Voice and Choice

 Voice and Choice

Voice and choice. All teachers have heard this catchy phrase repeated in staff meetings, especially those motivational meetings at the beginning of every school year. It's certainly a buzz word, certain to sound impressive when used in a job interview. But do we teachers know what it actually means? Further, do we know how to provide this to our students?

The Beginning

Let's start at the very beginning. Educational research, and plain old common sense, has long told us that students have different strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. The greatest of teachers uses these differences to develop lessons that are engaging on a variety of fronts. 

Many of us differentiate to support the different academic levels in our classrooms. Differentiation is not, however, all that is meant by voice and choice.

The terms voice and choice come from personalized learning. As Bray and McClaskey state in their 2015 book Make Learning Personal, "personalized learning is not something someone does to a learner" (p. xxiii). Instead, this is a methodology in which learners "own and take responsibility for their learning" (p. xxiii). The ownership and responsibility Bray and McClaskey describe are the voice and the choice.

VOICE

The term voice refers to the opinions and ideas of the student. Each student should have a positive, nurturing relationship with their teacher in order to begin to express their voice. As Chaerea Snorten, a principal in Nashville reports to Edutopia, "Student voice is number one... Hear it, learn it, ask for it. What is it that will help you do better? How can we help you improve? What do you need from us?" (Minero, 2016).

The teacher will guide the student to evaluate their strengths and areas of growth in learning preferences. This is called the personal learning profile. Once complete, the teacher and student have a good idea of what motivates the student, which are the most effective ways for the student to acquire information, and which areas will need extra support. 

CHOICE

Now that the teacher and student have a profile, the teacher and student work together to design learning activities to meet grade-level standards. This looks different in traditional classrooms versus personalized learning classrooms. Giving students choice means that the students choose how to accomplish their learning goals. They may choose the method (reading or listening or watching) or they may choose the outcome (a written report, a performed skit, or an illustrated comic book). In a fully personalized learning environment, the student will choose both. Students can even choose their assessments!

Here's an idea of how this might look in a school:

Practical Applications

I know what you're thinking: That sounds lovely! I'd love to do that with my students! But there are 200 other items on my to-do list that I can't get through anyway. I don't have the time for this! 

You can do this! 

Check out this post on Getting Started with Personalized Learning with five steps to begin your journey.

References:

Bray, B. & McClaskey, K. (2015). Make Learning Personal: The What, Who, WOW, Where, and Why. Corwin.

Minero, E. (2016, August 16). Driving Engagement Through Voice and Choice: Ideas on How to Bring Personalized Learning Into Your Classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/practice/personalized-learning-enabling-student-voice-and-choice-through-projects