Student Choice

We know that all students do not all learn in the same way, or at the same time.  Technology has made it easier to give students more options when it comes to how they learn and how they show their learning.  We have access to a large number of resources and tools so we can allow students to have more options when it comes to what and how they learn.  Part of that includes giving students the ability to take ownership of their learning through choice, and also making sure they have the ability and knowledge to make good use of that choice.

Mentor Teacher, Kate Engelkes, recently was a featured speaker at the Iowa Technology Education Connection (ITEC) Conference in October.  One of her presentations was titled “The Power of Choice: Building Learning Efficacy in Students.”  Kate has added student choice into her classroom through the use of the Gradual Release of Responsibility as a way to help her students make use of the choice they have in their learning.  Kate has found her students are more engaged and empowered when they have choice in their learning.  Students have gone beyond the basic requirements and have produced some great artifacts of learning.

Adding student choice can be accomplished by starting small and building up over time.  It may take time for both teacher and students to become comfortable with this, as it can be very different than what they are used to.  The goal is to help students become true owners of their learning. Giving students the choice of resources they use, beyond the textbook, is a good start for many. Students may learn better through reading different types of explanations or through using different types of media.  The goal should be to give students the ability to choose what will work best for them.

http://www.newbeginningswithgina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/power-of-choice.jpg

What Kate has done in her classroom is to acknowledge that she does not have to be the expert of the tools that her students use.  Giving students the option to pick how they show their learning during projects or other activities means you allow them to select options that may be outside of your expertise.  Students may want to create something, or use a tool that they are more knowledgeable about, and they may find it easier to express what they have learned using this tool or technique.  Sometimes the method, or tool, that we choose may not be the best way for that student to show their learning or keep them actively engaged in their learning. Giving them choice is a way to keep the students engaged and allows them to truly own the learning.  

A key to ensuring that student choice leads to improved learning is to build in a way for students to reflect about how their choices and work affected their learning.  Reflecting can lead to new discoveries about how we learn and can help us become better learners. Kate includes many opportunities for reflection while students are working, after the projects are finished, and through writing prompts.  We should all be cognizant of how we learn and how our choices affect our learning. This is something we would expect to see in effective learners and something we want to see in our students.