Staff Room Reads
Reviewed by Professionals for Professionals

One of the reasons I have always worked in Education is the joy of being constantly reinfected by the enthusiasm of young people and am keen to understand more about where this comes from.  Teenagers aren’t always excited learners, but when they are, the energy they exude and share with others is invaluable for learning.

Teachers have always needed to be great motivators, and they invariably are.  However, I know first-hand that motivating ALL learners is a tough mission, and if there is some science to steer our profession in getting this ‘more right for more students’, then I wanted to learn about it.

In his book ‘10-25 The Science of Motivating young people’, Dr David Yeager explores this topic in great depth.  There are endorsements from some of the ‘big hitters’ in the science of positive psychology and motivation, such as Carol Dweck (Growth Mindset) and Angela Duckworth (Grit) which made the book even more attractive.  I was keen to understand where the science that underpins these powerful theories have evolved to, and Yeager did not disappoint!

Traditional explanations of brain development often focus on what the adolescent brain doesn’t have.  The pre-frontal cortex is the final part of the adult brain ‘jigsaw’ to mature in the mid-twenties, when it provides the owner with the ability to exercise logic.  Prior to the maturity of the pre-frontal cortex, we can see adolescents and young adults as being  ‘incomplete’, using this as an explanation for ‘faulty/irrational/spontaneous’ thinking and decision making.  Yeager calls this the ‘Neurobiological-Incompetence’ model and swiftly sets about debunking it.

The science suggests that this age group responds far more positively to taking responsibility and earning respect.  An effective example of this is the evolution of anti-smoking health campaigns.  Marketing that speaks to the negative impacts on health by smoking appear to have little impact.  Such messaging ‘tells’ young people what they should be doing (or not doing) and is an example of the ‘enforcer’ mindset.  This approach is where the adult exercises high standards with low support which typically lead to resentment.  The marketing evolved to focus young people on the question “why would you give your hard-earned money to tobacco companies who exercise control over you by trapping you in addiction to nicotine?”.  By speaking to the desire of young people to make their own choices, the health campaign had significantly greater impact.

Similarly, the number one reason for kidney transplant failure in young people is their lack of compliance to the post-transplant medication.  When adults ‘nag’ young people to take medication, citing the health consequences of failing to do so, the result is even less compliance.  However, when the encouragement is reframed as taking responsibility to live a full life with the donated kidney to honour the donor, compliance rose significantly.

Three mindsets

Yeager identifies three mindsets that adults adopt in their communication with young people:

• Enforcer
• Protector
• Mentor

We have already considered the enforcer.  The protector is at the opposite end of the high standards/support continuum.  The protector champions support over high expectations.  The mentor mindset hits the ‘sweet spot’ between high standards with high support, creating a path to meaningful achievement.

This is not ‘new learning’ for teachers, but Yeager demonstrates repeatedly that when we adopt the mentor mindset in our communication with young people, we offer ‘wise feedback’ which blends critical guidance with a clear message of belief in the young person’s potential. This approach reduces defensiveness and enhances motivation and performance.

I was interested to read Yeager’s reflections on the impact of ‘Reframing Stress as Fuel’.  Drawing on research, Yeager distinguishes between stressors and stress responses. By reframing physical signs of stress (like increased heartbeat) as performance-enhancing rather than debilitating, young people fare better long-term. This is particularly pertinent for us in schools. I would argue that for at least some of our students, doing some targeted work to ‘normalise’ what we might call ‘acceptable stress’ (because it is what we might expect to experience in normal life), could help reduce reports of anxiety and stress.

In summary, ‘10-25, the science of motivating young people’ is a reminder of many of the approaches adopted by highly effective teachers, providing the scientific evidence to support them.