Ask the Expert: Tips and Strategies for Educators to Help an Unmotivated Kid

Key strategies & approaches discussed (for helping an unmotivated student—especially with ADHD)

1) Understand what drives “academic engagement”

Academic engagement is influenced by three interacting areas:

• Motivational factors

  • Intrinsic motivation: Is the student interested/enjoying school?
  • Self-efficacy: Does the student believe they can succeed?
  • Extrinsic motivation: Do they see personally meaningful consequences for effort?

• Cognitive factors (executive function skills)

  • Organization, strategic planning, working memory, task follow-through

• Behavioral factors (adaptive learning habits)

  • Studying routines, note-taking/review, environment setup (quiet space/time), and seeking help

2) Use ADHD-specific motivation insights

The presenter links ADHD to:

• Reduced “internal pleasure”/novelty during typical learning tasks (hard/boredom/delayed reward feels worse)
• Higher preference for immediate rewards (e.g., video games/social media)
• Lower sensitivity to long-term consequences (grades/final exam outcomes)
• Lower self-efficacy due to frequent criticism over time

3) Classroom tools to build motivation and performance (the “toolbox”)

• Strategy A: Harness the student’s natural interests

  • Give choices in topics/areas of work
  • Weave interests into projects/learning tasks
  • Help older students connect interests to course paths and long-term projects

• Strategy B: Build self-efficacy

  • Social encouragement: acknowledge effort and improvement
  • Visual progress monitoring: graphs/level systems/sticker charts/positive metrics
  • Avoid undermining progress: reduce shaming/blaming
  • Fair, individualized expectations aligned to ability level
  • Use a two-to-one feedback ratio: aim for 2 positive/correct framing for every 1 corrective/negative message
  • Communicate that effort matters more than only achievement

• Strategy C: Increase the desirability of positive academic behaviors

  • Find or create personally meaningful reasons to engage (not just generic “finish school”)
  • If intrinsic meaning isn’t available, use extrinsic reward systems that fit the age:
    • Elementary: classroom/home reward games, tokens, token economies
    • Middle/high school: adjust to what matters most (including peer social reinforcement/mentorship models)

• Strategy D: Use goal-setting + tracking

  • Goals help students identify priorities and reduce uncertainty about “what to do next”
  • Focus especially on defining concrete, day-to-day steps
  • Use visual goal progress tracking
  • Consider SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based)

• Strategy E: Teach and reinforce targeted “academic engagement behaviors”

  • Define clear target behaviors (depending on age), such as:
    • Participating in class, following rules
    • Completing assignments thoroughly
    • Organizing materials/bookbag/planner use
    • Writing homework down, studying for tests
  • Ensure the student knows how to do the behavior (failures may be skill gaps, not defiance)
  • Reinforce with:
    • Social praise/feedback
    • Tangible reinforcement if motivation is especially low

4) Behavior systems that can work especially in younger grades (classwide + targeted)

Examples provided:

• Stoplight system (start green; move to yellow/red; can earn back to green)
• Token economy (tokens/currency like “school dollars” redeemable for privileges)
• Group contingency / “Good behavior game”
  • Two teams earn points for rule-following; winning team earns privileges
• Daily report card + parent involvement
  • Target behaviors tracked at school so parents can reinforce at home
  • Emphasized: involve the child so it feels collaborative, not imposed

5) How approaches shift by age

• Elementary/middle (more behavior modification/contingencies):
  • Reward systems and structured feedback are more impactful
• Secondary (more skill development than token rewards):
  • Provide a rationale for tasks
  • Acknowledge boredom (“I get it, it’s dull—let’s work on succeeding anyway”)
  • Negotiate/compromise when possible (“ask for a compromise/deal”)
  • Focus on skill-building interventions and practice

6) Specific interventions and what to consider

• HOPS (middle school)

  • A publicly available middle school organization intervention (taught in ~20–30 minute sessions twice weekly)
  • Focus:
    • Organization of materials
    • Planning homework time
    • Using a daily planner
    • Reinforcing progress
  • Includes coordination with parents for home reinforcement when needed
  • Can potentially be requested via an IEP/plan (depending on school bandwidth), or done via clinic/therapy if school resources aren’t available

• Functional analysis for oppositional/disruptive “lack of motivation”

  • Start by identifying:
    • Antecedents (what triggers the behavior)
    • Reinforcers (what keeps the behavior going—e.g., attention, escape, sleep issues, anger, etc.)
  • Then create a plan addressing those drivers
  • The presenter notes classroom token/behavior game approaches often work when aligned to the function

• Technology/executive function supports

  • Use existing school tech rather than adding new tools:
    • Check grades daily
    • Review missing assignments
    • Write down what’s missing
    • Peer support where students problem-solve together and advocate for accommodations (like extra time)

• High school supports (peer-based)

  • Peer interventions: pairing successful 11th/12th graders with younger students struggling with ADHD
  • Includes social reinforcement, goal setting, progress monitoring, and modeling executive-function skills
  • Presenter suggests peer approaches may outperform token rewards at this age

7) Practical next steps for the case student (“Kevin” example)

The presenter’s plan for Kevin included:

• Help him identify high school course options aligned to interests
• Use an executive-function/motivation skill intervention like HOPS
• Add home reinforcement connected to his interests (e.g., video game time)
• Set and track SMART goals
• Provide ongoing encouragement and incremental reinforcement (no single “shotgun” intervention—small changes over time)

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Presenter / source list

• Presenter: Ask the Expert webinar speaker (unnamed in subtitles)
• Book / royalties mentioned: Guilford Press book on interventions for adolescents with ADHD
• Intervention author referenced: Josh Langberg (HOPS intervention)