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.