Motivating Disengaged Students Equals Success
Motivating disengaged students is essential for fostering learning and achievement. When students feel motivated, they persist longer, engage more deeply, produce higher-quality work, and perform better in class. But how do you motivate a student who seems to have given up entirely?
‘My dad killed my mum’ he announced in class
A few years ago, I taught at a school in Australia where disengaged students were a common challenge. One day, a student—let’s call him Dave—was placed in my class mid-year. As he walked in, he announced, “Hi, my dad killed my mum.”
Dave had been expelled from other schools, and his development was far behind. He carried a lot of fear and anger and hated school. At first, he refused to learn, but I knew that with patience and the right approach, I could make a difference.
2 minute a day strategy that works!
Dave’s barriers weren’t just academic—they were emotional. To help him feel safe, I didn’t push him to participate. Instead, I used small steps to build his confidence. For tasks, I offered alternatives that upheld his dignity, such as presenting a simpler version of the activity in a conversational way suited to his year level. No Year 5 student wants to feel singled out with a Year 2 textbook.
One of the most effective strategies I used with Dave was the 2-Minute-a-Day technique. Every day, I spent two minutes chatting with him about something he was interested in. It could be anything—his hobbies, a game he liked, or even just a funny moment from his day.
This strategy, which I learned during a training session in 2001, always seems to work. When you dedicate two minutes a day for ten days, you start to build trust and connection. Over time, Dave’s barriers began to crumble, and he became more open and engaged.
Love Conquers All
After a few months, Dave wasn’t the same disengaged student I first met. He laughed more and became well-liked by his classmates. One day, I overheard a conversation between Dave and his younger brother.
His brother asked, “Dad’s coming out of prison—why don’t you want to leave school and go with him?” Dave replied, “I want to stay because my teacher loves me.”
It was a moment of clarity for me. Even though Dave eventually left the school, the connection we built had made a lasting impact on his view of learning. Sometimes, love, care, and patience are the most powerful tools we have.
Motivating disengaged students
Motivating disengaged students isn’t easy, but it’s always worth the effort. For me, it starts with creating a classroom environment where students feel valued and supported. Behaviour management becomes easier when students are engaged and connected.
Here are a few strategies I’ve found helpful:
Adapt Your Materials – Tailor tasks to your students’ abilities while maintaining their dignity.
Build Relationships – Use the 2-Minute-a-Day strategy to show genuine care.
Foster a Sense of Belonging – Activities that build social skills and connections can make a big difference.
Nick Woolf’s 2×10 Strategy, which encourages educators to spend two minutes a day for ten days building relationships, is a practical approach to motivating disengaged students. It’s all about making small, consistent efforts to connect.
Keep trying, keep learning
Not every strategy will work for every student. As Chris Holmes writes in his article, What to do about disengaged students: wisdom begins in wonder, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But the key is to keep trying, adapting, and showing students you care.
Motivating disengaged students is about more than just teaching. It’s about understanding their needs and creating an environment where they feel seen and supported. Share your experiences below. Have you had a similar challenge with a student? Let’s learn from each other!
The story in this post is very harrowing, but it’s great to hear that the student was still able to remain engaged with their learning.
Not that it relates to your story – but one of my biggest issues with a lot of school systems is their lack of inspiration towards the most basic methods of learning – like reading books for example. Most people hate reading because they were forced into it at school.
I think the key is to show students a goal that they can reach – whether that be financial independence or the development of a skill they love – so they develop their own drive for wanting to learn.
I feel like this was a massive thing that was missing when I was at school!
Hi Joshua, yes the story was very harrowing but also inspiring in that the student changed.
I agree with your perceptions about reading in schools but many teachers are changing that. I have developed over the years a classroom library adding the most unique books to tantalise the most reluctant readers. Of which most were boys. We also use technology reading aloud into an iPod and recording it and playing it back and listening to improve reading.
They also know I will spot check and give a response at least once a week but as you so rightly comment, the students quickly developed their own drive for wanting to learn. Especially when they want to share with the class a book review. Thanks.
Hey Sylvia:
Thanks for sharing your article ‘Disengaged Students Attitude’ and for forming I love to teach 101. I’m enjoying being part of this group. Some students have a really hard time of it, and very often it is a caring and creative teacher who can help them find their way through.
Hi Netta, thank you so much for your encouragement. It is amazing how many teachers just ordinary folk are so kind!
Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. We are in the middle of reworking the website but I thought I had better reply soon or you might think I’m ignoring you.
Thanks
Wow! What a sad story with such a good outcome. Have you heard of Torey Hayden? She is a special education teacher who writes about her class room experiences and your story reminds me of her book “One Child” and its sequel “Tigers Child”. Sheila, a severely disturbed little girl, remembers the care Torey gave her. I really hope Dave is able to take the care and support you gave him and go on to do great things in his life!
I really wish you’d been around when my son was in mainstream. It was the most awful experience for him. He is very bright but has severe learning disorders which has him years below age level in most subjects. I ended up pulling him out and putting him into distance education as it removed the behavioural issues of him lashing out because he couldn’t keep up and he was being bullied. Unfortunately the school decided he was the problem and whilst we had good teachers they were too scared to go against the establishment to fight for him. I am so glad Dave had you in his life, even for such a short period, as it could well make a huge difference to his future schooling.
Regards,
Megan
Hi Megan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
I had not heard of Torey Hayden but I looked her up on Amazon books. I liked so much what I read in the reviews, that I purchased one of her books. Can’t wait to get into it today being Saturday. Thank you for pointing me to such a good resource.
That is so sad what happened to your son. I hope he is doing well with the distance learning but that must put a lot of strain on you being mum and teacher 24/7. I take my hat off to you and other mothers who do this. Us teachers get a break at the end of the day but mums don’t.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow! That is such a sad story but we persevere and our students change. I think people should spend some time in classrooms so they know what it’s about. I love teaching and strongly recommend teaching as a career to everyone because it is so rewarding.
Thank you, Sophie. Perseverance is key. We must never give up on any child and like you say it’s so rewarding. So glad you love to teach. Sylvia