Active learning modalities are increasingly being adopted in university classrooms. Evidence suggests active learning improves retention rates, learning experiences, and academic outcomes. Recent studies have illustrated the positive effects of active learning on student outcomes in STEM fields, humanities, social sciences, and agricultural colleges. While several studies have focused on how active learning practices affect measurable student outcomes, they have not investigated how these modalities directly affect the academic motivation of vulnerable students. Much of the literature examining the effect of active learning on student outcomes focuses on students from one or several related disciplines. We surveyed 311 (blinded) students in Fall 2024 about their perspectives and experiences regarding how different teaching methods impact their academic motivation. Our sample included undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses offered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; however, 36 academic majors from liberal arts to aerospace engineering are represented. In analysis, we found that non-vulnerable (cis-het) students relayed that active learning, experiential learning, and problem-based learning are more motivating than lectures but that a flipped classroom and peer teaching are less motivating than lectures. Vulnerable (i.e., transgender or non-heterosexual) students tended to find experiential and problem-based learning more motivating than lectures but found peer teaching less motivating. Vulnerable students also appeared to be more averse to peer teaching, relative to lectures, than non-vulnerable students. Lastly, non-vulnerable students had a slightly stronger preference for experiential learning. Therefore, acknowledging student preferences for learning modalities is a critical task for the educator at the beginning of the term. The results of this research help educators understand how their presentation of classroom material may affect their students’ motivation to participate and engage with course materials across diverse disciplines and demographic identifiers.