(Analytic Essay: Conclusions)
While I do not think that I reached any exhaustive solution to my inquiry question,
"How can providing students with opportunities to make their own choices enable them to showcase their creativity and multiple intelligences?"
I have learned a number of things about incorporating student choice into the classroom. Much of what I saw firsthand with my students was supported by the research that I found about the positive effects of introducing choice. I found that my students were incredibly engaged in the Fairytale Point of View Project to the point where they wanted to work in the afternoon of PSSA week instead of watching a movie. The groups of students who were working on skits worked quietly in the back of the room for between twenty and forty-five minutes over the span of four days because they wanted to work. I recorded the conversations that took place among the students when I was not with their group and upon listening, I discovered that their conversations were productive and centered on their script writing. Although this is only one instance, it seems like giving students choices of assessments that are designed to demonstrate their various intelligences leads to learning-centered, on-task conversations even when the teacher isn't looking.
In terms of how my students were able to showcase their creativity and multiple intelligences, my students with strong intrapersonal intelligence were able to grow through their weekly goal-setting for themselves and self-assessment of their progress; my students used their linguistic intelligences and creativity to create letters from an unexpected point of view as well as new adaptations of traditional fairytales; one of my students who has a high musical intelligence was able to write and perform a song for the class.
As with many things, one question led to many more questions. My inquiry question raised additional questions such as,
"How does encouraging student choice affect students, teachers, student work, and the classroom environment?",
"What are different ways to incorporate student choice?" and "Is there such thing as a 'right' amount of student choice?"
"How can providing students with opportunities to make their own choices enable them to showcase their creativity and multiple intelligences?"
I have learned a number of things about incorporating student choice into the classroom. Much of what I saw firsthand with my students was supported by the research that I found about the positive effects of introducing choice. I found that my students were incredibly engaged in the Fairytale Point of View Project to the point where they wanted to work in the afternoon of PSSA week instead of watching a movie. The groups of students who were working on skits worked quietly in the back of the room for between twenty and forty-five minutes over the span of four days because they wanted to work. I recorded the conversations that took place among the students when I was not with their group and upon listening, I discovered that their conversations were productive and centered on their script writing. Although this is only one instance, it seems like giving students choices of assessments that are designed to demonstrate their various intelligences leads to learning-centered, on-task conversations even when the teacher isn't looking.
In terms of how my students were able to showcase their creativity and multiple intelligences, my students with strong intrapersonal intelligence were able to grow through their weekly goal-setting for themselves and self-assessment of their progress; my students used their linguistic intelligences and creativity to create letters from an unexpected point of view as well as new adaptations of traditional fairytales; one of my students who has a high musical intelligence was able to write and perform a song for the class.
As with many things, one question led to many more questions. My inquiry question raised additional questions such as,
"How does encouraging student choice affect students, teachers, student work, and the classroom environment?",
"What are different ways to incorporate student choice?" and "Is there such thing as a 'right' amount of student choice?"
To summarize, I feel like incorporating student choice into my lessons had a positive effect on my students in that they were truly excited to be learning and working. One of my students recently asked me if I could be their teacher again.
For me, incorporating choice meant that I had to be even more prepared for my lessons because I didn't know how they would play out. As Kohn (1993) pointed out, giving students the ability to make meaningful choices that shape instruction is difficult because "the results are less predictable than in a situation where we have control" (p. 19). To that point, I will add that even though it may make lesson planning and instruction less predictable, I personally did not enter the teaching profession for each of my school days to be "predictable" which is one of the reasons why these lessons with student choice were fun and interesting to me as a teacher.
I also will admit that I felt pressure to conform to the school expectations of quiet lessons and quiet learning. At times, I found myself sticking up for my students and telling others that it might not be silent, but if you take the time to listen, the students are conversing about their work and they are (for the most part) on topic.
In terms of how student choice impacted student work, my classroom mentor and I were incredibly pleased with the performances that the students gave for the Fairytale Point of View Project. The level of detail and the amount of thought that went into their writing far surpassed many of the other pieces of writing that I have seen from those students. My classroom mentor was also impressed by the creativity that the students displayed through their letters from the point of view of an object. She said that she plans on teaching that lesson next year with her future students.
I believe enabling students to make choices about how they demonstrate their learning positively impacted our classroom environment because the students seemed excited and happy to be working. Every afternoon when I came in after PSSAs, multiple students would run up to me and ask if they could start working on their projects.
For me, incorporating choice meant that I had to be even more prepared for my lessons because I didn't know how they would play out. As Kohn (1993) pointed out, giving students the ability to make meaningful choices that shape instruction is difficult because "the results are less predictable than in a situation where we have control" (p. 19). To that point, I will add that even though it may make lesson planning and instruction less predictable, I personally did not enter the teaching profession for each of my school days to be "predictable" which is one of the reasons why these lessons with student choice were fun and interesting to me as a teacher.
I also will admit that I felt pressure to conform to the school expectations of quiet lessons and quiet learning. At times, I found myself sticking up for my students and telling others that it might not be silent, but if you take the time to listen, the students are conversing about their work and they are (for the most part) on topic.
In terms of how student choice impacted student work, my classroom mentor and I were incredibly pleased with the performances that the students gave for the Fairytale Point of View Project. The level of detail and the amount of thought that went into their writing far surpassed many of the other pieces of writing that I have seen from those students. My classroom mentor was also impressed by the creativity that the students displayed through their letters from the point of view of an object. She said that she plans on teaching that lesson next year with her future students.
I believe enabling students to make choices about how they demonstrate their learning positively impacted our classroom environment because the students seemed excited and happy to be working. Every afternoon when I came in after PSSAs, multiple students would run up to me and ask if they could start working on their projects.
Next Steps
In terms of next steps for incorporating student choice into my teaching practice, I liked what one teacher told Alfie Kohn (1993, p. 13):
"I’m in control of putting students in control."
He goes on to say that taking on this role is "a responsibility that demands more of an educator than simply telling students what to do" (Kohn, 1993, p. 13). I think my next big step is to figure out how to give my students choices when it comes to selecting the content and material that we will be covering. As a student teacher, that was one area of student choice that I did not implement during my takeover. I also think that I can move toward asking my students to “think of a way you might be able to demonstrate what you’ve learned” (Kohn, 1993, p. 13) for both formative and summative assessments rather than limiting students to pre-determined options selected by me.
Overall, I feel that my exposure to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has given me a framework to think about ways to differentiate my instruction and provide students with choices that will encourage them to grow and showcase their individual strengths. While I am far from being an expert on different ways to incorporate student choice into the classroom, my inquiry project has provided me with experiences that I can use as a starting point for my future lessons.
Overall, I feel that my exposure to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has given me a framework to think about ways to differentiate my instruction and provide students with choices that will encourage them to grow and showcase their individual strengths. While I am far from being an expert on different ways to incorporate student choice into the classroom, my inquiry project has provided me with experiences that I can use as a starting point for my future lessons.