Types of Learning ActivitiesThe effective teacher is able to combine the rigor of a standards-based curriculum with the motivational advantages of student choice. Danielson (2011) advocates for three instructional attributes: alignment of activities with instructional outcomes, an emphasis on depth of learning, and the facilitation of choice for students. Choice may be extended to students by planning activities that permit multiple responses and encourage a variety of approaches to problem solving and creative projects. The effective teacher also provides activities that require students to exercise higher order thinking and experience deep learning. Suitable activities include tasks that are open-ended, investigative, and creative, as well as projects based upon a big idea and assignments requiring research skills.

Pettifor (2012) asserts that many students are prone to develop learning strategies in which they “will try to use the least amount of effort and intellectual energy to complete assignments.” Assignments that offer novel, open-ended, or unfamiliar scenarios are more likely to demand the exercise of higher order thinking skills and avoid the use of an adoptive, surface approach to learning. The teacher needs to take care in providing students with clear instructional outcomes and assessment descriptors that clarify which skills and abilities are values in a particular task.

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Information AlignmentMaterials presented in this eBook align with the following:

Module Questions • How can various types of learning activities that align with lesson outcomes enhance student learning? • How can learning activities that emphasize depth over breadth in learning support deep cognitive engagement? • How can providing student choice and allowing for student modification promote student engagement and

learning?

Learning Outcomes • Reflect upon current learning activities and levels of student choice. • Explore various types of learning activities that align with lesson outcomes and promote deep learning. • Analyze learning activities that emphasize depth over breadth. • Implement strategies for students to exercise choice, make modifications, and serve as resources for other

students. • Evaluate the effectiveness of different learning activities and opportunities for student choice in achieving

instructional outcomes that promote deep learning.

Topic Focus Learning Activities that Promote Deep Learning

• Active learning instructional strategies ◦ Thinking critically ◦ Speaking with a partner ◦ Expressing ideas through writing and multimedia ◦ Exploring personal attitudes and values ◦ Giving and receiving feedback ◦ Reflecting on your own learning process

• The Pause Procedure • Think-Pair-Share • Concept Test • Personal Response Systems (Clickers) • Purposeful Questioning • Classroom Demonstrations

Providing Choices for Students

• Student Chosen Themes • KWL (Know, Want, Learned) • Suggestion Box • Peer Mentoring/Tutoring • Choice Theory

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At time of publishing, all of the website information was accurate. Due to the nature of the internet, some of the website information may have changed or become unavailable. Please see the references section of the corresponding online module for the most up-to-date information.

Table of ContentsTypes of Learning Activities —2Information Alignment —3Learning Activities That Promote Deep Learning —5Providing Choices for Students —10Conclusion —12References —13

Learning Activities That Promote Deep LearningDeep learning challenges students to engage themselves with demanding skills such as creativity, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. A student makes sense of learning by connecting new ideas with previously learned knowledge. In order to do this, students need both coaching in the necessary skills and time set aside to perform reflective thinking at the end of a lesson. The nature of an activity, together with learning outcomes and assessment rubrics, combine to determine the depth of learning demanded from the student. Project-type assignments, implemented over extended time periods, provide good opportunities for deep learning and the development of collaborative skills.

In addition, the pace of lessons is a significant factor in maintaining student engagement. An effective teacher will judge and sense a pace that is fast enough to keep students active, but not so fast as to be frenetic and confusing. Greater learning expectations may be placed on students when the lesson is scaffolded with a structure of identifiable parts. The teacher may strengthen scaffolding with engaging support materials that are aligned to each part and used by students only if needed. Students who take a surface approach tend to be focused only on passing the course, whereas students who take a deep approach intend to engage with the course, understand new concepts, and relate those concepts to prior learning. Zmuda (2010) concludes that schools fail to truly educate when efficiency is prized over the development of learners’ intelligence. Zmuda describes a scenario in which students don’t think deeply or originally, but do become proficient in guessing what the teacher expects as the right answer. The reward is a good grade. Speed of arriving at the right answer is seen by peers as the mark of intelligence. A fear prevails that once a student falls behind they will never again catch up with the class. There is little attempt to link activities in the classroom with life in the wider world. School takes on a self-fulfilling role and makes little attempt to prepare students with skills for life. Zmuda proposes that educators should seek ways to present students with learning experiences that are more creative, intrinsically motivating, and focused on real world authentic tasks.

