As I scanned study after study, I noticed the prevalence of one theory of motivation that seemed to be referenced more than others -- Self Determination Theory.

Good thing that is, because this is the theory of motivation that inspired me eight years ago and is the basis for how I focus my choices as an academic coach. I find it to be super practical, and I’m excited to share my thoughts about it today.

In this reflection, we are going to dive into three challenges to student motivation derived from the psychological framework Self Determination Theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

This is applicable to your work with students, regardless of whether you are a classroom teacher, academic coach, or tutor!

Motivation Shmotivation! What would happen if we stopped complaining about students not being “motivated” enough -- and instead worked to figure out what is the root issue behind the apparent lack of motivation?!

In the first part of the series, we looked at the four “low-hanging fruit” reasons why a student might appear unmotivated. Before I begin to solve a student’s motivation dilemma, I try to double-check whether the student: (1) has diagnosable brain-based differences, (2) has the right tools for learning, (3) understands the task, and (4) is in an appropriate environment for taking action.

The next most common reason a student might appear unmotivated is that they have a skill weakness that is keeping them from getting started with a task.

There are three key areas in which students have skill deficits that impact their motivation to learn.

These three skill sets are at the center of my Anti-Boring Approach to teaching educators how to coach students. I find that once students better understand what exactly is happening in their brains while they’re learning, they make better choices in their learning.

The question I get asked most by parents and educators is: how do I motivate unmotivated students?

Sometimes I think the word “motivation” itself is unhelpful, because it feels like we’re talking about something important and specific when actually we’re not.

In fact, I’ve noticed “lack of motivation” often masks eleven different challenges a student could be facing instead.

Le’s examine the first four of those!

As an academic coach, I love it when a student tells me they are “bullshitting” an assignment…because…Wow! It’s unusual to get some metacognitive framing from students about their own processes, and the use of this word shows that they have an assessment about the work they are producing. That is an exciting first step!!

Does studying suck for your students?

You can make it suck less (and just maybe actually be more fun!) with these six, easy to get objects….

Can a single study strategy seriously make such a difference? I say YES! In fact, I’d say that if you only share one of my anti-boring tips with students in your classrooms and academic coaching or tutoring sessions this year, this is the one to share!

In March 2023, I stumbled upon the exciting potential of integrating ChatGPT into study practices during my consulting work at a medical school. The revelation came to light in a coaching session with a radiologic technician student juggling a hectic schedule. Despite the challenges, the student ingeniously employed ChatGPT for exam preparation. Later, I delved into exploring how students could harness ChatGPT for effective retrieval practice, aligning with test formats. Here, I offer practical steps, emphasizing the importance of verifying ChatGPT's accuracy and tailoring questions to specific difficulty levels. I encourage educators to ask students a thoughtful question about the responsible use of ChatGPT, underlining the transformative impact of AI in education with an emphasis on responsible integration. You are free to walk your students through the steps I outline or copy and paste them into a document you share with your students.