The majority of people that attended high school did not enjoy their time there. That was not the case for me. I loved going to school most of the time and would be upset when I had to miss class. Over the years that I have spent in school the bulk of the teachers I have had, I liked at least part of their teaching style. However, there were some teachers that really stood out and almost all the students wanted to take their class.
One of the qualities that stood out among all these exceptional teachers was, they gave their students some control over their education by allowing them to make meaningful choices about what was to be taught. This was a key factor in what was one of my best learning experiences. It involved a teacher who used this teaching technique, and possessed many other excellent qualities.
My best learning experience involved a high school teacher. The teacher began the semester by giving every student a piece of paper with 26 different topics written on it; then instructed us to choose 15 of our favorites. Once everyone had done that the teacher calculated how many votes there were for each topic. The 15 topics given the most votes would be the ones we would learn through the semester.
Giving us this choice stimulated a desire for us to learn since we chose what we wanted to be taught. Also, it gave us the opportunity to provide our own opinion and made us active participants in our education instead of idle consumers of knowledge. This autonomy provided us a sense of ownership and control over what we were learning. This encouraged students to engage more with the material and enjoy the experience. I believe that almost everyone in that class tried just a little harder to learn the material because we had been meaningfully involved in the process.
My grade 12 programming and statistics course also demonstrated this. I was not a huge fan of statistics but the programming aspect intrigued me. This teacher would give us opportunities as a class to slightly change exam dates (within reason) if as a class we didn’t feel prepared for it. Giving us agency in our education, again, resulted in additional effort by the students. Although it was not much, the slight bit of control encouraged students to remain engaged with the material.
These teachers gave us agency in our education; which gave students more control over their learning. For me, being surrounded by peers who shared my enthusiasm for learning made these some of my most enjoyable classes and best learning experiences.
Some other classroom cases that I found interesting and solidifies what I talked about in this post are described in this article “To engage students, give them meaningful choices in the classroom” (Frieda Parker, Jodie Novak, and Tonya Bartell, 2017). It also outlines how it is important to give students meaning choices can boost students engagement and motivation while allowing them to capitalize on their strengths and allow them to meet their individual learning needs (Frieda Parker, Jodie Novak, and Tonya Bartell, 2017).
Resources
Unsplash. (2023). Tim Mossholder. Retrieved July 20, 2023, from Unsplash.com website: https://unsplash.com/@timmossholder
Frieda Parker, Jodie Novak, and Tonya Bartell, Oct. 02, 2017. “To engage students, give them meaningful choices in the classroom – kappanonline.org,” Retrieved July 20, 2023 from kappanonline.org website: https://kappanonline.org/engage-students-give-meaningful-choices-classroom/.
Hi Chloe! It’s wonderful to hear about your high school experience and how much you learned. I completely agree that as educators, we need to recognize that each student has their own unique way of learning. Allowing students to choose what they study can be a great way to increase their investment in their education and motivation to learn. When students have some control over their learning, they can develop a sense of responsibility and independence that can lead to greater engagement, deeper understanding, and a lifelong love of learning. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this important topic!