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Designing Structured Choice Activities with Podcasts - Listenwise Blog

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Student choice is an important lever for engagement and personalized learning. The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines suggest " optimizing individual choice and autonomy " as an effective strategy for "providing multiple means of engagement" when designing learning experiences.

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Structured Choice fosters learner independence within teacher assignments. Structured choice benefits both teachers and students by building a culture where learners are routinely responsible for their own learning. Structured choice provides teachers with a tool for managing differentiated instruction because supports and extensions are visible. Students benefit from greater autonomy and motivation achieved through decision making and self-monitoring of learning progress. (Danielson 3a, 3c, 3e)
Download a booklet of all examples displayed below. Download a step by step guide to making a structured choce assignment for a project Click on the images below for a pdf version of each example or on the highlighted link for a Word document.

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Structured Choice fosters learner independence within teacher assignments. Structured choice benefits both teachers and students by building a culture where learners are routinely responsible for their own learning. Structured choice provides teachers with a tool for managing differentiated instruction because supports and extensions are visible.

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Structured Student Choice at Locust Grove Middle School

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Creating a Menu for Extension and Acceleration  

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Creating a Menu for Extension and Acceleration  

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contains links to templates

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***Update: Links have been fixed for the Template***

I used menu's all the time when I was a classroom educator. I used them for student I didn't want the cookie cutter presentation from every single student. I wanted them to have a differentiation, student voice, and choice, and to be creative! choice, and to allow my students to be creative with multiple non-tech mediums.

So, when I wanted my students to do a book report, they had around ten various ways to create a book report. Examples included:

Create a new book jacket for the book

Create your presentation on a cereal box, recreating the book cover as your cereal box cover.

Build a diorama from a pivotal scene in the book, and explain why this scene is so important to both the plot and the characters.

Shoe box full of clues from the story. Usually describing a character, plot point, or climax of events.

Now, of course, "back in the day" (9 years ago when I first started teaching), I didn't have any technology in my classroom. So, the first couple menu's I made for student creation didn't involve any technology.

What I realized then, is what I still know today:

Students not only need, but they also want the ability to have both a voice and the freedom of choice when it comes to creating and presenting their content.

As an educator, it would be horrible if our administration told us we could only get feedback from students using one type of tool for the whole entire year.

Just like we ask our educators to be differential with their instruction, we should be asking our students to be differential with their creation and presentation!

To help with this... I created a Digital Menu Template for Student Creation! Feel free to use this template with any grade level, subject, project, unit, or content you teach.

Make a copy of the Google Slides Template "Digital Menu for Student Creation".

The template includes directions on how to use it.

Have your students go to slide 3 for the menu.

Every "item" is linked to another slide in the preso. I also included a back button for easy navigation.

Upper right-hand corner is the link to the rubric. This is the assigned rubric for this specific project. This is the only link you will need to switch out prior to having your students complete the menu.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions... please let us know! Feel free to comment on this blog post, or email the bisdwired team at bisdwired@brenhamk-12.net

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Teaching Tip Thursday: Digital Menu for Student Creation

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Update: Links have been fixed for the Template*** I used menu's all the time when I was a classroom educator. I used them for student I didn't want the cookie cutter presentation from every single student. I wanted them to have a differentiation, student voice, and choice, and to be creative!

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contributed by Genially
This is sponsored content
Choice boards are a powerful tool for engaging different kinds of learners and keeping students engaged with lesson content-which means strategies for creating digital choice boards might be useful?

For those just now joining the bandwagon, a choice board is a grid of activities that students can choose from. They are exceptional at promoting active learning and allow teachers to cater to different learning styles and needs at the same time.

How Can I Use Digital Choice Boards Online For Remote Learning and In-Person Classes?

With many classes now given online, many teachers are looking for ways to bring their favorite tool with them by sharing them in class websites, LMSs and video calls. This list of 16 strategies for using choice boards in the classroom also includes ways to use them effectively in the digital classroom for those using a distance learning model.

Click on each number in the infographic here for an explanation of each strategy.

16 Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

1. Start Small

You can always add rows or columns for next year's class or the following unit. A 3×1 choice board is better than not having choices!

2. Consider Learning Style Variations

Make sure you have options for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners whenever possible. All learners will benefit from interacting with lesson materials in different ways.

3. Add Audio Explanations

Adding audio to your choice boards, especially for those shared on online platforms, is a nice way to help students feel you close to them.

