Student Well-Being & Movement Video

Larry Ferlazzo’s Tips for Student Motivation: Relatedness & Relevance

By Larry Ferlazzo — May 20, 2020 6:03

In this two-part series, Larry Ferlazzo goes in-depth on how to nurture students’ intrinsic motivation during remote learning. The Californian high school teacher explains how to keep students engaged through principles of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance. In this installment, he focuses on relatedness and relevance.

Larry Ferlazzo is a former award-winning high school English and social studies teacher of more than two decades. He is currently a volunteer tutor to English-learner newcomers at a local school and to youth in juvenile hall.

Video

Early Childhood Video How Play-Based Learning Helps Children Practice Math and Literacy Skills
See how elementary teachers use play-based learning to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
1 min read
Children enjoy a morning at the writing center at the Coltrane-Webb STEM Elementary School in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2026. Educators at the school use play to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
Children enjoy a morning at the writing center at the Coltrane-Webb STEM Elementary School in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2026. Educators at the school use play to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
Peyton Sickles for Education Week
Early Childhood Video Play-Based Learning: How It Can Build Young Children’s Independence
An EdWeek video looks at how an early learning program helps students explore boundaries and responsibility.
1 min read
Students tend to chickens at WonderHere in Lakeland, Fla. on Sept. 1, 2026.
Students tend to chickens at WonderHere in Lakeland, Fla. on Sept. 1, 2026.
Saul Martinez for Education Week
Teaching Video How Co-Teaching Helps English Learners Succeed
Increasingly in the Metro Nashville schools, general-education and English-learner teachers team up.
1 min read
Laura Eady, a 3rd grade general education teacher (left), and Lisa Maddox, an English-learner teacher, prepare lessons together for students at Mt. View Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 2, 2026.
Laura Eady, a 3rd grade general education teacher (left), and Lisa Maddox, an English-learner teacher, prepare lessons together for students at Mt. View Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 2, 2026.
Kevin Wurm for Education Week
School & District Management Video ‘You’ll Make New Friends’: What Happens to Students When Their School Closes
How two middle schoolers managed uncertainty as their rural school closed its doors.
1 min read
Tacy Fridrych, 11, with her friends on the First day of school at Lisbon Middle School in Lisbon, North Dakota on August 31, 2026.
Tacy Fridrych, 11, with her friends on the first day of school at Lisbon Middle School in Lisbon, North Dakota on August 31, 2026.
Natalie Behring for Education Week