By virtue of the strategies they use to motivate students, the support they provide and the evaluation practices they favour, teachers have a profound impact on their students' perseverance and commitment to learning and, consequently, on their academic success. How effective are these strategies and practices? Two research teams studied the question from the point of view of students.1 Thérèse Bouffard and her team at the psychology department at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) focused on the strategies used to motivate elementary school students. Roch Chouinard and his team at the faculty of education at Université de Montréal concentrated on the evaluation approach used by teachers at a pivotal point in students' development, i.e. Elementary 6 and Secondary I.