autonomy
I have found autonomy to be successful in the classroom within the right parameters. It is good to give students an adequate amount of control so long as it is implemented in an educational way and the student learning outcome is successful.
Donald, great point. Each group will be different and the instructor is the one in the best position to determine the right amount of autonomy.
James Jackson
i give my students the task and tell them how they want to do it is up to them and guide them when they need it
Recently I have found that my students reject automony. I give assignments that they can complete on their own that how they format the material is up to them, but they ask for a set format. For example, I asked for paper on the care and feeding of a newborn. The length is up to them as long as it covers the topic. The following day I am asked how long it has to be? I don't know if these students are burning out or just lazy.
Holly, different groups of students will react differently to changes in how materials are managed. If one instructor has one policy and another has a very different set of policies within the same school system students can get confused. You may also want to discuss the situation with your students. Get their feedback as to how best they would like to work to be managed. You set a minimal ground rule that the learning objectives are met but how they are met could include some student input.
James Jackson
When there is extra class time from finishing a project I will provide a list of extra credit assignments. They can choose which to complete and each assignment has a different point value based on difficulty. It allows students to choose but also increase their grade if they did poorly on a prior project.
Marc, great job and I totally agree with having such resources available. Creating additional learning resources and tools that enhance your normal lesson plans is what being a professional is all about.
James Jackson
I think many students feel a lot of pressure when given too much freedom and it ends up being stressful rather than liberating to create their own system. We ask students to create a rough outline of their production for a laboratory work day and it is helpful for them to see an example. Sometimes they have no experience in creating timelines or spreadsheets. Perhaps it would be helpful to them to see an example of such a paper from a previous class if that is something you are comfortable showing them. you could even describe what about the paper prompted you to give a certain grade and what was missing or included.
I agree. I never schedule assignments with choices ahead of time, but I do implement them when there is time and when I feel it is the right fit for the class. Sometimes I use them when I feel the class is suffering from a little "burn out".