4. Choose A Point System (Or Grading/Feedback Approach)

If your activities vary in the amount of effort and time they require, you may wish to assign different point values to each one and have students complete enough activities to reach a determined point value. If all your activities are similarly demanding, you can simply ask students to choose a certain number of total activities to complete.

5. Try Tic-Tac-Toe

One fun way to set up your choice board is as a 3×3 grid where students must perform a set of activities to 'get' Tic-Tac-Toe. You can add a 'Free choice square' in the middle so that students can choose from all the squares for that activity.

6. Keep Everything In The Same Place

You'll reduce clutter and confusion by inserting videos, images, and other resources within your board instead of sending students to external sites. These windows that open up are an example of how to do so.

7. Use Breakout Rooms

Use breakout rooms to guide students through a choice board activity during a live video call class. If working with a standard 3×3 grid, break your activities into 3 groups of three (by rows on the board) and have students choose 1 activity from each group.

Start with row one and write the first activity in the chat before asking students to leave a comment if they want to be in that room. Do this for the first 3 activity options and break students into rooms by looking at their comments. Then, repeat this for the 2nd and 3rd groups of activities. It's a good idea to visit each group and post their task there as a reminder when they're starting.

For additional reading, see What Are Zoom Breakout Rooms?

8. Let Students Create Their Own Choice Boards

Have students create their own: Divide your students into groups of 3-5 students, and have each group create a review activity for your lesson. Then combine their activities into a template like this one to create a choice board that the class can use.

9. Make It A Team-Building Activity

Place students into pairs and ask that they complete the entire board between the two of them. Make sure there's no bullying here! Each student must take on both difficult and easy activities. In a 3×3 board, have each student choose 4 activities and leave out the one they like least.

Read Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

When creating your lesson plan, reserve 10-15 minutes for students to share their favorite activity when they finish.

11. Get Feedback From Students

In share time have each student tell you which activity they liked the most and which seemed the least interesting to them. Use this feedback to improve your board for coming years or units.

12. Keep It Compelling And Creative

Get creative! Consider assigning social media formats in the board with prompts such as "choose two characters from this book and write 3 tweets for each with responses in the comments from the other character" or "create a 3 square Instagram feed for this historical event." If you're not social media savvy run your idea by a friend or coworker who is!

Teachers who swear by choice boards keep inventing new ways to use them to teach new materials as well as to review lessons. The more you know about how to put together a choice board and how to use them in the classroom, the more return you'll get from your time investment.

You may want to start with a choice board template to save time if you're looking to make a digital choice board. Here's an example of a choice board made from a Genially template, for example:

Other Quick Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

13. Organize your content

Keep a list of tasks grouped by theme, topic, standard, or any other concept you'd like. Maybe even tag your curriculum. Then, when you want to create a digital choice board, you already have the ingredients ready. It's like prepping for a meal ahead of time. : )

14. Use Learning Taxonomies

Use each quadrant to represent a level of complexity or Bloom's Taxonomy or by using Bloom's Taxonomy Questions.

15. Use a Google Docs

With more time, you can create beautiful and personalized choice boards with audio, video, unique scoring systems, and more. But in a pinch, a simple Google Doc with a basic table 2 x 2 table is technically a digital choice board and, with the right options given, work well.

You can also fill your choice boards with learning blends-combinations of 'ingredients' designed to promote mastery of content while letting students have agency, choice, and open-ended opportunity for sustained creativity.

A Last Word Regarding Digital Choice Boards In Your Classroom

While it's sometimes said that failing to plan is planning to fail, using digital choice boards in the classroom doesn't have to be perfect. Don't overthink it! Choose your favorite strategies and get started making your choice board! Your students will thank you for giving them creative opportunities to choose how they want to learn.

Teachers who swear by them are inventing new ways to use them to teach new materials as well as to review lessons. The more you know about how to put together a choice board and how to use them in the classroom, the more return you'll get from your time investment.
This is sponsored content. Regardless of sponsorship, it is TeachThought editorial policy to never share content that isn't useful or compelling for educators. You can read more about sponsored content policy here.

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16 Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

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contributed by Genially This is sponsored content Choice boards are a powerful tool for engaging different kinds of learners and keeping students engaged with lesson content-which means strategies for creating digital choice boards might be useful? For those just now joining the bandwagon, a choice board is a grid of activities that students can choose from.

