Teaching reluctant students: using the principles and techniques of motivational interviewing to foster better student–teacher interactions

In formal learning settings, there will always be instances of resistance to learning from students, resulting in either open conflict or withdrawal and consequent disillusionment on the part of both students and teachers. This paper presents a set of principles and associated practices for responding to disengagement from learning in constructive ways. This framework, motivational interviewing, is borrowed from health care but has been adapted for use in higher education.