Nov 08 2007
Too much of a good thing?
I recently read an article in Fast Company Magazine that got me thinking about student choice. One of the tenets of Universal Design for Learning is providing students with multiple options for receiving information, engaging with it, and demonstrating their understanding.
The article referenced a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Doctors were asked to consult, via an examination of a patient’s records, on a case that indicated the need for hip replacement surgery. I’m told that doctors make this decision carefully because of the invasive nature of the surgery and the long and painful recovery required. In one set of patient records, the researchers indicated that the doctor’s have tried everything except one traditional course of treatment involving medication. While 40% of the doctors recommended surgery, most recommended the medication. In another set of records, the researchers indicated that two courses of action based upon medication had not been tried. From a patient’s perspective, seemingly more options were available. Here is what intrigued me. In the second patient’s case, 60% of the doctors recommended surgery!
Can too many choices be a bad thing? Is it possible to give students too many options? Can multiple options confuse matters rather than clarify them?
Your thoughts please…
I can speak from experience on this issue because it is very interesting to watch what happens in a classroom where students are given many choices on how to demonstrate their knowledge or acquire new knowledge. Students undoubtedly will look for whichever method is the easiest in their own point of view. They will choose the path that for them appears to be easy and one in which they can finish quickly. For example when given three choices of worksheets that contain vocabulary review, students most often will pick the word search or crossword style puzzles.
I had a discussion with a fellow colleague who gave her students a choice to select the traditional paper / pencil style test or complete a dynamic PowerPoint presentation illustrating the concepts learned. The PowerPoint assignment had a rubric and the requirements were clearly spelled out. Over 90% of the students selected the pencil / paper test and said that it was “easier and could be done faster.” The other students indicated that they liked using PowerPoint and were skilled at completing the assignment in a timely manner. While the PowerPoint presentation would utilize skills like creativity, design principles, and thoughtfulness the other students didn’t appear to value the assignment.
I also read about a long-term study conducted where a group of high school Physical Science teachers were selected to conduct a year long project with their classes. The project centered on having students build a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that would be tested in a large pool. All of the lessons involved highly engaging, hands-on experiences, and authentic style assessments. At the end of the year students’ achievement test results were compared to Physical Science students that did not participate in the study. There was no significant difference in their scores. When interviewed later, students indicated that they could not make the connection between the proficiency test question and the year-long project. While the project utilized skills, knowledge, and concepts that are found on the state examination the students could not make the connection.
So how do you provide your students with choices in their learning and make those choices meaningful? I tend to give the students no more than three choices at a time. I try to structure the three pieces of work so that each one can be achieved successfully by all students. One piece of work might be labeled “easy” while another piece might be labeled “advanced”. I ask my students to participate at least in one “advanced” or “intermediate” experience and then provide support to those students who are struggling. Another way I incorporate choice into an assignment is to incorporate degrees of difficulty within the lesson. Then I ask students to partner up to solve the problem together. I also find that if I am going to offer choices in how students acquire or demonstrate knowledge and learning I must be able to teach them the skills needed to complete the work. Some students shy away from PowerPoint driven lessons because they don’t understand how to use it. Some students do not like to draw so they shy away from artistic work. Others may not be good writers so they will shy away from work requiring them to write. Offering choices is not just about allowing students to select work in their comfort zone, but also give students opportunities to extend their learning in areas where they are weak and develop those skills as well.
Jody:
Nice post, well thought out. I agree that students might select an assignment they believe is the easiest. There is a big difference between difficult and complex. Difficulty refers to the amount of work that goes into completing the assignment. Complexity refers to the level of thinking required.
Writing your spelling words five times each is more difficult than writing them once. I am not sure that it is any more complex.
I think that students appreciate being given a choice in demonstrating what they have learned. To me the key is that during the design process it is determined that any of the choices will represent a solid piece of evidence that the student has mastered the concepts. If evey choice results in a valid measurement of mastery, let them choose based upon any criteria that matters to them.