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This video illustrates how Kerry Meehan, a third-grade teacher at the World of Inquiry School #58 in Rochester, New York, adapts and differentiates a close reading lesson from an EL Education curriculum module. Meehan attends to students' various readiness levels through her instructional decisions, the adaptation of materials, and classroom management strategies.

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Rigor: ALL-ED formula for adjusting rigor.

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Nicolas explain how he uses the ALL-ED formula for adjusting rigor in tasks.

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Carol Ann Tomlinson - Misconception "I already differentiate"

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How to Use Choice Boards to Differentiate Learning

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How to Use Choice Boards to Differentiate Learning % %

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Learners will learn about an instructional tool used to provide more differentiation in a classroom, choice boards.

Mrs. Smith now realizes she needs to differentiate her instruction allowing opportunities to reach all students. She just doesn't know what she can do. What instructional tool can she use? Won't it be a lot of work for her to change everything?

Choice Boards

In the previous Unit you learned about Differentiation and why it is important to provide these opportunities to our learners. We also learned how there are three areas we can Differentiate Instruction. We are now going to take a closer look at the component of Differentiation; product. We learned one way to Differentiate the product of learning is by providing students with a choice. This Unit focuses one type of instructional tool that allows for students to make choices; Choice Boards.

Choice boards provide students with choices on what they want to work on based upon the discipline. A teacher can create choice boards depending on academic level to the students. This allows for all students to reach the same goal with activities that meet their needs.

Watch this video for more background information about Differentiation as well as Math Choice boards :

Browse this Power Point presentation that focuses on Differentiation and Choice Boards:

Pay special attention to slides 14 and 15 which focuses on what Choice Board are.

https://www.trumbullesc.org/Downloads/Differentiation%20Choice%20Boards%20Southington2.pdf

Read this article that discusses how to use Choice Boards in the classroom:

https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/how-to-use-choice-boards-in-the-classroom/

Choice Board Template

Here are some Choice Board Templates that are organized in a Tic-Tac-Toe style. These are the ones I use in my classroom (depending on the learners in your classroom)

File:Choice Board Template- Hard.pptx

File:Choice Board Template-Easy.pptx

Assessment of Choice Boards

Choice Boards also provide teachers a sense of assessment on how well they understand the material. Students are able to complete different activities to their learning style and teachers can assess if they completed the assignment or not. Teachers are able to create different rubrics based upon their main objective of the choice boards.

Unit Wrap up

Complete: the questions based upon the information you have read in this Unit.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BQ6BSTD

Discuss: what Mrs. Smith should do? What is your rationale on your choice?

Creating Talk:Unit 3: Choice Boards

Go to: Unit 4: Creating a Choice Board within their Discipline

Back to: Differentiation in the form of Choice Boards within any discipline

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Unit 3: Choice Boards; How does that differentiate instruction?

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Learners will learn about an instructional tool used to provide more differentiation in a classroom, choice boards. Mrs. Smith now realizes she needs to differentiate her instruction allowing opportunities to reach all students. She just doesn't know what she can do. What instructional tool can she use?

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Activities that Develop Self-Regulated Learning

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Examples on this page are drawn from a presentation by Kaatje Kraft and David McConnell at the 2013 SAGE 2YC Supporting Student Success workshop. Crafting your students into self-regulated learners might sound ...

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Teaching Self-Regulation During Choice Time in Pre-K

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Listening to lectures and taking notes isn't effective if the student isn't absorbing the material. The concept of self-regulated learning relates to learners taking cognitive control and playing an active role in their learning process. This includes the ability for the learner to plan for a task, monitor their own performance and reflect on and evaluate the outcome.

What is self-regulated learning?

One of the foremost researchers in the area of self-regulated learning- Barry Zimmerman, an educational psychologist who has since written more than 100 papers on the subject-describes it as the ability of students to develop essential knowledge, strategies and behaviors to increase learning.

The concept of self-regulated learning arose in the 1980s, but has become even more relevant in today's curriculums. With so much uncertainty in the job market, self-regulated learning has become an essential skillset to facilitate lifelong learning, as well as the ability to adapt to changing job requirements.

An awareness of one's learning process can dramatically improve learning, reasoning and comprehension, according to educational research (How People Learn from the National Research Council.) Awareness takes place through metacognition: thinking about your own thinking.

But self-regulation is rarely taught to students, nor does it come naturally to most people. Fortunately, these approaches can be taught and learned-and it's why every educator have an important role to teach students how they think... about how they think.

