I think most of us would agree that providing students with some kind of CHOICE in their assignments – whether it is where they sit in the room while they complete it, the order in which they complete assignments, or the tool they use to create a product – providing CHOICE to students elicits more ownership.
Throughout the school year, you have definitely had students demonstrate their knowledge of a concept using more than one tool or strategy. I know that not every single assignment was to write a paper explaining the concept or to create a slide deck – but chances are you DID assign both of those things at some point this year. What other products that can demonstrate learning have you already taught students your expectations for? Why not provide students with a rubric detailing your expectations for their product (what exactly it should include) and then allow them to choose from your list of possible products for how to share their knowledge.
What might that rubric look like, you ask? Here’s an idea for a Choice Assignment Rubric you can grab a copy of and edit so it better suits YOUR ASSIGNMENT and YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Check it out:
Depending on your students’ age, maturity, and buy-in, as well as if the content you assign lends itself to various presentation formats, you could even open up your assignment to allow students to create any product they want – a song, a video, a slide deck, a poster, a poem, etc. AS LONG AS THEY MEET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS IN YOUR RUBRIC!
Providing such a open-ended assignment will encourage HIGH ENGAGEMENT – especially if you also increase the audience from only you, the teacher, to the whole class – or even better – a larger, real-world community.
WHY CHOICE ???
Choice elicits ownership!
Students who want to make a video are excited! Those who want to write are excited. Students who love to draw can create a detailed diagram. ALL covering YOUR CONTENT! WIN-WIN! It’s the perfect time of year to give your students some choice in the product they create to demonstrate their knowledge of your content.
Want more on providing students with choice and ownership? Check out THIS POST on Choice Learning
Meredith Akers 