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Student ChoiceSHIFTING FROM ONE-
SIZE-FITS-ALL CURRICULA TOWARD
GUIDED CHOICE: ALIGNING PRACTICAL STRATEGIES WHICH ENCOURAGE CHOICE
WITH NCTE'S RESEARCH-BASED
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE ADOLESCENT LITERACY INSTRUCTION
Barry GilmoreDr. Sue Gilmore
Dr. Sharon Chaney
Presentation Outline
I. What choices do we offer already?II. What does the research say?
III. How can we categorize choice?IV. What does choice look like in a language arts classroom?
V. Questions and discussion
I. What choices do we offer already?
Presentation Outline
I. What choices do we offer already?II. What does the research say?
The practices of highly effective adolescent literacy teachers reveal a number of common qualities…
#5 …using hands-on, scaffolding, minilessons, discussions, group work, student choice, ample feedback, and multiple forms of expression.
The Council Chronicle, NCTE, September 2007, p. 20
II. What does the research say?
“…a new study calculates the one-third of American college students have to enroll in remedial classes. The bill to colleges and taxpayers to bring them up to speed on material they were supposed to learn in high school comes to between $2.3 billion and $2.9 billion annually.”
“Diploma to Nowhere,” Study by Strong American Schools, as reported by Associated Press, September, 2008.
II. What does the research say?
In handouts: Examples of Choice in Schools (Kohn)
“higher on standardized tests”
“more likely…to continue working even on relatively uninteresting tasks.”
“even if our only criterion is academic performance, choice works.”
Students from high schools whose “essential value was democracy” performed better in college than their peers.
Kathy Irwin, "The Eight Year Study," in Jervis and Montag, eds., p. 59.
II. What does the research say?
We found a plethora of information about students' reading preferences in the literature classroom. However, few resources focus on teaching students how to choose in the literature classroom specifically.
(ALAN review, Susan Dunn, 2003)
II. What does the research say?
The Value of Choice
School Policy:
1. In each grade, students read two books for summer reading
2. All students read the same two books
3. Teachers may not assign other work over the summer
4. Teachers must assess reading in some way during first week of school
5. Essential reading list (with books provided to school)
Distress is inversely related to how much influence and autonomy teachers say they have with respect to school policy.
Elizabeth Tuettemann and Keith F. Punch, "Teachers' Psychological Distress: The Ameliorating Effects of Control over the Work Environment," Educational Review, vol. 44, 1992, pp. 181-94.
The Value of Choice
Your Choice:
Turn your paper in on time and get full credit or turn it in late and get half credit.
The Value of Choice
For your summer reading, choose one of the following:
1. The Song of Roland (anon.)2. Morte D’Arthur (Mallory)3. Le Roman de la Rose (Christine de
Pisan)
The Value of Choice
For your summer reading, choose two of the following:
Peace Like a River The Bluest Eye The CrucibleMoby Dick Summons to Memphis The AwakeningThe Things They Carried Herland Eva LunaCatcher in the Rye Catch-22 Raisin in the SunMy Antonia Confederacy of Dunces FencesAge of Innocence House of Seven Gables WaldenThe Bean Trees Going After Cacciato The Color PurpleDeath of a Salesman Sacred Hunger The Joy Luck Club Beloved All the Pretty Horses Tortilla CurtainIn Cold Blood Blood Meridian The Dispossessed Invisible Man Bonfire of the Vanities CarameloThe Sound and the Fury The House of the Spirits Farewell to ArmsThe Sun Also Rises The Unvanquished East of EdenThe Handmaid’s Tale The Killer Angels Our Town
Presentation Outline
I. What choices do we offer already?II. What does the research say?
When Wilhelm asked his students about the role of choice in the classroom, they responded, "You made us think that we had choices, but you were always putting stuff in front of us." Another student responded that limited choice was still choice. "Hey, when you go to a restaurant, you can choose a dessert, but only from the desserts they have." Another student joined in with, "Yeah, if you could choose any dessert in the whole wide world you might never make up your mind..." (47).
(ALAN Review, 2003, Vol. 31, No. 1)
Limited Choice
Voting
Guided Choice
Unlimited Choice
Free Choice
Consensus
Individual Choice
Group Choice
Classroom Practicality
Civic/Personal Agency
III. How can we categorize choice?
Student Choice (typical model)Choice of
books (from a list)
Choice of writing topics
(from 2-3)Casual student input regarding
deadlines
Choice of elective
courses (within schedule)
Reading
Writing
Activities
Deadlines
Rubrics
Syllabi
texts
topics, genres, format
use of class time
due dates and amounts
values, criteria, type
book lists, class focus
Student Choice (possible model)
What we learn
How we learn
Why we learn
How we choose
Presentation Outline
I. What choices do we offer already?II. What does the research say?
III. How can we categorize choice?IV. What does choice look like in a language arts classroom?
Sample assignment
sA process for writing
Student-developed
syllabi
Literature and choice
More Student Choices, More Student Interest
Capstone
Extended Essay
Summative AssessmentSenior Literary Thesis
A Model for Choice
Choice of theme
Choice of literary works to explore theme
Choice of adult advisor
Some ancillary benefits of shifting to choice
Students feel more control over assignmentStudents develop relationships with other adults interested in literature and writingStudents explore ways to find critical material
Teacher gets to read a variety of papersTeacher shows commitment to research-based learning
Prompt Attention: Writing and Choice
Concern: If I give students choice,
they’re more likely to plagiarize
Prompt Attention: Writing and Choice
Brainstorm topics as a class
I. What choices do we offer already?
Prompt Attention: Writing and Choice
Brainstorm topics as a class
Choose individual topic/discussFind and peer-check evidenceWrite a thesis statement
Discussion
Write an individual paper
Investment
Ownership
Interest
Motivation
Better Product
More Learning
Senior Seminar(modeling
choice)
Week One Classes choose course topic
In-class discussion
Online discussion
Group discussion
Survey
Teacher proposes book list
Discussion/tweaking
Contracting
Counter-Culture Literature
Romantic Comedy and the Silver
ScreenThe Graphic Novel
Senior Seminar(modeling
choice)
Week One Classes choose course topic
Weeks 2-9 Class Reading
Group Reading
Group Essay Topics
Individual Essay Thesis Statements
Group Projects
Reading and Writing Choices
Senior Seminar(modeling
choice)
Week One Classes choose course topic
Weeks 2-9 Reading and Writing Choices
Weeks 10-18 Participation Choices
Student-led discussion activities
Individual reading choices
Literature, Choice, and Civic Agency
Democracy and decision-making: Lord of the Flies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, An Enemy of the People
When democracy fails--dystopias: 1984, Brave New World, The Giver
Personal choices: “The Road Not Taken,” To Kill a Mockingbird
Presentation Outline
I. What choices do we offer already?II. What does the research say?
III. How can we categorize choice?IV. What does choice look like in a language arts classroom?
V. Questions and discussion
Handouts and PowerPoint: http://barrygilmore.wikispaces.c
omBooks and Lesson Plans:www.barrygilmore.com