Using self-regulated learning, "students take control of their own learning and the strategies they develop to favour this learning," according to an article in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.

Here are five tasks and/or learning strategies that instructors can use to incorporate self-regulated learning into their coursework or learning environment that will help students develop skills for lifelong, self-regulated learning:

1. Think-Pair-Share

With this approach, the instructor takes a break during a lecture to pose a question, sometimes one that's open-ended. First, students reflect on the question, then discuss their thoughts with another student. Then, small groups of students discuss and share their thoughts with the class. This keeps students engaged during a lecture and encourages participation from everyone - but it also ends up challenging them to think critically about the content of the lecture, rather than passively taking notes.

2. Reading Reflections

Sometimes, we read words on a page but don't fully understand their meaning or integrate the new information. Using this self-regulated learning approach, students are given two or three questions after a reading assignment-such as "What is the author's main point?"-and write out their answers. While they receive credit for this short writing assignment, they aren't graded on it; instead, the focus is on engaging students with the material, rather than solving problems.

3. Mastery Exercises

Mastery exercises take the form of quizzes. Taking a quiz in class isn't exactly a new concept, but in a self-regulated learning context 'mastery exercises' have a different purpose. Typically they're digitally delivered, offered on a regular basis (such as once a week) and aren't a major component of a student's grade. Students are, in fact, encouraged to take the quiz repeatedly to help them master course content and assess their own progress.

"Web-based quizzing can be an effective and efficient pedagogical tool when used appropriately and a major contributor to improved student learning," according to a paper by the National Center for Academic Transformation. It's most effective when the questions aren't repeated when the student repeats the quiz, but when new questions address the same concept. (Questions randomly generated according to formulae fit the bill here.)

4. Peer Instruction

Reciprocal or peer instruction requires a student to take on the role of 'teacher' with another student or group of students. This doesn't mean standing at the front of the classroom and giving a lecture. Instead, it could mean that students are asked a conceptual question based on materials they've studied before class, and a small group of two or three students explain their thinking to one another. This methodology is sometimes used as part of a flipped classroom, where students are introduced to learning materials prior to class, with class time used to discuss learnings and engage with peers.

5. Knowledge Surveys

Students fill out a survey at the start of a new course to get a sense of their baseline knowledge. However, students don't answer specific questions; they simply indicate whether or not they could answer the question (and with what degree of confidence). Prior to taking the final exam, they would take the survey again to see how much they've learned - and where they might need further study. This approach can also be used before tests throughout the course, helping students evaluate their learning goals, and helping instructors tailor the course material to student needs.

The above learning activities can help develop self-regulated learning and let students take control of their own learning experience. Instructors, of course, still play an important role: they guide students through the process, set expectations, provide feedback and help them link new information to prior learning. Ultimately, self-regulated learning makes students think about how they think, setting them up with the tools, motivation and skills they need for lifelong learning.

Fill in this brief form to get it now.

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Self-Regulated Learning: 5 Ways to Add it to Your Class - Top Hat

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Listening to lectures and taking notes isn't effective if the student isn't absorbing the material. The concept of self-regulated learning relates to learners taking cognitive control and playing an active role in their learning process. This includes the ability for the learner to plan for a task, monitor their own performance and reflect on and evaluate the outcome.

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Encouraging students to set goals for themselves-the first phase of self-regulated learning-helps them develop a growth mindset.

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." -Tony Robbins

Many students may not necessarily have the tools to set academic goals and lack strategies to enact change and work toward those goals. Teachers can provide structure to help students set academic goals that are realistic and appropriate as well as achievable. It is important to note that goal setting is not just an activity for the beginning of the school year, but an ongoing process.

It personalizes the learning process based on their needs.

It creates intention and motivation that empowers students.

It establishes accountability to shift responsibility to students.

It provides a foundation for students to advocate for their needs.

Setting academic goals is the first phase of self-regulated learning. Irrespective of the model proposed by leading researchers such as Barry Zimmerman, self-regulated learning always begins with a goal-planning phase. Goal setting is an essential component for growth and development in our students for several reasons:

Goal setting can be done at any age-as long as it is age appropriate. Teaching the skill of goal setting coupled with reflecting and revising goals can give students the self-regulated learning tools for a growth mindset toward academic development.

