Student Autonomy for Greater Focus
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It may seem counterproductive to offer more autonomy during the last weeks of school. Yet educator Larry Ferlazzo makes the claim that supporting students in feeling a greater sense of autonomy is one way to increase motivation: “What teacher doesn’t want an environment where students are working on lessons and learning because they want to do it and not because they have to do it?”
In a video series, Ferlazzo identifies four ways to nurture intrinsic motivation in students through autonomy, relevance, competence, and relatedness. In his piece on autonomy, several suggestions indicate when students have a degree of control of what needs to happen and how it can be done, learner autonomy is achieved.
The word “choice” comes from the Old English word “ceosan,” which means “taste”. Give students a taste of autonomy in these ways:
Organizational Choice: Learning Environment
Exercise student choice in :
where to sit
who to work with in a small group
assignment due dates
what materials should be put on the walls
co-creating classroom expectations
Procedural Choice: Learning Activity
Exercise student choice in:
homework assignments
picking from a list of texts to be used in student book club
the final form a final project could take – essay, slideshow presentation, art, or skit
Cognitive Choice: Ownership of Learning
Enlist students to be co-creators of their learning through:
problem-based learning where small groups determine solutions to local problems
finding ways for school lunch to serve culturally appropriate food
developing own ideas for homework assignments like answering questions and presenting findings
creating class time to track academic goals
listing plans to overcome obstacles
sharing different thinking processes behind dealing with challenges
Choice is just one among several tools to use to promote student-intrinsic motivation. Help students acquire an additional taste for learning.
Watch the video HERE.
Larry Ferlazzo & Emma Patti Harris. (2019, December 9). Student motivation: why autonomy matters. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/video-student-motivation-why-autonomy-matters/2019/12
The authors borrow some, though not all, of the ideas in this video from the research paper titled “Supporting Autonomy in the Classroom: Ways Teachers Encourage Student Decision Making and Ownership” by Candice R. Sttefanou and her colleagues.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15326985ep3902_2