Active Learning Instructional StrategiesActive learning requires engagement and response from students. Activities such as writing, discussion, games, reflection, role-play and laboratory investigations are a few examples of activities in which the student goes beyond the passive role of listening. Higher order thinking tasks, such as analysis, creativity and synthesis demand an even greater degree of active participation. The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers an easy-to-follow snapshot of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge where teachers can easily examine the types of questions they are asking, and types of thinking they are demanding.

Thinking critically. All students need the life skill of critical thinking. In addition to the academic applications of critical thinking, there are myriad reasons why the skill should be practiced in everyday life. Informed citizens are able to think critically in many everyday situations. For example, they have the ability to make responsible community decisions, avoid being duped by financial scams, and to make informed decisions in the marketplace. All are aspects of critical thinking.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) (n.d.) promotes the teaching of critical thinking by incorporating the skill in essential questions that are linked to the big ideas in the state curriculum frameworks. For example, grade ten students are expected to think critically in the Civics and Government course.

Figure 1. Civics and Government PDESAS Curriculum Framework Example.

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The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) (n.d.) includes a compulsory, assessed course in critical thinking for all International Baccalaureate Diploma students in grades eleven and twelve. The word critical is used in this sense to test the validity of knowledge claims. Critical thinking is applied to the scrutiny of knowledge in a diverse range of subject areas. The experimental sciences utilize experiment and observation. History relies on documentary evidence from source materials. Literature students seek answers to fundamental human questions from within the text. Economists build mathematical models based upon observation of economic events and reasoning. Some knowledge questions suggested by the IBO are:

• What counts as evidence for…? • What makes a good explanation in subject …? • How do we judge which is the best model of …? • How can we be sure of …? • What does theory of … mean in the real world? • How do we know whether it is right to do …?

These types of questions prompt deep, critical thinking in students, and engage them in deep explorations of new content and concepts.

Speaking with a partner. Speaking and listening are the communication channels through which students express and receive thoughts. Fisher, Frey, and Rothenberg (2008) assert that academic conversations with peers are instrumental for the development of high levels of oral literacy. Peer conversations are crucial for students to clarify understanding, validate reasoning, and find ways of communicating their thoughts. Collaborative learning assignments are based upon the premise of shared contributions and dialogue. The effective teacher both recognizes the importance of academic peer dialogue and actively seeks to incorporate opportunities into lesson planning. Confidence in speaking is also associated with codes of conduct that enhance conversations. Good listening skills and a respect for others’ ideas are essential to productive dialogue.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers a thorough lesson plan entitled Smart Partners - Think, Turn and Talk. This lesson plan ensures that students know how to effectively share with others.

Expressing ideas through writing and multimedia. Students in the 21st Century are bombarded with interactive and visual images on a daily basis. Parietti (2013) argues that teachers needs to harness, rather than compete with these experiences in order to engage students in furthering their literacy skills. Video, from movies or online clips, may be used in creative writing projects to study features such as character, style of language, pace, and setting. Nonfiction writing may be tackled in the same way.

Historical, scientific, or environmental documentaries are effective in familiarizing students with features such as timelines, specialist language, and personal perspectives. Real life experiences are guaranteed to increase ownership and commitment in students’ writing. Field trips or other active learning experiences in school serve to generate interest. For example, trips to the zoo, a boat trip, cooking food, running a race, or using a map and compass are just a few of the limitless opportunities for authentic inspirational activities. Cross-curricular learning promotes expressive writing by immersing students in the vocabulary of the topic and providing a variety of perspectives related to a number of distinct instructional outcomes. The addition of drama brings life to the classroom. Drama techniques help students to explore character and associate their writing project with having fun.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers a resource called Six Traits: Ideas that both describes what good ideas look like and offers rubrics for evaluating ideas.

In addition to engaging students through multimedia, field-based activities, and other active learning experiences, the opportunity to explore and convey newly learned content and concepts is also important. Effective teachers foster deep engagement by integrating structured activities and projects that require student writing and reflection on what they have learned or discovered. Additional projects may incorporate multimedia, allowing students to develop and demonstrate new understandings through a variety of formats. The products that students create should reflect their deep explorations of new content and concepts.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers many resources on adding multimedia to the classroom. Among these are Students as Creators: Exploring Multimedia, Sharing Research Through Multimedia, and Students Find Their Voices Through Multimedia.

