Episode 136 - The Power of Choice: How to Empower Your Students for Successful Learning

Empowering our students to become successful learners is so important. In this episode, I give 3 strategies you can use to enable your students to become successful in your classroom.

Notes

• Empowerment is crucial because it motivates students and engages them in learning
• Encourage voice and choice (basic, but still good. Provide options, create choice boards, or tic, tac, toe lessons) Let them choose the what or the how or the where etc
• Provide opportunities for leadership (students teaching others, being the expert, Jigsaw puzzle technique, simple as marking the roll for you)
• Technology can be a great thing to help with this. Create choose your own adventures, or create back channels in forums during Socratic circles)
• At the top end do collaborative tasks or PBL. 
• Challenges: Student resistance - start small and build up. Explain why you are doing it, and work with other teachers as you go. Get feedback and observation
• Great talk on this during the ET conference - access the recordings at teacherspd.net/conference