Autonomy is the ability to be self-governing, to have independence and the ability to make your own decisions. A few weeks back, I wrote a post called Happy Teachers, Happy Kids. In it, I made the case that when we have happy teachers, we can have happy students and part of that formula is to give them back some autonomy in their jobs. (There is also a video in this post from Daniel Pink about motivation and autonomy which is worth your viewing!)
In today’s classroom, there are many demands put on teachers from the top down as to what to teach, but more constricting is HOW to teach it. This is not always a good thing. When teachers are able to make more of the decisions on how to teach something (in a way that is best for his/her students) then the product is most always more successful.
But right now I want to take that a step further. What about the autonomy we give our students to keep them motivated?
Think about it. (And when I say that, I’m also talking to myself!) How much do we demand of our students in a manner that it is taking their autonomy away from their own learning? In some cases, we may not have a choice and that’s ok. But when we have the flexibility to give students more choices and control over their learning, we should!
Today I’m keeping it simple. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
What does it mean to give students autonomy in the classroom?
How can we provide opportunities for our students to have more autonomy over their learning?
Please – add your comments here!
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Elizabeth Peterson has devoted her life to education and to reaching out to other teachers who want to remain inspired. Mrs. Peterson teaches fourth grade in Amesbury, Massachusetts and is the host of www.theinspiredclassroom.com. She holds an M.Ed. in Education, “Arts and Learning” and is currently enrolled in a C.A.G.S. program through Plymouth State University with a focus in “Arts Leadership and Learning.” Elizabeth is author of Inspired by Listening, a teacher resource book that includes a method of music integration she has developed and implemented into her own teaching. She teaches workshops and courses on the integration of the arts into the curriculum, leads an arts integration PLC (PLaiC) and is adjunct faculty for PSU. Mrs. Peterson believes there is a love of active, integrated learning in all children and from their enthusiasm, teachers can shape great opportunities to learn. 
I always wonder about the timing of teaching. How long do you wait after asking a question to give a prompt? Your question on the autonomy of motivation reminds me of this question. Everyone is different, obviously, but how do teachers decide when to give autonomy in a student’s thought process?
I hear ya! It’s hard to know exactly how long to wait. The big question of Wait Time! But there are other ways around it to: have them write responses in a journal, talk to an elbow buddy, draw an example, that way everyone has a chance to reflect/respond to a question. You can always seem to tell who really needs additional prompting and by getting the others set up to reflect on their own, you can prod the ones that need it. But still – it is all about their own thinking and taking ownership of their own learning.