Exploring personal attitudes and values. Opportunities to explore personal attitudes and values are often important to sparking student engagement with new content and concepts. The Unesco Organization believes that values and attitudes relate to the affective dimension of learning and affect how we relate to other people. Definitions of values and attitudes show that values tend to be deeper and less changeable than attitudes (Cox, Calder, & Fien, 2010).

• Values are generally long-term standards or principles that are used to judge the worth of an idea or action. They provide the criteria by which we decide whether something is good or bad, right or wrong.

• Attitudes predispose us to respond in particular ways to people and events. They are not so deeply felt as values and quite often change as a result of experience.

Attitudes and values are included as instructional outcomes in many established curricula and student profiles.

Attitudes are habits of mind. Some, such as curiosity, persistence, and risk-taking, enable the learning process. Simple skills may become attitudes if put into practice. For example, a student may exhibit the skill of being able to communicate effectively. The same student exhibits a disposition

if he or she practices the skill and consistently communicates effectively. Some of the competencies named in the PDE Curriculum framework could be described as attitudes. Examples include, make decisions, value diversity, share authority (when appropriate).

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has many resources related to this topic. Two of them include Attitude and Work Habit Plan Implementation and Students Who Know Their Own Minds.

Giving and Receiving Feedback. Academic feedback is a two-way exchange of information between student and teacher. Wiggins (2012) cites the extensive research of John Hattie in order to establish that regular, quality feedback to students is a highly influential determinant of student achievement. Wiggins offers a number of characteristics that serve to define how feedback can be made effective for student learning.

Outcome-referenced feedback indicates progress toward a shared instructional outcome and indicates what action needs to be taken in order to completely achieve the outcome. Feedback may be referenced against a student’s recent performance. For example, a student may be advised that they are now performing much better at the writing skill of constructing concise and grammatically correct sentences. Such feedback would offer encouragement based upon comparisons with the student’s previous assignments. In order to improve further, the teacher or the student needs to make a comparison of present performance with the stated outcome, preferably using a rubric.

Tangible and transparent feedback is shared using specific language that relates overtly to learning. Comments such as nice job or well done are not harmful, but neither help the student to further their learning. Similarly, the attachment of grades to a piece of work provides no specific information to enlighten students as to why they have performed better or worse than last time. The wording of feedback should be objective, data based, and linked to outcomes. There is no place for judgmental comments about behavior or aptitude. The effective teacher maintains a tone of neutrality when making comments that focus on a specific skill or the understanding of a concept studied. A comment such as you need to draw the graphs more accurately will leave the student wondering what they have to do in order to improve. An alternative comment could be, the points are accurately plotted on the graph; the axes must be linear, squared paper would help achieve this. Students also benefit from positive comments about what they are doing right and should continue to do.

User-friendly feedback uses language that the student will understand. Feedback is primarily a source of enlightenment for the student, and only secondly a record of instructional progress for the teacher. Too much feedback is overwhelming for the student. The effective teacher limits the number of points to two or three prioritized comments.

Timely feedback is received by the student while the challenges of the recent learning exercise are still fresh in the mind. Timing of feedback between assignments is important in order to avoid students thinking if only I’d known that before. Receipt of feedback before the next, similar assignment, enables the student to reflect on and correct mistakes. Feedback after the event is almost useless especially if coursework grades are involved. Teachers are naturally challenged by the time demands of giving individual feedback to a class of students. The resourceful teacher will consider alternative feedback strategies such as peer feedback and the use of technology in the form of online interactive practice assessments.

Ongoing feedback provides many opportunities for students to adjust their performance in pursuit of the instructional outcome. The effective teacher will encourage students to learn from previous feedback and ask for confirmation of progress when they next use the highlighted skill or concept.

Consistent feedback is dependent upon the teacher having a clear understanding of the instructional outcome and an unwavering appreciation of the descriptors that define excellent student work. The considerable effort involved in constructing tightly crafted assessment rubrics represents a sound instructional investment. Rubrics, when shared with students, enable the independently minded and appropriately trained student to self-assess their own progress. Teachers, when working in teams, benefit from moderation exercises in order to agree upon a consistent interpretation of assessment rubrics.

