3 Easy Student Centric Learning Methods with Choice Board Templates

If you are looking to up the engagement and excitement in your classroom then you’ve come to the right post! I’m sharing how I took my boring math classroom to the next level with student centric learning methods. I think that the end of the school year is the perfect time to try out new things with your students. For one, you know your students so it’s easier to change things up. You also can be a little more relaxed with your students because you have put in the hard work all year working on routines. And after state testing, students are ready for a shake-up. Whether you are looking at starting student centered learning methods for math, science, or literacy, these tips can help you implement some engagement and excitement!

What does student centered learning look like?

Before I  get any further, I should probably answer the most common question! What does student centered learning look like? 

The short answer: it depends. Student-centered learning in 21st-century classrooms is the way of the future. Sometimes, students are in control of their learning. They can choose what topics they study. Or students can choose how they demonstrate knowledge on a particular topic. Giving choice is one of the main student centric learning methods. But that isn’t the only one!

So does that mean your classroom descends into chaos because every student is doing something different? NO! You can implement student centered learning methods in a slightly controlled environment. You can (and should!) set parameters, expectations, and a focus for your students. Giving students free rein to research whatever they want to learn on the internet is a recipe for disaster. 

In a student-centered classroom, students are the focus. Yes you have standards and yes you will have to teach BUT students are doing more of that ‘educational load’ they are doing the thinking, talking, and creating meaning. You as the teacher are providing opportunities for that student centered learning. 

This can look like catering lessons to different learning styles or letting students choose how they present information. The opportunities (or choices:) are endless!

 Is student centered learning effective?

This is the 2nd most asked question when starting to implement more student centered learning methods. I’m not a PhD-level researcher expert so I’m going to let the research speak for itself.

• What is Student Centered Learning and Why Is It Important?
• What are the Advantages of Student-Centered Learning?
• New Research Shows Effectiveness of Student-Centered Learning in Closing the Opportunity Gap
• Student-Centered Learning: In Principle and In Practice
• Is the Student-Centered Learning Style More Effective Than the Teacher-Student Double Centered Learning Style in Improving Reading Performance?

I have seen student growth while using different student centric learning methods. Students are more open to learning deeper content when they are interested in a topic. They want to ask questions and learn answers with they are the ones asking the questions. Students are in control (to some extent) of their learning and that causes students to be more invested. They create some cool projects, deep-dive on reports of epic proportion, and are excited to come to class to work on their learning more. I call that the ultimate teacher win!

3 Student Centric Learning Methods using Choice Board Templates

Know that you know what student centered learning looks like and how is student centered learning effective, let’s dive into different student centered learning methods!

Choice Board Templates in General

This is my favorite student centric learning method for students in upper elementary and middle school. I try to give students as much choice as possible so choice boards are a must!

You have choices when it comes to the type of choice boards you use (haha see what I did there?). Option 1 is to give students a choice of topics. Option 2 is to give students a choice of how they show their knowledge. I’ve used both types during the school year. 

In science, we do a natural disasters project where students choose a disaster and then research specific questions that hit our standards.

In math, I use choice boards as an extension activity as part of my math learning centers. For that one, students can pick whatever option they want to show what they learned in the unit. So students can pick from options like a poster, create a calculator that would solve problems, make a 10-question quiz, or make vocabulary cards. Students are sticking with the same topic but changing how they show their knowledge. All of these choices are shown on one of the choice board templates for the unit. 

Making choice board templates are pretty simple actually! Simply add a table to any document and start typing up options. You can also give a list of topic options for students to choose from. Simple and easy is like my middle name around here. But if you want pre-created choice board templates, I have some up in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop! They aren’t grade-specific or even subject-specific so you can pick out content that fits your needs!

Passion Projects & Choice Board Templates

The language arts department at my school has this student centric learning method on lock and it is awesome! Students get to choose whatever topic they want and create a presentation to share their findings. Students are so invested in learning something they are already interested in. And they get to share their findings with their classmates which really brings students together. 

This is an example of students choosing the topic they want to learn about. But the teachers determine the constraints that they have to include in their presentation. The language arts teachers simply put the passion project ideas into one of the choice board templates and got started on introducing the project.

Students do have a choice in the delivery of this project too! They can choose to present live in front of their classmates with a slide show. Or they can create a recorded video of them teaching their classmates about their passion. This is a nice option for students that feel nervous talking in front of their peers. It also is a good choice for students who want to their passion like skateboarding tricks. They can record themselves doing tricks which makes the passion projects that much cooler!

Student Centric Learning Methods: Assessments

Of all the student centric learning methods, I want to try this one the most! Students are given a choice in how they show their knowledge about a unit. Options can include creating a poster about everything in the unit, sharing a presentation with the class, are taking a typical unit assessment. These choices are included on one of the choice board templates for students to pick from. 

 I like this idea because it takes into consideration a student’s learning style. For students who like being creative, there are opportunities for that. For others that like to make connections between topics, there are choices for that too.

 

Notes & Teaching Units

Bonus option for what does student centered learning look like! Students can have options in how they take notes and even how they learn information for those notes! With digital learning, we created a lot of videos about topics. Now that we aren’t teaching digitally, it doesn’t mean that we don’t use those videos! We have students watch the videos in class and take notes along the way. 

We provide graphic organizers for students to fill in if they want to. But we also give students the choice to take their notes as a thinking map/web, or Cornell notes style. I like giving students the option to learn how they need to. Because they are learning vocabulary and overarching concepts from a video students can pause if they need to. They can watch it 1 time through without taking notes and just watching. Students can rewatch the videos to study for the test which is really helpful for auditory learners. 

During our unit, we aren’t just having students take notes all the time. Nope, students are learning the same content in different ways. We complete learning labs, notes, games, math learning centers, from videos, manipulatives, and visual models. All of these different teaching strategies can help make your classroom more student-centered. These are also probably ways that you have set up your classroom and units already. SO your classroom might already be student-centered without you even realizing it!

Want to learn more about choice board templates and student centric learning methods?

These posts are packed full of more student centered learning methods and other tips for using student choice board templates in the classroom!

• Student-Centered Teaching & Learning
• How to Use Choice Boards in the Classroom?
• Using Choice Boards to Boost K-12 Students’ Engagement in Class
• How I Use Choice Boards to Increase Student Engagement
• Choice Boards: Benefits, Design TIps & Differentiation 
• Math Learning Centers: made simple and easy
• Math games in 30 seconds: How to make math games that are fun

I’d love to know about your classroom! Do you use student centric learning methods? How do you use choice board templates in your classroom?