Classroom Hacks for Motivated Students

Motivating high school students is a challenge for many teachers. 208 high school students in 41 science classes over a 6-week period reported on their motivation and engagement in class as well as classroom strategies the teachers adopted.

Researchers found that when teachers adopted autonomy-supportive practices, kids were engaged and motivated. When teachers adopted autonomy-thwarting practices, engagement and motivation dropped.

What were these practices?

Autonomy-supportive practices that boosted autonomous motivation included:

• Providing a rationale for behavioural requests
• Choice provision
• Consideration for students’ preferences and interests
• Question opportunities

Autonomy-thwarting practices included:

• Use of uninteresting activities

Daily controlled motivation (which means regulation is based on anything but intrinsic motivation) came from:

• Controlling messaging
• Suppression of student perspectives
• Use of uninteresting activities

Call to Action
Want to learn more? Listen to our “From The Doctor’s Desk” podcast episode linked below. Explore our other resources on motivating students including:

• How To Motivate Kids and Why Rewards Aren’t The Answer
• Carrots & Sticks: How Rewards and Punishments Hurt Our Kids, and What to do Instead
• The Happy Families podcast #1050 – Adam Voight: What’s Really Going On In the Classroom