Feedback is at the heart of learning and embodies the bond between teacher and student. Lesson planning should specifically indicate how and when feedback is to be implemented.

Reflecting on your own learning process. Reflection, especially when linked with feedback from the teacher, empowers students to improve their own learning. The effective teacher encourages students to invest time in academic reflection in order to improve learning. Discussions with the teacher, or with peers, provide an interactive strategy for students to reflect on their own metacognition and recognize reasons for both successful and unsuccessful learning.

Tightly worded instructional outcomes, together with task-specific rubrics, are valuable tools that enable students to compare their own progress with the ultimate goal. The teacher may provide students with carefully chosen questions that are designed to prompt students to find productive lines of reflective thought. Student logs and journals are used to keep an ongoing written record of academic reflections. Students are periodically given time to review journals and look for significant learning achievements and patterns of improvement (Costa & Kallick, 2008).

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has a wealth of information about reflection. Focused Journaling and Journaling may be of particular interest.

The Pause ProcedureThe pause procedure is a strategy that was initially developed in order to improve the effectiveness of formal lectures in higher education establishments. In schools, although formal lectures are less common, many middle and high school classes utilize didactic sessions that follow the same pattern as lectures. The essential elements of the pause procedure are driven by the need to break up a lecture session into smaller time intervals of ten to fifteen minutes, with two minute collaborative activities in between. The short breaks serve both to refresh the student’s

concentration and also to provide an opportunity for reflection and consolidation.

Duplass (2006) identifies a number of lecture models that incorporate collaborative breaks.

Figure 2. Types of Lecture.

Think-Pair-Share is a classroom technique that may be utilized in any phase of a lesson and in any subject area. The activity involves three stages:

• Students have time to individually consider a question during the think stage. • In the pair stage, students discuss their proposed answers with a partner. Dialogue may lead to a student revising their original ideas

developed in the first stage. • The sharing stage requires students to relay their answers to the whole class.

Sometimes, another stage is added in a Think-Pair-Square-Share strategy. The extra square stage enables more interactive connections when two pairs meet together to discuss answers. Students may also write notes or draw diagrams during the activity. Think-Pair-Share “helps students develop conceptual understanding of a topic, develop the ability to filter information and draw conclusions, and develop the ability to consider other points of view” (Instructional Strategies Online, n.d.). The strategy may be used, either spontaneously or as part of a lesson plan, for many purposes including concept review, summarizing and note checking.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers a two-page resource on Think-Pair-Share.

Concept TestConcept tests are used to gather immediate, formative feedback during a lesson or lecture. They may be used to check understanding of a newly taught concept or to gauge prior knowledge before beginning a new topic. Concept tests are created with great attention to detail and presented informally to students. The Web site of Carnegie Mellon Eberley Center (n.d.) recommends concept tests that are comprised of between one and five multiple-choice questions. Typically, questions are displayed on a screen and students are given a minute to process the question. Students respond by raising their hands or displaying a color card to indicate a response. Better still, clicker devices may be used to communicate responses. The teacher is interested in the aggregate response from the class and does not make a record of individual responses. Creating the material for concept tests requires skill and knowledge of instructional content. Learning outcomes that are known to be challenging and concepts that are commonly associated with misconceptions are often targeted in questions. Questions should seek to probe students’ comprehension and ability to apply concepts and may be prefaced by a mini case study that describes an event or problem. Examples of multiple-choice test instruments would include a choice of four or five answers.

Some categories of question are suggested.

• Predict the most likely outcome of a described event. • Apply a principle to an unfamiliar situation. • Select the most relevant concept to explain a described situation. • Solve a problem using a known equation. • Select the most appropriate procedure to complete a new task. • Select the best explanation for an effect. • Identify the major problem with a described scenario.

Peer support may be added to the process of the test. Following individual responses, students form pairs in order to share and explain their

answers. A rerun of the concept test, following after reflection, may show a different profile of class understanding. The performance results from a concept test are used immediately by the teacher in order to proceed with the lesson plan or to make pragmatic adaptations when students are missing prior knowledge, lacking understanding or when they find the concept easy and need to move at a faster pace.

