The importance of Choice:

A common theme that I've encountered in my reading so far revolves around the importance of choice and the role that choice has in success and happiness. In Dan Pink's book, Drive, he talks about the powerful role autonomy plays in motivating workers. (remember the FedEx days, when employees get to work on whatever they want?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzHgN7_Hs8) In the Ethics Institute, we heard about three intrinsic needs that all people have- they are: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. This is the idea that people need to choose and organize their own experiences. In Success (chapter 5), Halvorsen states that it is important to create a feeling of choice even if it is unrelated to the learning. For example, students can choose their own seat, what color paper they want to use, and the order they may want to complete assignments or tasks. She cites a very powerful example from the study at the nursing home (p.118) in which the mortality rate of patients was cut in half just by incorporating simple "choices" into the lives of the elderly patients. They were allowed to choose their activities and were given the responsibility of taking care of a plant. What do I take away from this chapter and example? Choice creates meaning in our lives. It is critical, therefore, that as teachers, we create as much autonomy and choice as possible in our classrooms to leverage motivation, success, and meaning.