Q: How do you engage students who don’t want to be in school while nurturing highly motivated students?
— Signed, Dean of students
A: Among the most pressing challenges an educator faces is effectively engaging students who are disinterested in school while simultaneously nurturing highly motivated ones. Striking a balance between these two groups can be complex, but we can create an inclusive learning environment that fosters student growth with the right strategies. We can do this by ensuring each student has a voice and the opportunity to personalize their learning experiences.
To effectively engage students, it’s essential to understand the motivations that influence their behavior. Students require autonomy, opportunities for voice and choice, and encouragement from their educators. We must remember that depending on the age of the students, how you create opportunities for autonomy will vary. Teaching ways to be responsible for ourselves as learners must be a part of the solution. Most students aren’t born understanding how to be effectively independent, and our systems sometimes train them to comply. Always remember that all kids can. When we function with this assumption, we are more likely to see the best in every child and find a way to help them succeed.
Engaging disengaged students
Build relationships: Start by getting to know your students. Take time to learn about their interests, backgrounds, and challenges. Building a rapport can increase their sense of belonging and make them feel valued. Research shows that positive teacher-student relationships are linked to higher student engagement (Wang & Holcombe, 2010). Informal check-ins or one-on-one conversations foster these connections. At the beginning of each year, I asked students to fill out a form with information about themselves. I used the information to build deeper bonds with my students. If they played sports, I tried to attend their games, same with music recitals, concerts, and plays. You must go above what the average teacher will do so that students want to trust you and understand how invested in them you are. You can’t fake this.
Incorporate student interests: Integrate topics that resonate with students into your lessons. Use surveys or informal discussions to find out what they enjoy. For example, if a student loves gaming, you could use game-based learning strategies to teach complex concepts. Studies have shown that students are more likely to engage when they see relevance in their lessons (Schmidt et al., 2018). In addition to ensuring that we are using examples and content that appeal to students’ interests, we should try to ensure all of our lessons and activities are connected to the world outside the classroom. We must ensure that the why of learning is evident in what we do so that students buy into it.
Create safe spaces for expression: Encourage students to share their thoughts and feelings about school through journaling, discussions, or creative projects. Acknowledging their feelings can help them feel heard and may reduce resistance to participation. Creating a classroom culture where students feel safe to express themselves is crucial for engagement (Ferguson, 2019). Model that vulnerability. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes in front of students and model how to respond to those mistakes. It does no one any good to be devastated by mistakes instead of using them as learning opportunities that increase growth. Zak Cohen writes about mistake literacy, which is the importance of making and learning from mistakes. When mistakes are actively encouraged as a part of the learning process, it creates a safe space to take risks.
Use active learning strategies: Engage students with hands-on activities that require participation. Techniques like group projects, role-playing, or interactive discussions can transform the classroom dynamic and keep students involved. Research indicates active learning strategies can improve academic outcomes and student satisfaction (Freeman et al., 2014). I concur with this research. Making sure all learning is tied to authentic opportunities increases interest as well. The teacher shouldn’t be the only audience for the learning but creating real opportunities to learn and share will also engage students. In my English classrooms, students wrote blogs to help students develop their voices. The blogs weren’t meant for analysis but to react to what they were reading on their own and to read each other’s blogs to build a culture of reading and respectful responses. This also developed appropriate social media behaviors for academics. Students can also podcast or create a vlog based on the medium they most enjoy.
Set achievable goals: Help students set small, achievable goals. Celebrating these accomplishments can boost their confidence and motivation. Setting specific, attainable goals can improve student performance. Consider using tools like goal-setting worksheets or progress trackers to visualize success. Often, the most disengaged students are tired of school because no one gives them directions. They can be bright people who haven’t had success for a long time and, therefore, believe they aren’t capable of success. Recognizing successes and celebrating them the way students enjoy offers an opportunity for students to have positive experiences.
Nurturing highly motivated students
Provide challenge and depth: Highly motivated students often seek challenges. Offer advanced materials, projects, or independent study opportunities that allow them to explore subjects in greater depth. This can keep them engaged and prevent boredom. Providing challenging tasks can enhance intrinsic motivation. Contrary to what may seem intuitive, students enjoy hard work. Assigning busy work isn’t the solution. Instead, students can work on authentic passion projects that offer extension opportunities that go deeper into their understanding. Genius hours, academic competitions, and publications can be motivating and fun for students.
Encourage leadership opportunities: Give these students chances to lead discussions, mentor peers, or take on responsibilities within the classroom. This fosters a sense of ownership and enhances their leadership skills. Leadership roles can significantly boost student engagement. In my journalism classes, I had students who were my managers who would work with students to set goals, track progress, and keep me abreast of what was happening. Student editors led groups of students to write and publish the publication. You can set up these kinds of roles for every class.
Facilitate collaboration: Create opportunities for collaboration between motivated and disengaged students. This can help motivate the latter while allowing them to share their knowledge and skills. Peer tutoring can be particularly effective, enabling highly motivated students to reinforce their learning by teaching others. Additionally, students should collaborate with the teacher to co-construct learning opportunities that help align objectives and push the boundaries of what is possible. For example, I gave students overviews and objectives of what a unit was supposed to be learned and assessed, and then I asked students to offer alternatives.
Connect learning to real-life applications: Help motivated students see the relevance of their studies in the real world. Invite guest speakers, organize field trips, or use project-based learning that ties classroom lessons to real-world issues. When students understand the real-world application of their knowledge, they are more likely to remain engaged. Field trips and service learning projects can be a great way to give back to communities while learning.
Engaging students who are uninterested in school while nurturing the highly motivated ones requires a thoughtful, nuanced approach. By building relationships, incorporating interests, and providing challenges, educators can create a dynamic learning environment that meets the diverse needs of all students. Flexibility and patience are key. Every student is unique, and adapting your methods will yield the best results.
Nurturing a vibrant classroom where every student can thrive is not just about engagement. It’s also about creating a community of learners who support each other and collaborate rather than compete. When we personalize the learning experience for all our learners, they are more likely to be engaged and excited to come to school.
References
Ferguson, C. (2019). The importance of student voice in education. Educational Leadership, 77 (5), 36-41.
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Wenderoth, M.P., & Crowe, A.J. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111 (23), 8410-8415.
Gregory, G. & Kaufeldt, M. (2015). The motivated brain. ASCD.
Wang, M.T., & Holcombe, R. (2010). Adolescents’ perceptions of school environment, engagement, and academic achievement in middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 47, 633-662.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Starr Sackstein
Starr Sackstein is the Massachusetts state coordinator for PDK’s Educators Rising program, COO of Mastery Portfolio, an education consultant, instructional coach, and author. She was a high school English and journalism teacher and school district curriculum leader. She is the author of more than 15 educational books, including Hacking Assessment (Times 10, 2015), Making an Impact Outside of the Classroom (Routledge, 2024), and Actionable Assessment (Routledge, 2026).
Visit their website at: https://www.mssackstein.com/