Personal Response Systems (Clickers)A personal response system, sometimes referred to as a clicker, is a set of hardware and software that facilitates teaching activities (Bruff, n.d.). Immediacy of feedback, obtained by asking students to respond yes/no or choose from a list choices, is the major advantage of the clicker. The incorporation of quality feedback in the lesson, when a choice of more than two answers is offered to students, requires planning on the part of the teacher. Feedback is based upon the student selecting one of several pre-planned choices. Students select, by clicking, an answer to a displayed multiple-choice or yes/no question. The received data is instantly collated by the software and displayed for the teacher as a bar chart or pie diagram. A class profile of answers is used as data to influence decisions about the next step in the lesson. The teacher may decide that more explanation is needed or could introduce a group activity such as think-pair-share.

Multiple-choice questions may be used, in conjunction with clickers, to test student understanding on a number of levels, including higher orders of thinking. Since the answers are used in order to obtain a snapshot of class progress and are not part of examinations or grading, the teacher does not need to invest the considerable amount of time that would be needed to create rigorous questions for summative assessment. Examples of questions to check on transference of content include:

• simple recall of knowledge, • understanding of concepts and identification of misconceptions, • application of knowledge to new situations and contexts, and • critical thinking questions where students select the best answer from several acceptable answers.

In addition to clicking answers about content, students may be asked questions about attitude, process, or confidence. Perspective questions ask for opinions and may be used, for example, to generate discussion about characters in a novel or ethical issues. Process questions can ask if students have remembered commitments, such as instructional deadlines, target dates for project or essay drafts, or inquire about the length of time spent on an assignment. Confidence level questions check on how sure students are about answers given or how able they feel to use new learning in unfamiliar situations.

Purposeful QuestioningPurposeful questioning, according to Acree Walsh and Dankert Sattes (2005), is an essential factor in the transformation from teacher-centered to inquiry-based instruction. The effective teacher utilizes and models questions that require deep thinking in order to formulate answers. Frequent questioning, at a rate of more than one question each minute, tends to be comprised of lower-order recall type questions.

Planned questions, at less frequent intervals, promote student learning by aligning with instructional outcomes. Ultimately, and with modeling, students learn to formulate and answer their own questions. Questioning, thinking, and understanding are three interwoven processes that drive student achievement. The inclusive teacher ensures that all students, not only the most willing participants, are given opportunities to answer questions. A respectful classroom culture encourages students to take risks and respond to teacher’s questions. Incorrect answers are followed up, by the teacher, in a supportive manner with supplementary questions intended to probe for the cause of the misunderstanding. Likewise, the persistent teacher offers prompts when a student answers at a different cognitive level from that of the question. High levels of student engagement are evidenced by students asking questions about content, in addition to questions about procedure. Wait time is another essential feature of effective questioning technique. Questions are more effective when the teacher asks the question, pauses a few seconds before selecting a student to answer, waits for the student to formulate and deliver an answer, then pauses once more before commenting upon the answer. Marzano (2009) stresses the importance of soliciting responses from as many students as possible. Response rates may be increased when students, rather than the teacher, respond to other students’ answers. The secondary response may be as simple as an agreement or disagreement, or could involve additional explanation. Clickers, thumbs up/down, or yes/no cards could be utilized to gather simple responses from the whole class.

Classroom DemonstrationsDemonstrations are sometimes the best technique for a teacher to illustrate a concept, model the correct use of specialist equipment, teach a manipulative or creative skill, or model an interactive skill. Demonstrations can be engaging, dramatic, and a welcome change from listening to a lecture. They can also be disastrous if not planned in detail and rehearsed. The University of Delaware Center for Teaching and Learning (n.d.) describes essential planning details for the successful execution of effective classroom demonstrations.

Care needs to be taken to list and check all equipment. The lack of an electrical plug, marker pen, or pair of scissors can be the difference between triumph and a flop. Introductions to demonstrations, when presented with a slice of theater, arouse curiosity and increase the degree of engagement. Students should also be clear about the purpose of a demonstration, including how it relates to instructional outcomes and previous knowledge. Demonstrations that involve equipment need to be rehearsed carefully, with exactly the same hardware that is used for real. Seating arrangements need careful consideration, especially for demonstrations relying on a clear view of small items. The teacher may wish to perform the demonstration to small groups in rotation, or use a webcam to project a large image onto a screen. When a teacher demonstration is used to explain a technique, a good reinforcement strategy is to call up a volunteer who can repeat the procedure.

