Research School Network: Improving intrinsic student motivation and autonomy in KS4 maths – Part 2 In this follow up blog Ed Marshall talks about what he has found out from his attempts to increase student autonomy in KS4 maths

Last week, Durrington maths teacher Ed Marshall outlined the research behind, and the intention of, his SSAT Leadership Legacy Project around harnessing student motivation and autonomy in the KS4 classroom. In this follow-up blog, Ed discusses his findings from the initial implementation.

Having spent the last term implementing strategies designed to increase my Year 10 students’ intrinsic motivation and encourage them to take greater personal responsibility for their learning, I am excited to share the approaches I used and the impact they appear to have had on both student perceptions and academic progress.

To structure this work, I drew on the three psychological needs identified within Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000): relatedness, autonomy, and competence. By intentionally developing each of these areas, I aimed to create an environment in which students were motivated not by external rewards, but by a growing sense of ownership, confidence, and purpose in their learning.

Relatedness

My interpretation of relatedness within teaching is the development of positive staff – student relationships that foster trust, belonging, and engagement, while also helping students see the relevance of their learning beyond the classroom.

While greeting students at the door at the start of each lesson, I made a concerted effort to ask them about their hobbies and interests. Not only did this strengthen relationships and demonstrate a genuine interest in their lives outside school, but it also provided opportunities to connect mathematical concepts to contexts that were meaningful to them.

For example, one student plays basketball at a high level, and several others are enthusiastic fans of the sport. During our quadratics unit, I taught a lesson on parabolas through the trajectory of a basketball shot. Engagement throughout the lesson was exceptional, with students actively contributing and making connections between the mathematics and a real-world context they valued. By helping students see mathematics as something relevant to their interests, I hoped to increase their willingness to engage with learning for its own sake, rather than simply for assessment outcomes.

Autonomy

Autonomy involves providing students with opportunities to make choices, contribute to decisions about their learning, and develop a sense of ownership over their progress.

One of the most effective strategies in promoting autonomy was offering students a choice between using mini whiteboards or their exercise books during deliberate practice activities. Over the course of the term, I noticed a greater willingness among students to attempt questions and engage independently with challenging tasks.

As discussed in Part One of this blog, some students take great pride in maintaining neat and detailed books. However, I became increasingly aware that fear of making mistakes was preventing some students from engaging fully with independent practice. Allowing students to use mini whiteboards created a low-stakes environment in which errors could be easily corrected, and learning could be viewed as an iterative process rather than a judgement of ability.

This seemingly small choice removed a barrier to participation, while simultaneously giving students greater control over how they approached their work. As a result, students appeared more willing to take risks, persevere through difficulties, and assume greater responsibility for their own learning.

Competence

Competence involves helping students recognise their own improvement through purposeful feedback, celebrating effort and perseverance, and ensuring they understand the value and purpose of what they are learning.

For many students in this class, developing a positive perception of success can be challenging. Historically, students only need to achieve approximately 25% of the available marks on AQA Higher Tier Mathematics papers to secure a Grade 4. However, many students focus on the number of marks achieved rather than the percentage score or the progress they have made. This can negatively affect self-efficacy and lead students to underestimate their achievements.

Throughout the term, I deliberately focused on recognising effort, improvement, and persistence. Rather than emphasising grades, I consistently reinforced the message that progress is the current priority. Students were regularly reminded that improvement from one lesson to the next is valuable, and that their hard work and commitment are worthy of recognition. By shifting the focus away from outcomes and towards growth, I hoped to encourage students to value learning as a process and to take greater ownership of their development.

At the start of this project, students completed a questionnaire about their learning and motivation. Comparing the responses before and after the intervention revealed some interesting changes.

Particularly noteworthy was the shift in responses regarding who students believed they were working for. Several students demonstrated a greater recognition that their studying and revision were ultimately for their own benefit and future aspirations, rather than solely to satisfy external expectations. This suggests a developing sense of personal responsibility for their learning. Please note that only 13 students were included in this trial/​responded to the survey meaning that it would be inappropiate to make wide sweeping statemtns and generalisations from the following data.

There was also evidence of a shift away from external rewards as a primary source of motivation. While a small number of students still valued tangible rewards, most identified teacher encouragement, support, and personal achievement as stronger motivators. This may indicate that students were beginning to place greater value on the learning process itself rather than on external incentives.

Furthermore, when asked what makes them proud of their schoolwork, there was a shift from assessment scores as the key factor pre-intervention to making progress post-intervention. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of students who valued praise from the teacher regarding the effort they had put in. (Students had the opportunity to select multiple responses.)

It is impossible to determine the precise causes of these changes within the complex environment of a school. However, based on classroom observations and student feedback, I believe that these relatively small adaptations to my teaching practice have begun to foster a stronger sense of intrinsic motivation and ownership among some students. My hope is to continue building on this foundation throughout their Year 11 journey.

Similarly, while it is not possible to attribute improvements in attainment directly to these interventions, the assessment outcomes are nevertheless interesting when considered alongside the changes in student attitudes.

Assessment Headlines

- 17 out of 22 students increased their score from the previous assessment. Among these students, the average increase was 10.2%.

- Across the class, students achieved an average increase of 6.3%.

- All four Pupil Premium students improved their scores, with an average increase of 8.1%.

- Five out of six SEN students improved their scores, with an average increase of 11%.

Although caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions, these outcomes suggest that creating conditions that support relatedness, autonomy, and competence may not only strengthen students’ intrinsic motivation and personal responsibility, but may also contribute positively to their academic progress.

By Ed Marshall – Teacher of Maths – Durrington High School


References

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).