With students as young as kindergarten, more scaffolding is needed. At the beginning of each day, students can select an emoji or picture that represents some action from a predetermined list of possible options. If teaching virtually, students can do this at the beginning of the session. If teaching in person, students can perhaps tape their goal to their desk or table area or perhaps a chart displayed in the classroom. The class can spend a few moments discussing goals and what actions they can do to achieve those goals. Teachers can invite other students to make suggestions for their peers. At the end of the day, allow students to rate themselves with stars and to think about how they could do things differently for the next day.

Upper Elementary and Middle School

For students who are slightly older and able to write, an excellent way to develop the habit of creating, planning, and reflecting on goals can be done through the use of short-term daily goals using sticky notes. At the beginning of the day, students take a few minutes to imagine some task, behavior, or skill they want to focus their intentions on for that specific day. Let the students keep the notes somewhere visible, so they can refer back to the goal throughout the day. Include class conversations with either a partner, a small group, or the whole class at the beginning and end of the day. Focus on the achievement of the goal, but suggest growth mindset strategies to focus on the wins as well as necessary changes for further improvement.

What do you think about the choices in goals for the week? (Were they realistic and appropriate? Were they the most needed for growth at this time?)

How did you progress toward your goals? (Did you have clear, actionable steps?)

What were some of the wins for the week?

What are some ways you can continue to improve on your development of these goals?

Once students have more advanced writing skills, it may be useful for them to keep a chart or table of their goals in a logbook. Students record in the morning, not only the goals but an action plan, and then reflect on strategies for improvement at the end of the day. At the end of each week, allow students time to reflect on their goals for the next week with structured prompts such as the following:

While a logbook is functional, it can be a more motivating experience to allow students to engage in creativity and personalization. Allow them to have fun with the process and create a goal journey map. They identify a goal, which is the end of the map. They also identify different benchmarks or steps to complete along the path or journey toward that goal. Students then have a visual representation of the progress of their journey.

High School

For high school students, l use a reflection sheet after each unit or chapter to create a regular habit of revisiting goals. Ask students the following questions:

What are some areas that you can improve upon? What are some areas that need more attention or focus? What could you do differently?

What specific and concrete actions can you do?

How can you advocate for yourself? In other words, how can your teacher, your peers, or others guide you toward your goal?

What were the wins for this chapter or unit? In other words, what things did you do well or what areas did you improve?

I always begin new units with an independent work day or two. During this time, the students are working on their reading skills, while I conference with their classmates independently.

Goal setting can help with classroom management and academic performance. It allows students to become more aware of expectations and concrete methods to achieve an outcome. It scaffolds the process, making it more manageable. With goal setting that is reflective and iterative, students establish a growth mindset as they engage in monitoring of their progress and reflecting on it as outlined by Zimmerman and Dale Schunk.

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Encouraging students to set goals for themselves-the first phase of self-regulated learning-helps them develop a growth mindset.

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Teaching middle and high school students how to study helps them see for themselves why and when to use different strategies for learning.

Self-regulated learning, or SRL, is not a new concept in pedagogy and has been considered a best practice for decades. Yet it's often interpreted with the literal meaning of regulating one's self through keeping emotions in check and is confused with a close cousin, social and emotional learning.

SRL is much more than just learning strategies to regulate emotions. It also taps into the often-missing component of teaching and learning, the metacognitive aspects of learning, or learning how to learn for different contexts. SRL is knowing how to learn and being aware of your progression of learning toward specific goals. Barry Zimmerman, one of the leading researchers for SRL, describes SRL as "not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather, it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills."

Goal setting and strategic planning

Monitoring performance and progress toward goals

Reflecting and making decisions on how to change their behavior

A student with highly developed SRL skills is aware of different strategies for learning and can select the best strategies for their context, subject, or type of learning activity. Furthermore, they have a growth mindset. They have an accurate impression of their current skill level and capacities and take steps to bring about balance to their abilities focusing on growth and development. Through the iterative process of SRL, that includes three phases:

They manage their time well and plan appropriately to complete their assignments and study. They are the students who have learned not to cram the night before an exam and choose environments for studying that are conducive to maximizing learning. These students do all of this while maintaining motivation and engagement.

How to Incorporate SRL

Research has shown three main ways in which SRL instruction is integrated into teaching practices, but only one leads to long-term success. I like to use the example of teaching a child how to swim.

1. Indirect SRL promotion: This is like throwing the child in the water so they can learn to swim without any lessons. The most common approach of SRL instruction occurs without teachers even realizing it. We give our students the space and opportunity to practice study strategies and SRL. However, we never directly discuss or provide instructions on the topic. Some students will learn SRL on their own; others will unfortunately sink.

