Sometimes, Motivation Starts With Being Heard
Students were asked about several aspects of their learning experience, including whether they felt their teacher cared about them, whether they had choices in learning, whether they could express their views, and whether they understood how they learned best.
After completing the assessment, students reported positive changes in several of these areas.
The strongest differences were related to:

• feeling that their teacher cared about them
• having choice in their learning
• being able to express their views
• understanding how they learned best

These findings stood out to us because they point to something that can easily be overlooked in education:
Students don’t just need to know what they are learning. They also need to understand themselves as learners.

Choice Matters More Than We Think
One finding was particularly interesting. In an earlier phase of our research, more than 81% of students said having choice in their learning was important to them. Yet fewer than 18% reported having a choice in how they learned in Math or Language Arts.
And 75% said they would be very interested in having more choice if the opportunity were available.
So there is a significant gap between what students say they value and the choices they actually experience in their learning.
Providing choice doesn’t mean giving students complete control over what they learn. Teachers still have an important role as curriculum experts.
Instead, it can mean giving students meaningful opportunities to contribute:
How would you like to approach this?
What helps you learn best?
Which strategy feels like a good fit for you?
What do you think would help you reach your goal?

These may seem like small questions.
But they can send a powerful message:
Your voice matters.

Students With Learning Challenges Told an Important Story
We were particularly interested in what happened for students who identified as having learning challenges.
Before completing the assessment, students with learning challenges generally reported lower levels of motivation than students without learning challenges across most of the variables examined. The largest differences were related to choice, expressing their views, and understanding how they learned best. But after completing the assessment, some of those gaps became smaller.

For students with learning challenges, there were significant improvements in choice and understanding how they learned best.
That finding matters. It suggests that the experience of understanding yourself as a learner, and having greater opportunity to make choices may be particularly important for students who have experienced challenges in school.

Rather than asking only, “What is this student struggling with?”, we can also ask:
“What does this student need to understand about themselves to become a more successful learner?”
Understanding Yourself Can Build Confidence
Students’ own words helped bring the numbers to life. Some students described how the assessment could help their teachers understand them better and avoid making assumptions about their behaviour or abilities. Others said that understanding how they learned could help them improve.
One student explained that knowing they learned well visually could help them improve their learning. Another described the experience as providing ways to overcome challenges rather than simply giving up.

These responses connect to three psychological needs identified in Self-Determination Theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

• Students need to feel that they have some control over their learning (autonomy).
• They need to feel capable of learning and improving (competence).
• And they need to feel understood and connected to the people supporting them (relatedness).

When these needs are supported together, motivation can become much more than simply getting students to complete their work.

The Teacher-Student Relationship Matters
One of the most meaningful findings involved relatedness. Students described how the information gathered through the assessment could help teachers understand who they really were. Some felt it could help teachers understand why they struggled with certain tasks. Others believed their teachers could provide better support once they understood their needs. This is important because relationships influence learning.
A student who feels misunderstood may disengage. A student who feels known and supported may be more willing to take risks, ask for help, and persist when learning becomes difficult. Assessment, then, doesn’t have to be just about identifying gaps.
It can also be a tool for building relationships.

So, What Did We Learn?
The research did not show that one assessment can solve student disengagement. It showed something more nuanced and perhaps more useful. When students have opportunities to express their views, experience choice, understand how they learn, and help educators understand them better, their experiences of motivation can change. And those opportunities may be especially meaningful for students with learning challenges.

The bigger lesson for us is this:
Before we ask students to become more motivated, perhaps we need to ask whether we are giving them meaningful opportunities to understand themselves, have a voice, and experience success. Because sometimes the first step toward a more engaged learner isn’t another strategy.
It’s listening.

Click HERE to read the full dissertation study: A Student-Directed Holistic Assessment Approach to Help Teachers Support the Diverse Needs of Students and Develop Self-Regulated Learners in Inclusive Educational Settings 

References:

Montgomery, D. (2026). A student-directed holistic assessment approach to help teachers support the diverse needs of students and develop self-regulated learners in inclusive educational settings [Doctoral thesis]. University of Prince Edward Island. https://islandscholar.ca/sites/default/files/2026-05/montgomerydianne_dissertation_2026_redacted.pdf