Student Choice
SHIFTING FROM ONESIZE-FITS-ALL
CURRICULA TOWARD
GUIDED CHOICE:
ALIGNING PRACTICAL
STRATEGIES WHICH
ENCOURAGE CHOICE
WITH NCTE'S
RESEARCH-BASED
RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR EFFECTIVE
ADOLESCENT LITERACY
INSTRUCTION
Barry Gilmore
Dr. 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
The
practices
of do
highly
effective
adolescent
I. What
choices
we offer
already?
literacy teachers reveal a number of common
qualities…
II. What does the research say?
#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.”
II. What does the research say?
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)
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
Moby Dick
The Things They Carried
Catcher in the Rye
My Antonia
Age of Innocence
The Bean Trees
Death of a Salesman
Beloved
In Cold Blood
Invisible Man
The Sound and the Fury
The Sun Also Rises
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Bluest Eye
The Crucible
Summons to Memphis
The Awakening
Herland
Eva Luna
Catch-22
Raisin in the Sun
Confederacy of Dunces
Fences
House of Seven Gables
Walden
Going After Cacciato
The Color Purple
Sacred Hunger
The Joy Luck Club
All the Pretty Horses
Tortilla Curtain
Blood Meridian
The Dispossessed
Bonfire of the Vanities
Caramelo
The House of the Spirits
Farewell to Arms
The Unvanquished
East of Eden
The Killer Angels Our Town
Presentation Outline
Classroom Practicality
Civic/Personal Agency
When Wilhelm asked his students about the role of choice in
I. What
choices
do responded,
we offer already?
the
classroom,
they
"YouUnlimited
made us think that we
Limited
had choices, but you were always putting stuff in front of
Choice
Choice
II. What
does
the research
say? that limited
us."
Another
student
responded
choice was still
choice. "Hey, when you go to a restaurant, you can choose a
Guided
Free
dessert,
III. How
butcan
only
wefrom
categorize
the desserts
choice?
they have." Another
Choice
student joined Choice
in with, "Yeah, if you could
choose any
dessert in the whole wide world you might never make up
Group
Individual
your mind..." (47).
Choice
Voting
(ALAN Review, 2003,
Vol. 31, No. 1)
Choice
Consensus
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)
Student Choice
(possible model)
Reading
texts
Writing
topics, genres, format
What we
learn
How we
learn
Activities
use of class time
Deadlines
Why we
due dates and
amounts
learn
Rubrics
How type
we
values, criteria,
Syllabi
book lists, class focus
choose
Presentation Outline
Sample
I. What
choices do we offer already?
assignments
II. What
does the
A process
for research say?
writing
III. How can we categorize choice?
Studentdeveloped
IV. What
does choice look like in a
syllabi
language
arts classroom?
Literature and
choice
More Student Choices, More
Student Interest
Capstone
Extended Essay
Summative Assessment
Senior 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 assignment
Students develop
relationships with other
adults interested in
literature and writing
Students explore ways to
find critical material
Teacher gets to
read a variety of
papers
Teacher 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/discuss
Find and peer-check evidence
Write a thesis statement
Discussion
Write an individual paper
Investment
Ownership
Interest
Better Product
Motivation
More Learning
Senior Seminar
(modeling choice)
Week One
Classes choose course topic
In-class
discussion
Counter-Culture
Literature
Online discussion
Romantic
Group Comedy
discussionand
the Silver Screen
Survey
The Graphic Novel
Teacher proposes book list
Discussion/tweaking
Contracting
Senior Seminar
(modeling choice)
Week One
Classes choose course topic
Weeks 2-9
ReadingClass
and Writing
ReadingChoices
Group Reading
Group Essay Topics
Individual Essay Thesis
Statements
Group Projects
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
Handouts and PowerPoint:
I. What choices do we offer already?
http://barrygilmore.wikispaces.com
II. What does the research say?
Books and Lesson Plans:
III. How can wewww.barrygilmore.com
categorize choice?
IV. What does choice look like in a
language arts classroom?
V. Questions and discussion