2. Implicit direct instruction: This is very much like jumping in the pool with the child and swimming alongside them to model strokes and strategies without ever providing specific instruction or explanations. In the classroom, this happens when teachers make suggestions for students to use a particular strategy or approach. These suggestions can be directed toward individual students or the whole class.

Implicit instruction also occurs when teachers design their lessons with specific learning activities that engage students in SRL skills, such as a self-reflection in the middle of the unit in which students assess their progress toward mastery of learning objectives.

3. Explicit direct instruction: This includes more than models or creating space for the skills to be applied. There is specific and direct instruction. In the swimming example, the child not only is provided instructions for different types of swimming strokes but also learns the advantages and disadvantages of different strokes, and why some swimming strokes are better in different contexts. They learn which strokes are their preferred strokes for where they typically swim. This method also considers their body type and muscle composition.

In the classroom, explicit direct instruction of SRL means the students are aware that they are learning study strategies and how to learn. They learn which strategies are best for different contexts and the reasoning for those benefits.

Explain the usefulness and importance of self-regulated learning skills to students.

Support students to identify when and where they can use self-regulated learning skills.

Two quick tips for explicit direct teaching of SRL:

Students Need to Be Taught How to Study

Research shows that the majority of students do not learn SRL skills on their own. They also do not learn them in school, unless it is in the form of explicit direct instruction. This means that many students are not at their full learning potential, simply because they do not know how to study and learn. In fact, a study published in 2007 found that 65 to 80 percent of college students answered "no" to the question, "Do you study the way you do because somebody taught you to study that way?" They base their decisions on if a strategy worked well enough for the desired outcome.

I often ask students to describe their study strategies, and they say they're rereading notes and their textbooks, which has been shown through many studies to be among the most ineffective approaches. But hey, it was good enough to get them the target grade, so they continue using this ineffective approach without ever realizing that there is a better way.

Even when given a list of strategies, research has found, students will select the more ineffective learning approaches because they are more recognizable. In many studies, students chose rereading, which is passive, over practicing recovery and self-assessment strategies that require higher-learner engagement. Research also shows that students fail to manage their time and the environment in which they learn as well. They prefer to cram even if it has been shown to lead to poor performance and lower long-term mastery of concepts. Fortunately, teachers can counter these tendencies with explicit direct instruction in SRL.

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How to Guide Students to Self-Regulated Learning

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Teaching middle and high school students how to study helps them see for themselves why and when to use different strategies for learning.

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Download and use free metacognition tools to promote self-regulated learning in students.

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Download our FREE metacognition & self-regulated learning teaching resources!

These metacognitive teaching tools are ideal for teachers of students aged 11-18.
Register here to download our complete collection!

If you subscribe to our mailing list we'll send you ten free metacognition teaching resources over the course of ten months: for ten months you'll get an innovative new metacognition teaching tool to try out with your students sent straight to your inbox! Subscribing to our free mailing list will also grant you free access to our Growth Mindset Toolkit! A link to the Growth Mindset Toolkit will be automatically sent to new subscribers.

Our free metacognition teaching tools serve as samples for our massive collection of metacognition and self-regulated learning teaching resources that you can browse here - you can access all of our metacognition teaching resources in the Members Area if you register a Membership Plan with us: this is the most cost-effective way of accessing all of our teaching resources. We've created a range of over forty metacognition teaching resources!

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Those wishing to start a Whole-School Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning initiative should register a 'Whole-School Plan' which includes both a license for all the teachers and support staff in your school to use the entire suite of metacognition teaching resources, in-house CPD training materials, as well as access to our online CPD course. The Whole-School Plan also includes resources for an in-house CPD and teacher-training course focused on metacognition and self-regulated learning. Registering a Whole-School Plan is a comprehensive solution to your school's metacognition and self-regulated learning needs as it includes teaching resources, in-house training materials and access to our online training course.

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Our metacognition and self-regulated learning resources are most suited for use with students aged 11-16: with the exception of the ' Metacognition in Mathematics Toolkit' - our teaching resources are suitable for all school subjects.

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Free Metacognition Tools | The Global Metacognition Institute

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Free teaching activities & resources for metacognition & self-regulated learning. Bring new metacognitive strategies to your lessons today! Metacognition resources for teachers of any subject!

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Ten Teaching Strategies to Boost Metacognition & Foster Self-Regulated Learning!

