With concerns over student motivation, it helps to look inward at how teachers' instructional methods and professional practices impact students. Keeping this context in mind, teachers should also recognize that they are teaching and learning in a new era--one where "read-the-chapter-and-answer-the-questionsin-the-back" pedagogies are no longer enough, according to Christopher T. Dague. He proposes the Inquiry Design Model offers an instructional framework that enables students to exercise control and agency in their social studies inquiries. This article serves two specific purposes. The first is to provide an overview of the theory that can frame teachers' thinking about student motivation, specifically, self-determination theory. The second is to consider how the Inquiry Design Model can support and promote students' needs and enhance student motivation.