What a True-Crime Investigation Can Teach Us About Student Engagement and Motivation

I recently watched a true-crime documentary, and while the story itself was fascinating, I found myself paying just as much attention to what was happening in the classroom.

The documentary follows a high school sociology teacher and his students as a classroom project involving an unsolved murder case develops into a much larger investigation. What stood out to me was how invested the students became in the work. They were not simply completing an assignment for a grade. They were asking questions, reviewing evidence, collaborating, reconsidering their assumptions, and contributing to work that had meaning beyond the classroom.

That level of engagement connects closely with several ideas explored in our Albion PD+ course, Student Engagement and Motivation. The course examines the factors that influence engagement, persistence, achievement, and student development, with particular attention to Self-Determination Theory and the roles of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The classroom project featured in the documentary offers an interesting real-world example of what these ideas can look like in practice.

One of the clearest connections is autonomy. The students were not simply following a set of predetermined steps toward an answer their teacher already knew. They had opportunities to ask questions, pursue information, evaluate evidence, and make decisions about where the investigation should go next. Autonomy in the classroom does not mean removing structure or leaving students completely on their own. Instead, it means giving students meaningful opportunities to take ownership of their learning. 

The Student Engagement and Motivation course asks educators to examine both autonomous and controlled motivation and to consider how choice and autonomy-supportive practices influence students. 

The project in the documentary also created opportunities for students to experience competence. They were working through a complicated problem that required them to develop skills over time. They had to interpret information, recognize patterns, communicate ideas, question assumptions, and revise their thinking when new evidence emerged. Rather than completing work simply because it had been assigned, students could see themselves becoming more capable of doing difficult and meaningful work. That sense of growth can be an important part of sustaining motivation.

Just as importantly, the students were connected to something larger than themselves. Their work involved collaboration with classmates and eventually extended beyond the walls of the school. This reflects the idea of relatedness, or the sense that we belong, contribute, and are connected to others through our work. The project became more than an individual assignment; students were participating in a shared effort with a real purpose. That type of connection can give learning a very different meaning.

Perhaps the biggest lesson from the documentary is not that educators need to create dramatic projects or investigate cold cases in order to motivate students. Instead, it encourages us to think about the conditions surrounding learning. Does the work give students meaningful choices? Is there an authentic challenge? Can students see themselves growing more capable? Are they connected to others? Do they understand why their work matters?

These are many of the same questions educators explore throughout the Student Engagement and Motivation course. Learners analyze theories of motivation and engagement, apply Self-Determination Theory to classroom environments, and consider how instructional practices can promote motivation and self-directed learning. The course also asks educators to develop practical tools for evaluating and improving classroom conditions related to motivation, engagement, autonomy, and student well-being. 

The classroom project featured in the documentary is certainly an unusual and highly innovative example of project-based learning, but the underlying lesson is much more universal. Students are more likely to become deeply invested in learning when they have opportunities to make meaningful decisions, tackle challenging problems, contribute to something larger than themselves, and understand why their work matters. The project may have been extraordinary, but the motivational principles behind it are ones educators can consider in classrooms every day.

Register for the Albion PD+ Student Engagement and Motivation course now to deepen your understanding of these practices and develop practical strategies for effectively applying them in your classroom.