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What Tina doesn't realize is that not all forms of studying are equal. For students like Tina, learning to direct time and energy to the most productive ways of studying and learning will result in a more effective and rewarding learning experience, which in turn can boost self-efficacy and motivation. The key, particularly for first-generation students and those who do not come from a background of academic rigor, is to learn how to reflect on one's own process of learning. It's not something that comes naturally to most students, and that is where the right teacher can literally change the course of a student's life.

The Cycle of Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulated learning is a cyclical process, wherein the student plans for a task, monitors their performance, and then reflects on the outcome. The cycle then repeats as the student uses the reflection to adjust and prepare for the next task. The process is not one-size-fits-all; it should be tailored for individual students and for specific learning tasks (Zimmerman, 2002).

The figure to the right illustrates the key steps of the process. These steps are performed by the student, but instructors play a vital role in guiding and coaching students through each step. The bullet points below provide additional information, and are drawn from Zimmerman (2002) and Zumbrunn et al. (2011).

Jump down to:
1. Plan and set goals | 2. Use strategies and monitor performance | 3. Reflect on performance

1. Plan, set goals, and lay out strategies

This first step of the cycle may be overlooked by many students as they dive headlong into a task. Encouraging students to establish a plan before they start working on a task will help them strategize right from the start. Although students may see this as taking a step backward, it will ultimately help them be more efficient with their time and effort.

Guide students though this process by helping them ask themselves the following questions:

Analyze the learning task. Is this a task I've done before or something new? Does it build off of a task I've done before? How much time will it take? How much focus will I need?

Set goals. How will I structure this task? What are the intermediate checkpoints and sub-goals? Can I complete an outline with two weeks to go, and then a rough draft one week prior to the due date? That would allow time to get extra help as needed.

Plan strategies. Will I need resources from the library, a color printer, help from my lab partners, or an appointment for office hours? Given my needs, when should I get started on this task?

Set expectations for the outcome. Given how much time I have available, my strengths and weaknesses, and my current standing in the course, what type of outcome would I like? Do I need to "ace" this, or is it OK if I can just complete it successfully?

Instructor tips:

When students are new to a task, help them map out the most effective strategies to match the goal.

Set intermediate, shorter term goals along the pathway toward a larger goal.

As students gain proficiency, allow them to plan for themselves.

2. Use strategies and monitor performance

In this phase, students carry out the plan that was outlined in the forethought phase. Ideally, students can proceed with confidence because they have already established a detailed plan of action.

Here are some key points you can use to coach students through this phase.

Use self-observation to reflect on the actions taken by the student and the effectiveness of the results.

For example, when I studied in a quiet location in the library, I completed the reading more quickly than when I read at home.

Because things don't always go smoothly, have students make a plan for what to do when obstacles arise (Flanagan, 2014).

For example, if I get stuck on the math in this assignment, I will go to the TA's weekly help session.

Prompt students to stick with the strategies, even though it may be tempting to revert back to known (but ineffective) strategies. Unfamiliar approaches may feel inefficient at first, but learning the method can be as important as learning the material.

Have the students monitor their progress on the intermediate goals, and the strategies they are using. At the same time, you can also monitor their progress and offer feedback (see structuring feedback for self-regulated learning).

3. Reflect on performance

Many students focus solely on the extrinsic outcome of their grade. While grades are important, you can help students reflect on how they think they did on a particular assignment, and why. This self-reflection can help them understand why they earned a certain grade and how to improve their performance. Activities like an exam wrapper can solidify this process.

Ask students to evaluate their own performance and their results. Students should compare their performance to their original goal, rather than comparing themselves to others.

Reflect on the effectiveness of strategies used. Did they select an appropriate strategy? Did they follow through with the selected strategy?

Encourage students to attribute poor outcomes to the effort made and/or the strategy used. Students should be coached to not attribute failure to lack of ability.

Help students manage their emotions, and in time, direct them toward productive lines of thinking about how they can improve their performance. Even if their outcome is not what they had hoped, they can still learn from the experience.

A key part of this process is that students use this reflection to plan for the next task. How will they adapt their planning, strategy, time management, and self-monitoring?

References

Flanagan, L., "Why Understanding Obstacles is Essential to Achieving Goals" MindShift, KQED News, (December 2014) Accessed online at http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/12/26/why-understanding-obstacles-is-essential-to-achieving-goals/.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64-70.

