Giving
student’s choice
As this semester is coming to an
end I can think of so many topics to discuss. Everything in my mind has seemed
to revolve around 21st century learning and project based learning.
I have discovered over the last few years that if the teacher plans and facilitates
a great lesson plan the students can easily have choice. They can have choice
in how they learn the information, how they choose to show their learning and
how they present their learning.
The choice of learning tools is what
I would like to blog about today. I have noticed in my personal experience that
students are much more willing to start an assignment when given two or more
ways to complete the task. Lately with my class I have been giving them the
option to use Sway or PowerPoint when completing their science projects and
assignments. Some students love PowerPoint and never want to change. Other
students love the features of Sway and are more attentive when using it.
Sometimes I have students come up
to me and ask to use Word or other programs as well. It opened my eyes as a
teacher to not being narrow in my directions as to how to complete the
assignment. If the students work can be completed and assessed using different
tools then there is no problem letting them choose those tools. I am very lucky
that my school district has an Office 365 account for every student and
teacher. This has made choosing multiple programs a lot easier. If a teacher
did not have access to secure sites like O 365 I could see it being more
challenging. I am interested to know other people’s experiences with student
choice. What programs do you have your students use? Do they seem to like having a choice in how
they complete their work?
