My struggling Keyboardists, those students that would benefit most from proper Touch Typing methods, do not remember what they have learned or practice what they have been taught. These students spend most of their time hurrying through assignments, peeking under their cover sheets, looking at their hands and keyboard, and taking every opportunity to cheat when they feel the teacher is looking another direction. Therefore, independent drill and practice is not helping them develop good Touch Typing habits, but reinforcing difficult to break bad habits.
I believe there are several factors causing these students to not use the proper keyboarding technique. First, many of them do not have the self-discipline to follow difficult directions. At the first indication of frustration, they abandon the Touch Typing method and resort to the short-term, immediate gratification of a complete, but improperly typed paper. Second, the diet of the average American teen-ager is so burdened with memory erasing substances that they are greatly hindered in learning and remembering what they have learned. Third, a middle school child varies drastically in hand-eye coordination. Some of my students play piano and some cannot tie their own shoes. Lastly, while I supply a wide selection of drill and practice, the struggling student rarely practices effectively. This student's readiness, his lack of ability to concentrate on one activity for fifty-two minutes, and his lack of moral maturity contribute, instead, to wide spread cheating and habitual shortcuts.
It is my opinion that I can best improve my students' performance by their attention by focusing on nutrition, proper drill and practice, and rewards for improvement in weekly timed writing exams. Students who can think and remember are better prepared to tackle the rigors of Touch Typing and demonstrate moral restraint thereby preventing bad habits before they develop.

Research Questions:
1. Will nutrition awareness and its effects on memory improve methods?
2. Will a buddy monitoring system encourage students to type properly?
3. Will immediate short-term success rewards reinforce proper typing?
4. Will a student monitoring score card, that considers typing position, use of proper fingers on the proper keys, and observation of times a student looks at his hands, prevent habitual bad Touch Typing methods?
5. Will a report on the school web page of the top ten typists of each class increase typing success and adherence to proper Touch Typing methods?