Student Choice
Student choice can mean a number of things. For the purposes of this project, I focused primarily on the types of choices mentioned by Schlemmer and Schlemmer (2008) and Weinstein (2011).
When Schlemmer & Schlemmer (2008) talk about student choice, they have broken up the different types of choices into three main areas of choice or ways to differentiate.
- content (input)
- process (activity)
- product (output)
Although Weinstein (2011) noted that types of choices varied as a function of content areas and grade levels, all teachers agreed on six main types of choice. These types of choices drilled down the larger categories of choice as outlined by Schlemmer and Schlemmer (2008).
- topics of study (for research papers, in-class projects, and presentations)
- reading materials (type of genre and choice of authors)
- methods of assessment (exam versus final project)
- activities (book report or diarama)
- social arrangements (whether to work in pairs or small groups and choice of group members)
- procedural choices (when to take tests, what order to study prescribed topics, and when assignments were due). (Weinstein, 2011, p. 236)
Other ways to incorporate student choice in the classroom:
- choose when assignments are due (Turner, 2010, p. 1)
- choose what assignments will be graded (Turner, 2010, p. 1)
- choose what subjects to cover (Turner, 2010, p. 1)
- choose whether or not to work in groups (Turner, 2010, p. 1)
- tell students to "think of ways you might be able to demonstrate what you've learned" (Kohn, 1993, p. 13)
- choose whether to work alone, in groups, or as a class (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
- choose where to sit and work (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
- choose whether to read work out loud (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
- choose whether to answer classmates' questions about presentation (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
- choose which classmates to call on for questions (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
- choose what medium or genre they will use to express an idea or respond to a lesson (Kohn, 1993, p. 16)
Denton and Kriete (2000) recommend providing anywhere from four to eight different activities for the students to choose from during choice time (p. 129).