The use of Student Management Teams (SMTs) is a relatively new teaching technique designed to increase students' motivation and involvement with the planning and execution of college courses. However, to date, little systematic, empirical research has validated the effectiveness of using SMTs. To test the effectiveness of this technique, the current research utilized a pretest-posttest paradigm consisting of two courses taught by the same professor (both Social Psychology courses). In one course, the professor implemented a SMT; the other course served as a control comparison. Results revealed that students in the course with the SMT increased their feelings of autonomy relative to students in the control comparison course. Implications for teaching techniques and their potential impact on student motivation are discussed.