Children Need Choice

Source: Freepik

Giving choice in the classroom gives students opportunities to learn to make decisions, even if it’s about what tools to use when they are working on a math problem. Making a wrong choice in a safe space, like the classroom, allows for risk-taking, which is a critical component to making good choices and learning from bad ones.

Human beings need choice in order to develop their ability to make effective decisions, even when those decisions may lead them awry. Mistakes help us learn and stretch.

Choices don’t signal a free for all. Too many choices can be overwhelming and not instructive. Choices may come with limits. For example, giving a limited number of choices, instead of leaving the field wide open, is a more prudent path to take. Make sure that the choices you offer students are palatable to the them and to you as the adult responsible for children’s academic and social wellbeing.

I usually give my students two to three choices; too many can be paralyzing. And, I aways allow students to pitch a different choice, but they have to convince me that they will be able to demonstrate their learning in this new way. Not only does this build character (remember that?), but it also develops agency, confidence and engaged learning.

This school year, give students choices in what they read and write, how they demonstrate what they’ve learned, how to present their work, where to sit, whom to work with, etc. so they know they are trusted to make good decisions. When they make mistakes, and they will, you will have an excellent opportunity to talk about what they learned and how they can use that experience when they are confronted with similar situations.

I invite you to leave a comment below so that we can continue this conversation.

Crossposted to Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Tuesday Challenge