When Students Choose Content: A Guide to Increasing Motivation, Autonomy, and Achievement

As schools across the nation have been moving away from centralized decision making, with districts giving schools more autonomy and school principals "empowering" teachers, new opportunities for learning have been created. Jeff Passe takes this concept one step further with this practical guide on fostering student curricular decision making. Involving students in creating their own curriculum heightens the learning process, contributes to student autonomy and self-regulation, decreases discipline problems, increases motivation, and improves educational outcomes.

Passe presents the theory and research behind the movement, procedures for creating the framework, and descriptions of the model in practice. He offers tips from personal experiences while allowing for easy adaptation to a variety of classrooms, grade levels, and abilities. A chapter with frequently asked questions and answers is included to assist the growing number of educators interested in using this innovative and rewarding teaching method.