Providing Choices for StudentsWhen students make a learning choice they accept ownership and are more likely to be motivated and engaged. Students in developed countries are presented with no choice regarding their requirement to attend school. There is room for choice in the ways that teachers plan and interpret curriculum and assessment. Lublin (2003) asserts that students, when given no choice, are more likely to respond by taking a surface approach and doing the minimum amount of work in order to gain a passing grade. When individual students are able to strike a contract with the teacher, and follow an area of interest, they are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to study at a deeper level.

For example, the Grade 5, Pennsylvania Department of Education geography standard 7.3.5.a, “Identify the human characteristics of places and regions using the following criteria:- economic activities” could be interpreted for any activities located in any region of the U.S., or anywhere on the planet. Students interested in fishing, cooking, sports teams, fashion or music, to name a few examples, could base their learning in those contexts. The student with ethnic Vietnamese grandparents could learn about working rice paddies in South East Asia. A student interested in digital gadgets may wish to study the economic activity of Silicon Valley, California. These types of choice, when integrated into classroom activities, can further engage students in learning new content and concepts.

Student Chosen ThemesGoodwin (2010) reviews relevant academic research and concludes that too much choice may be a hindrance to students who often agonize over making a choice from a long list of alternatives. A choice of three or four alternatives, or even only two, may be appropriate when students are unaccustomed to making choices. A driving question may effectively link the choices on offer and promote critical thinking skills. For example, a driving question could be “How does our food affect our lives?” The driving question could generate a choice of assignments on

• Food and obesity • The chemicals in food • Food availability and affordability

When students have an opportunity to guide their own explorations, they are more likely to be engaged and empowered throughout the instructional activities. Additionally, allowing for students to explore multiple angles of an issue or topic allows for both standards-aligned activities as well as the choice that will enhance their overall engagement.

KWL (Know, Want, Learned)Fontichiaro (2010) recommends the use of KWL charts (see Figure 3) to work collaboratively with students in identifying what they already know, want to know, and have learned at the end of the topic. Working together with students in this way removes the possibility of planning for instruction with flawed assumptions or misconceptions about prior learning. The KWL chart can be used by students to record their individual learning experiences. The teacher may also use a KWL chart to identify common understandings from the class.

Figure 3. A sample KWL chart.

The use of a KWL chart draws attention to prior knowledge and reminds students of what they already know. A discussion about the intended learning for a topic allows students an opportunity to voice their interests and influence the content that is to be aligned with instructional outcomes. Greater enjoyment, and therefore engagement, is likely when units of study incorporate student interests. The KWL chart is an effective first step for breaking free of the restrictions of a text-based curriculum and making good use of library, multimedia, and other community resources. Additionally, the KWL chart may be used in the reflective process as a living document for students to record what they have learned.The Pennsylvania Department of Education has resources on using a KWL chart, including Lesson on Using a KWL and Creating Question and Answer Books through Guided Research.

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Suggestion BoxA suggestion box provides a non-threatening way for students to express their preferences and concerns. The strategy works well with younger students when placed together with a supply of paper and colored pens for students to write or draw their thoughts and feelings about classroom opportunities and limitations. A suggestion box works well in conjunction with weekly classroom meetings. Students are able to make suggestions that are subsequently added to the meeting agenda (Suggestion Box Solves Problems, 2010). Students often identify problems concerning either one or two students or the whole class. Class meetings are effective when students are empowered to carry on the discussion with the teacher acting in the capacity of a coach. The tone of the meeting and consideration of suggestions needs to remain constructive and helpful. The best outcomes involve students learning how to solve problems and change behaviors.

The suggestion box strategy additionally allows for teachers to adapt activities in order to meet students’ needs and/or accommodate their suggestions, as appropriate. Understanding that the teacher is taking suggestions into account, students are likely to feel a greater sense of empowerment and engagement.

Peer Mentoring/TutoringStudents may find that explanations from peers are a valuable addition to learning. Some schools successfully promote the use of peer mentors for academic support. Garringer and MacRae (2008) outline the advantages of structured, cross-age peer mentoring programs in which older students form friendships with younger students and offer academic mentoring. Often, the mentees may be younger students from a nearby feeder elementary or middle school. According to Garringer and MacRae, the cross-age model benefits both participants with growth and learning opportunities. A practical advantage is the ease of recruiting mentors when compared with systems that use adult mentors from outside the school community.

