Providing Choice in Middle Grade Classrooms

Abstract

Employing descriptive and interpretive analyses of classroom videos and focus group data, this study details how the provision of choice was enacted in instruction, and the subsequent messages students perceived. Participants included six teachers (fourth to eighth grade) and 114 students (age true X ¯ = 11.28 years, 60% African American). Survey data indicated students perceived high levels of choice in the focal classrooms (Time 1 true X ¯ = 3.32, SD = 0.91; Time 2 true X ¯ = 3.25, SD = 0.94). Results suggest five differentiating dimensions of providing choice: strategy, pace, format, topic, and mobility as well as differences in the structure of how choice was provided—a single event versus a generative sequence of autonomy-supportive adolescent-teacher interactions. Analysis of student focus group transcripts indicated the enactment of choice communicated messages around trust, respect, and worth that influenced student engagement. Overall, results suggest the provision of choice can be a context for meeting young adolescents’ developmental needs and fostering students’ motivational resources.

Hands-Joined Learning as a Framework for Personalizing Project-Based Learning in a Middle Grades Classroom: An Exploratory Study

“…The emerging body of research about personalized learning is largely focused on describing these approaches in practice (e.g., Pane, Steiner, Baird, Hamilton, & Pane, 2017;Patrick et al, 2016) and understanding shifts for teachers (e.g., Jobs for the Future and the Council of Chief State School Officers, 2015; Nagle & Taylor, 2017). While there is an emerging body of scholarship examining personalized learning in the middle grades, there is very little written about the perceptions of middle grades students who are engaged in personalized learning (Williams, Wallace, & Sung, 2016). Netcoh (2017), a noteworthy exception, explored middle grades learner perspectives on a personalized learning initiative through focus groups.…”

Mixed Feelings about Choice: Exploring Variation in Middle School Student Experiences with Making Choices in a Personalized Learning Project

“…Existing research on personalized learning has primarily focused on describing its enactment in practice (e.g., Pane, Steiner, Baird, Hamilton, & Pane, 2017;Patrick, Worthen, Frost, & Gentz, 2016) and how it changes teachers' roles and responsibilities in the classroom (e.g., Nagle & Taylor, 2017). There remains a relative lack of research on middle-grade students' experiences with personalized learning, including studies on their perceptions of opportunities for choice in their learning (Williams et al, 2016). In one of the few studies of students' perceptions of personalized learning and choice in their learning in the middle grades, Netcoh (2017) found that students and teachers struggled over the bounds of choice during a newly implemented personalized learning time.…”

Choose Your Own Lecture: Students’ Motivational Resources as a Consequence of Autonomy-Supportive Instruction

“…Similarly, Filak and Sheldon (2008) found that students' needsatisfaction increased their likelihood of recommending the course and instructor to friends and their overall evaluation of the course and instructor. Additionally, Williams et al (2015) noted that instructors who offer choices in the classroom communicate trust, respect, and worth to students, which influence their engagement. In other words, allowing students to choose how the lecture will unfold give them ownership over the material and the direction of the learning process.…”

“…On a daily basis, students make choices regarding their education, such as choosing what classes to take, how to structure their class schedule, which instructors to take/avoid, what extracurricular activities to get involved in, and what major(s) to pursue, among others. In addition to these choices over education, students appreciate their instructors who give them choices in the classroom (Williams, Wallace, & Sung, 2015).…”

“…These scholars have revealed that giving students' choices over their homework (Patall, Cooper, & Wynn, 2010), refraining from using controlling language (Deci et al, 1994), providing successive choices during an activity (Reeve, Nix, & Hamm, 2003), and allowing students to pick their preferred method of instruction (Jang et al, 2016) fosters more student motivation and engagement. Furthermore, Williams et al (2015) argued that giving students choice during instruction, such as giving students the freedom choose their problem-solving method, format of presentation, the topic of information, and whether or not to work alone during instruction, can communicate trust and respect in the classroom.…”