One of the brightest hallmarks of growing up is making choices. We want the blue cup. We want to drive with Dad. We want to do the swings and then the slide. We want to eat the mashed potatoes before the broccoli, well – truth be told we don’t want to eat the broccoli at all. Maybe Roofus wants some…
The magic about choices is the solid investment we feel once we have made a choice. Have you ever tried to tell a toddler there isn’t a clean blue cup? Do you really want to ride in the car with the kid who picked the other car? Those mashed potatoes never had a chance, and maybe there will be seconds. And Roofus? He disappeared, not sure why.
Now, let’s shift focus to the classroom environment. If we have the most engaging curriculum, the most dedicated teachers, and the most up to date technology – surely our students will be the most invested. Right? No? Why not?
Lack of choice.
Choices breed investment.
Now, as Kappan Online article by Parker, Novak, and Bartell (2017) warns, how choices are given is vitally important. Offering choice is not offering chaos on a silver platter, which I think is the deepest fear of those reluctant to offer choice in their classrooms. As any educator or parent knows, in a room full of young scholars disaster is often a moment’s breath away. However, with meaningful and structured options students can find autonomy and teachers will find invested, engaged, highly motivated students.
In lieu of the chaos we all wish to avoid, let’s look at some constructive options we can offer. A cornerstone of Personalized Learning is choice. When I stand back and look at the flow of classroom life I see three main areas of choice within the classroom: content, time, and demonstration.
Content
The teacher can provide a Must Do May Do choice menu. From here students are able to choose the content they are ready to engage and even the order. There are clear parameters established, allowing for students to flex some autonomy while remaining on task and engaged in enriching activities.
The teacher would establish WIN Time (What I Need). Students are able to advocate for the support they need to find success. This can be structured in a lot of different ways: across a whole district, a building, within a grade level, or in a single class. Time is set aside and students are able to either work on incomplete work, seek assistance, work with peers to overcome confidence issues, or prepare for an upcoming assessment.
The teacher can allow students to investigate those topics which interest them. Reading strategies can be deployed with books the students choose. A science project can be posited, designed, and carried out by students following guidelines while fully choosing the content. The skill of writing instructions can be based on student choice rather than yet another how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich writing activity.
Time
Time can be a tricky element. Certainly, it feels like there is never enough time in the classroom. However, even within the confines of this finite commodity, we can create a thriving atmosphere where the precious time we do have students they are actively engaged.
Personalized Learning offers students the opportunity to progress through content outside of the framework of time. If a student can demonstrate proficiency of the skills within a unit, there is no need to require the student to continue to repeat the same material for the sake of a calendar date. Instead, students are empowered to move at their own pace. If a unit takes a short amount of time, that can be celebrated, and a new unit begun. If a unit take a longer amount of time, that too, can be celebrated and a new unit begun.
Time choices can also play into content choices. WIN Time clearly is tied to time. Another viable option is using Flex Time. Much like WIN Time, students are able to advocate for the support they need during a specific time where resources can be made readily available. The structure of this time can vary for each site and even change as a teacher learns more about student needs.
Perhaps a student would prefer to complete Science activities before completing Math. Both are required content and the order only matters to the student. Allowing the student to have the freedom to express their preference for how they spend their day can both empower the student and avoid unnecessary conflict in the classroom.
Demonstration
Personalized Learning beckons teachers to offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency and mastery of skills in variety of methods. Rather than only showing what they know on a stack of worksheets or by completing a high-stakes / high stress test, students are invited to partake of a smorgasbord of opportunities. Below are just a few to get you excited in flushing out your own list.
- Mock Trial / Mini Mock Trial
- Probing Discussions
- Science Experiments
- Group Projects
- Community Engagement Projects
- Proposals
- Body Biography
- Demonstration
Teaching Hands 
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