Parents are also comfortable with the arrangement and prefer mentoring from other students rather than from adult strangers. Mentors often become role-models. Younger students have a natural tendency to follow the direction of their older peers. Both parties benefit from the incidental advantage of building a new and wider circle of friends. Academic mentoring may include specific help with subject content challenges, such as mathematics or learning a language. Peer mentoring between students of similar ages is also effective in building confidence. The transition to a new school is made more easily with a supportive mentor who will clarify the culture and expectations of the school and offer a friendship circle during the settling in period.

Choice TheoryChoice theory, presented in the work of psychiatrist William Glasser, is based upon three assertions about human motivation and behavior; “all we do is behave, that almost all behavior is chosen, and that we are driven by our genes to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun” (2010). Aspects of the theory are controversial and debated in academic circles. A number of practical ideas have direct application to classrooms.

Erwin (2004) uses choice theory to describe three types of personal power. “Power over” is described as the urge to control others. “Power within” is the personal empowerment to achieve. “Power with”is used to cooperative with others. Erwin advocates for teachers to provide classroom opportunities for students to use their power with and power within. The implied threat is that otherwise students will meet their need for power with negative behaviors such as cheating, bullying, disruption, vandalism, or violence, in the domain of power over. Erwin asserts that individuals have an urge to exercise power as one of the five basic needs described in choice theory. Some teachers empower students by involving them in the development of a class constitution and set of rules. Such inclusiveness assures students that they are trusted to behave responsibly and direct their own learning.

Perks (2010) proposes the extension of choice as a means to increase student interest and engagement, and includes a warning that choice, if handled poorly, can have the opposite effects. Choice satisfies a student’s need to feel in control and consequently increases the motivation to learn. Students feel a greater sense of purpose when they are involved in decisions. Students who believe they can succeed are more likely to respond energetically to challenging assignments. The degree of choice is important. Maximum choice does not seem to result in maximum motivation. Many students respond best to a shortlist of options rather than dozens of possibilities or a limitless choice.

Perks considers types of choices that may be beneficial to student learning. Some students are encouraged when extended the freedom to find a comfortable spot away from their desk in order to complete a task. How a task is completed and an instructional outcome achieved does not need to be the same for all students. Enabling a student to choose between an essay, a presentation, a mind map poster, or a song may give a sense of empowerment and motivation.

Conclusion Student choice may be incorporated in lesson plans without the need to compromise on targeting instructional standards. Instructional outcomes can be worded in order to give scope for students to pursue preferences and interests. Students may be given a choice of strategies for fulfilling assignments, such as writing, performing, blogging or creating a wall display.

Engagement and motivation are enhanced when students are able to choose how they explore and demonstrate mastery of new content and concepts. Interest and involvement are likely to result in deeper learning, with higher-order thinking such as analysis, synthesis and creativity. The effective teacher plans assignments that require more than a rote learning approach from students. Projects, open-ended questions, collaborative work and experiential activities guide students towards deeper and sustainable learning. Monitoring of understanding is furthered when students are able to identify the big ideas and essential questions of a topic. The pragmatic teacher breaks up didactic instructional time into short bursts that are interspersed with checks on understanding.

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ReferencesAcree Walsh, J., & Dankert Sattes, B. D. (2005). How can quality questioning transform classrooms? In Quality

questioning: Research-based practice to engage every learner (chap. 1). Retrieved June 7, 2013, from www.sagepub.com/upm-data/6605_walsh_ch_1.pdf

Bruff, D. (n.d.). Classroom response systems (“clickers”). Retrieved June 6, 2013, from Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching website http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/technology/clickers/

Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center. (n.d.). Using concept tests. Retrieved June 8, 2013, from http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/assesslearning/concepTests.html

Costa, A. L., & Kallick, B. (2008). Learning through reflection. In Learning and leading with habits of mind (chap. 12). Retrieved June 10, 2013, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108008/chapters/Learning-Through-Reflection.aspx

Cox, B., Calder, M., & Fien, J. (2010). Teaching and learning for a sustainable future: Values education. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved June 9, 2013, from http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_d/mod22.html?panel=4#top

Danielson, C. (2011). The framework for teaching evaluation instrument. Princeton, NJ: The Danielson Group.

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