Why Are My Students Unmotivated? Understanding Causes and Finding Levers for Change

Why Are My Students Unmotivated? Understanding Causes and Finding Levers for Change

Low participation, missed deadlines, or disengaged students are often seen as a fixed trait. Some students are “motivated” and others are not. However, research shows that motivation is not a stable quality inside students but a dynamic state that can be impacted by course design, classroom climate, and life circumstances (Ambrose et al., 2010). In this article, we will look at a few small changes that instructors can implement to increase student engagement and motivation.

First let's talk about the factors that may contribute to low motivation from atheoretical perspective: 

Idea
Self-Efficacy: 
Quote"So, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation. Students with a strong sense of efficacy are more likely to challenge themselves with difficult tasks and be intrinsically motivate." (Bandura, 1977). 

People's beliefs in their efficacy are developed by four various sources of influence, including 

    • Mastery experiences: this refers to the experiences one gains when they take on a new challenge and are successful at doing so part of the struggle of getting better at anything or learning something new is making sure the person believes they are capable of carrying out said task successfully. 

    • Vicarious experiences: Vicarious experiences involve observing other people successfully completing a task. 

    • Social Persuasion: When one has positive role models in their life (especially those who display a healthy level of self-efficacy) - one is more likely to absorb at least a few of those positive beliefs about the self. Receiving positive verbal feedback while undertaking a complex task persuades a person to believe that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed.      

Idea
Expectancy * Value Theory (John Atkinson)

Is a theory of motivation that describes the relationship between a student’s expectancy for success at a task or the achievement of a goal in relation to the value of task completion or goal attainment. 
  1. Perceived value of the task: Students are more motivated when they see how a task connects to their goals, interests, identities, or future careers. When they cannot see this connection, they start viewing effort as “a poor investment” (Ambrose et al., 2010). 
  2. Expectancy of success: If students doubt their ability to succeed, whether because of prior performance, unclear expectations, or past negative experiences, they may disengage to protect themselves from feeling that they failed. 
  3. Expectancy*value research and work on academic mindsets show that beliefs such as “I belong here” and “I can improve with effort and strategies” can predict persistence (Farrington et al., 2012; Wanzer et al., 2019).  


  1. Idea
    Self Determination Theory:
     Self-determination theory suggests that humans are most motivated when three basic needs are supported:

  1. Autonomy: The need to be the causal agent of one's own life, acting with a sense of volition and choice rather than external pressure.
  1. Competence: The desire to control the outcome and experience mastery, requiring challenges that match or slightly exceed current skill levels.
  2. Relatedness: The need to interact with, be connected to, and experience caring for others, creating a sense of belonging
Overly controlling environments, high stakes with little feedback, or assignments that feel like “busywork” can undermine these needs.

Info
Practical Strategies to Foster Motivation
Make Value Explicit and Authentic
Increase Expectancy of Success
Increase Student Autonomy
Design for Emotional Engagement
Address Noncognitive Barriers and Teach Learning Strategies
Make Value Explicit and Authentic

Connect tasks to real goals. Start units by naming how skills and concepts are important for students’ academic or professional contexts. Replace “This will be on the test” with “Here’s how you might use this when you…”. 

Use authentic problems. Design assignments that mirror real-world tasks in your field (e.g., policy briefs, case studies, data visualizations). Authentic tasks help increase perceived value and sense of purpose (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Try this: Add a short “Why this matters” paragraph to every major assignment, explicitly tying it to program outcomes, workplace scenarios, or issues students care about. 

Increase Expectancy of Success

Clarify expectations. Provide transparent assignment descriptions with rubric and examples of strong work. Transparency reduces ambiguity and helps students identify what they need to do to be successful. 

Scaffold complex tasks. Break large assignments into smaller stages (proposal, annotated bibliography, draft, revision) and provide low-stakes feedback at each step. This helps build competence gradually and reduces fear of failure. 

Normalize struggle and failure as part of learning. Briefly discuss how experts in your field routinely revise, fail, and try again. Students who see difficulty as a normal part of learning, rather than evidence that they “don’t belong,” are more likely to persist (Farrington et al., 2012). 

Try this: Before a major assignment, share two short, anonymized excerpts, one “good” and one “developing”, and, with students, identify what makes the stronger example work. Then provide a simple checklist they can use on their own drafts. 

Increase Student Autonomy

Offer meaningful choices. Allow students to choose among topics, formats (e.g., podcast, infographic, traditional paper), or case studies, as long as learning outcomes are met.  

Invite student input. In class, or on a discussion board. ask students which examples resonate with them, what helps them learn, or how they’d like feedback. Incorporating even small suggestions can help create a sense of ownership. 

From a self-determination theory perspective, such practices support autonomy while preserving guidance, conditions linked to more self-endorsed, sustainable motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2020). 

Try this: Build a brief “choice board” into one unit, listing 3- 4 options for demonstrating understanding. Keep the rubric constant; let students choose the path. 

Design for Emotional Engagement

    • Start with a “hook.” Open class with a provocative question, real-world scenario, or brief story that links content to something surprising or consequential. 

    • Show your own intellectual curiosity. Instructor enthusiasm and emotional presence are contagious; they can signal that the material is worth caring about (Cavanagh, 2016). 

    • Vary modalities. Alternating short lectures with visuals, demonstrations, polls, and brief writing can keep attention and support different learners. 

Try this: Begin one session with a brief case or news story, ask students to generate questions, then use those questions to frame your mini-lecture. 

Address Noncognitive Barriers and Teach Learning Strategies

    • Normalize and name challenges. Acknowledge that many students work long hours, care for family, or navigate systemic barriers. Simple validation can reduce shame and open space for problem-solving. 

    • Teach how to learn in your course. Briefly model effective strategies (e.g., spaced practice, retrieval practice, self-explanation) and explain why they work. Students often rely on rereading or cramming because they do not know alternatives (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

    • Integrate small metacognitive pauses. Ask students to write for a minute about what is most confusing, or what strategy they will use to prepare for the next exam. Collect and respond to patterns in the next class. 

Try this: After a quiz, have students jot down one strategy that helped and one they will try next time; briefly highlight effective strategies in class. 

Notes
Additional Support

Sometimes students need additional support outside the classroom to help them cultivate their own intrinsic motivation and sense of competence. For additional support and accountability, helping students to make an additional connection on campus can help. One great connection can be to the Academic Coach in the Learning Commons. Please encourage any students who you think could benefit from this additional support to reach out to our Academic Coach or make a referral whenever you need. 

Myranda Hadley, Academic Coach

Learning Commons, 2071 Cedar Hall

319-398-4822

myranda.hadley@kirkwood.edu

Students can schedule through this link for an appointment: https://calendly.com/myrandahadley


References

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass. 

Cavanagh, S. R. (2016). The spark of learning: Energizing the college classroom with the science of emotion. West Virginia University Press. 

Farrington, C. A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T. S., Johnson, D. W., & Beechum, N. O. (2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners: The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. 

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. 

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860. 

Wanzer, D., Boman, J., & Brown, N. (2019). Relationships among noncognitive factors and academic achievement for first-year students. AERA Open, 5(4), 1–16.