About Roots of Reason

There's no test. Self-Determination Theory, the research I rely on here, says motivation rests on three needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In plainer words: some say in the work, a sense of being able to do it, and belonging. I watch for all three.

Then I listen for how the student sees those same three things. The two pictures often don't match. Some strong students are sure they're bad at math. That mismatch is often the first thing we work on.

And I watch for curiosity: what they ask about when they don't think it counts.

A student whose favorite game is full of mythological creatures might end up reading the folklore behind them and writing about it, and that writing can show language gaps that never came up in regular assignments.

The interest is the way into the academic work. It connects what your student needs to learn with something they want to think about.

With no pressure on it, I can see what's driving your student. If they follow through when nobody's checking, the sessions are working. If they don't, that tells me something too, and I adjust. It's how I tell a student who needs more structure from one who needs something else entirely.

You'll get updates that explain what we did and why: what I noticed, what we tried, and what comes next.