Freedom for Students to Choose Assignments
Giving students the freedom to choose their own assignments provides them an opportunity to learn about something they are passionate about. It allows the student to go in depth into subjects they enjoy as well as projects that they can most excel. It also allows the students to choose assignments that accommodate their preferred learning style. A Bowling Green State University Creative Arts Student explains, “I don’t like as much guidance that a lot of professors feel the need to give. You know with like uploading every lecture online, creating handouts and handouts, and study guides and such; it seems kind of over-helpful and it doesn’t seem like there’s much you can do to learn things the way that you want to learn them. And I don’t feel that that’s very useful because it seems very one-track minded”.
Most high achieving students enjoy learning, but they must also be given the freedom to explore outside ideas and the ability to choose their assignments, giving them more control over their academic achievements (Scager, Akkerman, Pilot, & Wubbels, 2013: Howley, M., Howley, A., Helfrich, Harrison, Gillam, & Safran, 2012). By giving students the freedom to choose their own assignments, instructors are allowing their students to become more engaged in the material. In addition,“[s]elf-directed learning was a better means of demonstrating their learning than taking exams” because they were able to study a topic in depth and had to rely on their own motivation to complete the projects” (Pruit, 2013). Therefore, by allowing students to choose their own assignments, the instructor is providing them an opportunity to delve deeper into a subject matter and provide them with a personalized learning experience.
References
Howley, Marged, et al. "A Research-Focused Honors Program For High-Ability Teacher-Education Students." Journal For TheEducation Of The m Gifted 35.4 (2012): 319-343. Education Research Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Pruitt, John. "Honors Student Perceptions Of Self-Directed Learning: When Teacher Becomes Facilitator." Teaching English In The Two-Year College 40.3 (2013): 274-287. ERIC. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Scager, Karin, et al. "How To Persuade Honors Students To Go The Extra Mile: Creating A Challenging Learning Environment." High Ability Studies 24.2 (2013): 115-134. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.