Providing opportunities for student choice is a strategy that is commonly underestimated! As teachers, we often design our lessons with singular instruction and activities that are usually designed for all students in the class. When designing these “One for All” lessons, we tend to lose sight that we have various learners that have various needs and different cognitive levels and skill abilities.
As an educator, we all know the more motivated and driven a student is, the more likely they will learn and internalize information. According to Anderson (2016), when students are provided with opportunities for choice, the effect helps to vanquish challenges with differentiation and apathy. In addition, providing choice also supports your classroom in becoming more collaborative and fun.
Benefits of Choice Boards
Choice boards are learning menus that give students various options to activate learning and complete tasks. The implementation of choice boards allow teachers to:
- Differentiate Instruction
- Ignite Student Creativity
- Build Student Agency
- Give Students a Voice
- Enhance Student Engagement
Types of Choice Boards
There is no one way to design choice boards. The design is dependent on the objective or learning goal for the lesson and the number of options a teacher decides to provide. Teachers can provide these options as a tangible handout or in a digital space such as Google Docs, Slides, or Sites. With digital choice boards, teachers are able to provide a variety of resources to further support learners with interactive links and give students opportunities to create artifacts representative of their learning.
Here are a few common examples of digital choice boards:
- Tic Tac Toe – Choice Menu is designed so that students choose 3 items either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
- Dinner Menu – Depending on the number of choices, a dinner menu is designed so that students can select options similar to a restaurant menu: appetizers, entrees, sides, and deserts.
- Color Coded – Choice menu is designed so that students select options by color.
Remember that planning is an essential component to any lesson or activity. Therefore, planning for choice should also be designed with purpose.
Tips to Consider
- Align Activities to Learning Goals & Lesson Objectives
- Consider Student Learning Styles
- Organize Accessible Resources and URL Links
Designing Digital Choice Boards
Once you have planned your choice menu and have developed a list of your resources, you can now easily design amazing looking choice boards with google slides. The number of choices you planned for will determine the number of sections you will need for your choice board.
Check out this blog on how to Easily Design Digital Choice Boards using Google Slides
Dr. Jocelyn McDonald 