, No. 4, 465–488 This material may not be copied or distributed electronically or in any other format without written permission from NCTM. Copyright © 1998 The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. www.nctm.org. All rights reserved.