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- Choice + Voice = Making Your Students the Main Characters
Choice + Voice = Making Your Students the Main Characters
Enhancing education through increased student choice
Read time: 3 minutes and 20 seconds
Giving our students a say in class?
Are we CRAZY?! 🤪 (The answer is no.)
Giving students a voice and choice in the classroom can transform the learning environment, making your students the main characters of their educational journey.
It’s as simple as involving your students in the daily classroom decision-making process, so they have an opportunity to take ownership of their learning. Through providing guidance while letting students pursue their own ideas, teachers can foster creativity, engagement, and a genuine connection to material and curriculum.
So, why should teachers incorporate more student choice into their instruction, and how can they do it effectively?
Incorporating choice in the classroom elevates student voices
Providing students with choices in the classroom isn’t a new concept, especially when it comes to gifted education where learning contracts and choices of activities are more common.
Choices need to be standard procedure in all classrooms from general education to special education and beyond because every student deserves a voice.
Why? Because voice = power.
Power for students to say what they want to say — respectfully and on-topic — in class.
Power for students to drive their own learning by choosing what to learn and when as long as it aligns with the standards.
Power to be the main character and drive their educational experience rather than just being a passenger along for the ride.
It’s important to note that enhancing student voices doesn’t mean teachers have to give up their own voices or power. Teachers and students can and should work collaboratively. When they do, students become more engaged and show increased performance and confidence in their education and abilities.
Increasing choice and elevating student voices to improve learning
More choice in the classroom enhances students’ intrinsic motivation, effort, performance, and self confidence. Helping students find their voices through choice also helps them master problem-solving and learn to be better collaborators.
Here’s how you can start incorporating more choice into your classroom:
Get to know your students — Learn about your students beyond just their academics. Ask them about their history, interests, and abilities both in school and out of it. Then, find ways to incorporate these details into your upcoming assignments, projects, or lectures.
Leave room for creativity when setting expectations — When assigning a new group or individual project, be clear with your students about expectations and goals, but leave room for them to decide how they meet those goals and expectations. Tailor the level of choice available to students based on the whole class’ needs.
Be prepared for chaos — The best learning happens in what seems like chaos. Messes, unplanned opportunities for collaboration, and happy accidents give students the opportunity to see how their voice plays a role in their learning.
Get ready to adapt — Some classes may do exceptionally well with a choice board while others may thrive during socratic seminars or maker spaces. Be ready to modify and adapt the level of choice available to your class based on the needs of your students and yourself.
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