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In motivational interviewing, scaling questions invite students to rate things like importance or confidence on a 0–10 scale, then use that number as a starting point for deeper conversation. What you say after the number is where the real magic happens.

Open‑ended questions are a core skill in motivational interviewing in schools because they invite students to tell their story in their own words rather than answering with a yes or no. The right questions help teachers, counselors, and other educators understand what is really going on and gently draw out students’ own reasons to change.

In motivational interviewing in schools, “stage‑matching” means adjusting how you talk with a student based on how ready they are to change a specific behavior, like attendance, engagement, working with AI or a specific behavior.