Zumbrunn, S., Tadlock, J., & Roberts, E. D. (2011). Encouraging self-regulated learning in the classroom: A review of the literature. Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC).

See the complete list of all references used in this module.

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What Tina doesn't realize is that not all forms of studying are equal. For students like Tina, learning to direct time and energy to the most productive ways of studying and learning will result in a more effective and rewarding learning experience, which in turn can boost self-efficacy and motivation.

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How do we promote self-regulated learning in our classrooms? with Martina Kuvalja

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Your role in helping students to gain self-regulation will be challenging and it is clear that your first attempt to teach a student a self-regulation strategy may not be successful. Why? It takes time and practice to gain effective habits. Initial efforts must be refined based on student's feedback, performance, and personal reflection.

Five common instructional practices that have been cited as effective in helping students learn self-regulation are:

1. Guide learners' self-beliefs, goal setting, and expectations

help students frame new information or feedback in a positive rather than a negative manner (e.g., "keeping track of your homework assignments will help you manage this course successfully," rather than "if you don't keep track you will fail")

provide specific cues for using self-regulatory strategies

2. Promote reflective dialogue

teacher modeling of reflective practices (think aloud)

student practice with reflective dialogue

group discussions to think through problems/cases (collaborative learning)

3. Provide corrective feedback

performance standards must be clear and perceived as attainable

phrase feedback (positive or negative) as a statement about the task of learning, not about the learner

4. Help learners make connections between abstract concepts

use case-based instructions or examples that students come up with themselves

use hands-on learning activities

help students learn to separate relevant from irrelevant information (i.e., help them know where and how to focus their attention; guide their reference standards)

5. Help learners link new experiences to prior learning

use experiential learning activities

focus on application of knowledge in broader contexts

integrate real-life examples with classroom information

Next Section: Learning Academy Model
Previous Section: Common Self-Regulation Strategies

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How-to Instruction for Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

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Your role in helping students to gain self-regulation will be challenging and it is clear that your first attempt to teach a student a self-regulation strategy may not be successful. Why? It takes time and practice to gain effective habits. Initial efforts must be refined based on student's feedback, performance, and personal reflection.

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We all like to make choices for ourselves and this is especially true for students. Giving students opportunities to make choices is an excellent strategy for increasing engagement and mental flexibility. When we allow a student to choose an activity, it gives her the sense that she has more control, which will likely increase her active participation and interest in the activity.

Becoming Self-Directed

It is important to build these skills in students with autism spectrum disorder, as they may have been taught to rely on others such as parents, siblings, or teachers instead of making their own choices. When students rely on others to make their choices, they don't have a chance to experience the results or consequences of their choices.

Most students need to have many opportunities to make choices and become more self-directed. Incorporating structured choice making into the classroom throughout the day gives students the valuable message that they have the power to exert control over their time and environment. This also gives them the chance to appropriately communicate their own wants and needs.

Using a choice card with two to six viable choices can increase engagement and student buy-in. Teaching students how to generate a list of possible choices and select the best option can pay dividends as students become more active learners.

Choice Making Strategy

Structured choices can be used across the curriculum to build mental flexibility and increase student buy-in.Consider the following types of choices that can be made available to the students:

Presentation - a choice of how information is provided: through reading, auditory means (podcast, etc.), or visual means (video, etc.).

People - a choice of people to work with: working alone, with a partner, or in a group.

Product - a choice of how to demonstrate learning: through a written report, visual display, or presentation.

These choices are depicted on the Choice Circle as a graphic that can be used to teach students how to make choices to increase their own engagement in lessons and activities. These can be used as a poster on display in the classroom and also printed on a portable card to be used as a personal reminder by students.

Choice Making Activity

One way to provide a structured choice activity is to use a Choice Circle with three to five choice options, in three to five areas (shown here). Discuss with students the importance of thinking about which choice makes the best sense, given the assigned task. Talk about how different choices may affect the finished product. As students become more adept at making choices that affect their learning, brainstorm other options for presentation, people, or product.

It is important to give all students, and especially those on the spectrum, many opportunities to make choices through the school day. This builds their confidence and gives them the valuable message that they are capable and have power over their lives.

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Students Get to Choose! Structured Choice Making Strategy

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We all like to make choices for ourselves and this is especially true for students. Giving students opportunities to make choices is an excellent strategy for increasing engagement and mental flexibility. When we allow a student to choose an activity, it gives her the sense that she has more control, which will likely increase her...