I think one way to do this is by tightening the feedback loop between learning and the benefits of learning (basically, operant conditioning).
Personally, I learn a lot because I know it will often be directly beneficial to me. I don't learn things I don't think will be useful at all.
I suspect many students in middle school and high school find the concepts too remote to apply to their own lives. I think good teachers are able to make the application of knowledge salient and relevant, such that students have a personal incentive to learn it. As an example, I imagine the utility of coupling game theory with learning to work with others (friends even), because this is directly applicable to one's life.
Personally, I learn a lot because I know it will often be directly beneficial to me. I don't learn things I don't think will be useful at all.
I suspect many students in middle school and high school find the concepts too remote to apply to their own lives. I think good teachers are able to make the application of knowledge salient and relevant, such that students have a personal incentive to learn it. As an example, I imagine the utility of coupling game theory with learning to work with others (friends even), because this is directly applicable to one's life.