"I really was not sure how my students were going to react to these choices. I didn't want the menu to be viewed as busy work when we already had so much content to cover. I was surprised (and relieved) by how well they responded [to the choices]. Now, they want to have choice in everything, which is always up for negotiation."
āEnglish II teacher
Another benefit of choice is its ability to address different learning preferences and ultimately offer the opportunity to better assess what students understand about the content being studied. During professional development, I often ask teachers what learning preferences are most addressed in the products they provide. Not surprisingly, visual and written products top the list. These two preferences are most popular for many reasons, including ease of grading, ease of organizing and managing, and lack of supplies needed. In looking back on all of the different products my students have created, however, I noticed that most often, the tactile, kinesthetic, and verbal products provided greater depth and complexity (Komarraju, Karau, Schmeck, & Avdic, 2011). After analyzing these "noisy" products, I have come to realize that if I really want to know what my students understand, I need to allow them to show me through their learning preferenceāand the most common preferences of my students are not visual-written. Most students prefer tactile kinesthetic (Dunn & Honigsfeld, 2013; Ricca, 1984; Sagan, 2010; Snyder, 1999). Because these preferences are not always addressed during wholeclass instruction, teachers need a strategy that can allow students to express themselves. Using choice to offer these opportunities can help address the needs of more students in our classrooms.
Another advantage of choice is a greater sense of independence for the students (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991; Patall, 2013; Robinson, Patall, & Cooper, 2008). When teachers offer choice, students design and create a product based on what they envision, rather than what their teacher envisions. When students would enter my classroom, many times they had been trained by previous teachers to produce what the teacher wanted, not what the students thought would be best. Teaching my students that what they envision could be correct (and wonderful) could be a struggle. "Is this what you want?" or "Is this right?" were popular questions as we started the school year. As we progressed, and I continued to redirect their questions back to them ("Is that what you would like to show?" or "Does that seem right to you?"), students began to ask for my approval less; they became more independent in their work. They might still need assurance, but the phrasing was different, "This is what I have so far. Can I ask for help from Joe?" or "I don't like this; I am going to pick something else." When teachers allow students choice in the products they create to show their learning, the students can develop this independence.
Increased student focus and persistence is another benefit of offering choice. When students are making choices in the activities they wish to complete, they are more focused on the learning that is needed to create their choice products (Flowerday & Schraw, 2003; Ricca, 1984). Students become engaged when they learn information that can help them develop products that they are excited about creating. Many students struggle with the purpose of the information being taught in the classroom, and this can lead to behavior problems. Students may feel disconnected from the content and lose interest (Robinson et al., 2008). Instead, students will pay closer attention to instruction when an immediate application (the student's choice product) for the knowledge being presented in class is present. If students are excited about the product, they are more focused on the content; they are less likely to be off task during instruction.
Many a great educator has referred to the idea that the best learning takes place when the students have a desire to learn. Some students have a desire to learn anything that is new to them; others do not want to learn anything unless it has interest for them. By incorporating choice activities that require the students to stretch beyond what they already know, teachers create a void which needs to be filled. This void leads to a desire to learn.