I’m a big advocate of creating opportunities for students to choose in the classroom — ways that particular assignments are done, discussing with them the best places for them to sit, even due dates.
The results of some new studies on this topic have just been released and, since I’ve previously written about this idea, I thought it might be useful for readers and for me to bring this information together in sort of a mini “The Best..” list. This will be a short one, but will probably be growing.
Education Week has just published an article on the new studies headlined “Giving Students a Say May Spur Engagement and Achievement.” In the article, one of the researcher says:
“When students were given choices, they reported feeling more interested in their homework, felt more confident about their homework and they scored higher on their unit tests.”
Here are more resources, including many links to “choice boards”:
“How Taking an Active Role in Learning Enhances Memory”
Choice Equals Power: How to Motivate Students to Learn is article in MindShift about an online conversation I led.
I Think This Is An Excellent Visual About Student Choice
The Impact Of Asking “Could” Instead Of “Should” In The Classroom
Does offering students a choice in assignments lead to greater engagement? is from Digital Promise.
Why Choice Matters to Student Learning is by Heather Wolpert-Gawron.
Taking a Gradual Release (GRR) Approach to Student Choice is from John Spencer.
Here’s what Nobel Prize–winning research says will make you more influential is from Fast Company.
I created a tic-tac-toe with this info for the Ts I coached at the start of the 19-20 year. Last week, one of these Ts asked me to send it to her. I searched my docs but couldn’t find it, so I recreated it in 15 mins, & emailed it to her. I’m glad I couldn’t find it! #choiceboard pic.twitter.com/2A00ozr4o2
— Cherry-Anne Gildharry (@chemelnalis) November 14, 2019
SIX WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO BE POWERFUL IN THE CLASSROOM – WHAT ARE MORE IDEAS?
Here’s a digital choice board.
Here is one that I used last year with The One and Only Ivan novel- https://t.co/egxa3h3UIf
— Emily Parkinson (@EmilyMParkinson) July 19, 2022
30 day challenges are a type of choice board. Here is one I made for ELL classes. https://t.co/VaJcmCDxjk pic.twitter.com/JSEWXVefQa
— David Deubelbeiss (@ddeubel) July 19, 2022
Here’s a Choice Board on Ancient China from The Ms. B.
I used this one with my 5th class for our novel study on “Number the Stars.” I have a few others, too. Choice boards are game-changing! https://t.co/ua0k0snxWJ
— Lisa Treadway (@LisaTreadway4) July 19, 2022
Here is one for ELA – https://t.co/aVxM6CzpTv
— MissMac M.Ed (@mmcneal1004) July 19, 2022
ChoiceBoard TEMPLATE from @SlidesManiaSM https://t.co/rDmuTwrICu
Another TEMPLATE… maybe from @emilyfranESL? https://t.co/KP2nG4vHBK
This one is from @CarteBlanchard https://t.co/b9PMTBQbrY
The rest I have are for staff ^_^— 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣 #OneWord2022 POTENTIAL (@SherryTeacher) July 19, 2022
@Larryferlazzo https://t.co/zuSS6us0r9
— jeanjeanie🌻🏳️⚧️ (@jeanjeanie333) July 19, 2022
I just did a session on choice boards. Check out the resources, you might find something. https://t.co/8PI2jof3fO @teresamgross @emilyfranESL
— Pam Hubler (@specialtechie) July 19, 2022
Here are some examples that have resulted from my coaching work with schools:
— Eric Sheninger (@E_Sheninger) July 19, 2022
We have lots of resources at @LearningAccel – https://t.co/3SfmaZhIRo All are licensed cc-by.
— Dr. Beth Holland (@brholland) July 19, 2022
Here is an example I created today for design thinking around #SDG. https://t.co/iewJYwGk45
— Rebecca (Becky) Muller (@rmullermk) July 20, 2022
Here is an example I created today for design thinking around #SDG. https://t.co/iewJYwGk45
— Rebecca (Becky) Muller (@rmullermk) July 20, 2022
And this one for a semester long reading project https://t.co/9LylueyGyk
— Jordan Gurganus (@JordannGurganus) July 20, 2022
This Choice Board is from Adam Clark.
Teacher Kelly Owens shared some examples in her article for MiddleWeb back in April:https://t.co/Gm0Dbn36eU https://t.co/4vgNAPQHGO
— MiddleWeb (@middleweb) July 21, 2022
Here’s an online choice board from Ann Stiltner
Here’s one from Veronica Dixon that also includes a blank template.
A homework choice board with 16 tasks to practise all four skills as well as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. https://t.co/g4EowXmDsW pic.twitter.com/CyrRn8NsHP
— Miguel Míguez (@onthesamepagelt) August 28, 2022
Also, check out @ELT_CATION‘s digital version of this! Thanks for creating it. 🙏https://t.co/eD2VgKHrAH https://t.co/vil7TqJPEW
— Miguel Míguez (@onthesamepagelt) August 28, 2022
BE INSPIRED! Get engaging ideas for Novel Studies including choice board ideas, final projects, and a rubric 😍https://t.co/zc3ZCRvSP7 via Mrs. Germaine’s Class#literature #reading #teachertwitter #elar pic.twitter.com/PxlSRHEaGG
— 𝗧𝗖𝗘𝗔 (@TCEA) October 2, 2022
A Collection of Choice Board Examples and Templates https://t.co/jzvhJ05eq6
— Amber Teamann (@8Amber8) January 30, 2023
The Benefits of Using Choice Boards in Math is from Edutopia.
Feel free to make other suggestions in the comments section.
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I like to use choice boards (also called tic tac toe boards, think tac toe, choice menus) to easily incorporate some choice into the classroom. It’s a good place to start, too, for teachers that have difficulty relinquishing control. 🙂 I wrote about them on my own blog at http://theexcitedneuron.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/what-sort-of-intelligence-do-you-have/