The beginning of a journey- Goal Setting

Student Choice vs Teacher Choice: Finding the balance

I am currently carrying out a project with the year 10s, in which I have allowed them almost complete freedom in their group choices and have decided to have little input in the their time management. The purpose of this is to encourage independence.

I set clear guidelines at the beginning, including a description of areas to focus their research on and a specific time period for their preparation. In the following lesson, we broke my description down into a checklist and talked about what the six topics in three minutes should look like.

When I see off-task behaviour I have chosen not to re-direct the students but remind them of their remaining time and say that I trust that they will meet my expectations.

At the end of last lesson, the students told me that they like my class because I am easy-going. This is not the personality trait I am trying to project. I told them that my 'easy-going' nature depends on the quality of their work and that I will respond to their outcome accordingly on Monday.

The proof will be in the pudding.

I know that this is a perhaps a bold move, but without offering this level of freedom, how can the students ever prove they are capable of true self-management.

#studentchoice #Professionalrelationships #Learningfocusedculture