10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People
By David Yeager
(Simon & Schuster, 2024 – Learn more)
Reviewed by Sharon Ratliff
Motivation – an imperative ingredient for students to learn. People often say, “Kids have changed – they are lazy, lack respect, or are addicted to screens. Nothing motivates them.” I disagree. So does David Yeager.
Dr. Yeager’s book, 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, utilizes groundbreaking research, case studies, and real-life scenarios to challenge educators, managers, and parents to rethink their approach to motivating the next generation.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon this book after a colleague recommended it during one of our collaborative sessions. Reading this book has challenged me to reevaluate my approach to thinking about student motivation.
Yeager, co-founder of the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute, draws on his experience as an educator, a behavioral scientist, and a parent to reveal an innovative way to revamp our approach in motivating our young people.
Notably, Yeager started his career as a middle school language arts teacher and basketball coach before beginning his doctoral studies. Yeager’s extensive research is thoroughly documented in the book (367 notes!).
I love the organization of this book. The book is divided into three sections, each with several chapters.
- Section one – lays the foundation, along with a trip down memory lane. (Remember D.A.R.E – Drug Abuse Resistance Education? It was ultimately cancelled because this type of motivation didn’t work with young people.)
- Section two – breaks down ways to adopt a mentor mindset while leveraging key traits (transparency, questioning, stress, purpose, belonging).
- Section three – challenges the reader to implement motivational strategies in their role.
Each chapter begins with an interesting quote related to the topic of the chapter. Yeager uses charts, graphs, and infographics to clarify his points and research. Reading tip: As a middle school educator, you can skip the manager/ boss scenarios. (Though they are fascinating!)
Redefines Mentor Mindset
Some may steer away from the term ‘mentor mindset’ because it implies an expenditure of time, a commodity that teachers don’t have. However, to clarify, this book encourages readers to adopt a mentor mindset by exploring the most effective communication styles and questioning techniques for working with students.
As I read the book, I found myself highlighting terms like “collaborative troubleshooting,” writing sticky note tabs labeled GT (gifted student, my field) or RL(real life), and pondering conversations I’ve had with students related to motivation. As with many resources, everything in the book may not pertain to your role. However, this book serves as a guide to transforming a teacher’s approach to motivation when teaching our tweens and teens.
This mentor mindset challenges teachers to adopt approaches that promote transparency, questioning, stress management, and purpose in relation to student motivation. Each chapter features specific studies that illustrate how motivation is linked to these traits, as well as the impact of a mentor mindset. For example, if I were teaching middle school math, I would take the example from the book and illustrate transparency by tweaking my beginning-of-the-year speech and address:
- What is it like to learn in this class?
- What is the meaning of struggle in this class?
- Can I ask questions?
- Why do we have to show our work?
- What do my test scores mean? (Yeager 138)
The idea behind transparency is to address questions students ask themselves. Transparency is one of the mentor mindset tools, where you show students that there are high standards, but you also provide high support for success. Yeager goes into great detail about each tool (transparency, questioning, stress, purpose).
The Art of a Question
Years ago I worked for an astute principal who challenged me to plan engaging questions when teaching or conferring with students. Ms. Hecker would tally the number of level one, level two, and level three questions when observing a lesson. Using her feedback, my questioning techniques evolved to deliver an engaging curriculum. The art of a question doesn’t simply relate to academic content; it also relates to motivation.
Yeager dedicates a chapter to questioning and the mentor mindset. After reading the chapter, I thought of a real scenario I dealt with last year, and then tweaked the questions I would ask now. Below is the example:
This is one example of the many ways to use questions and redirect a negative learning curve spiraling towards the abyss of apathy. Teachers and coaches will derive many ideas about questioning as well as other traits related to the mentor mindset from reading 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People.
If you feel out of touch with our current student population, are at a loss for how to deal with students who don’t care, or want to glean some new motivational techniques, then read this book as a resource – it could be the spark you need for this school year. (Click here for a visual book talk.) Happy reading!
Sharon D. Ratliff (@sharondratliff) is the Gifted and Talented Facilitator with three different junior highs in Katy, Texas. Before stepping into the mysterious world of middle school, Sharon taught upper elementary in Texas and Florida, as well as with the Department of Defense.
Over the past 20 years, Sharon has mentored young teachers, hoping to pass along a love for educating young minds. She enjoys working with all students, developing curricula that emphasize critical thinking and discovering reading and writing techniques that empower students in real-life applications.
