Inquiry blog post 7- Motivating students who don’t like school with Autonomy

Engagement with material is critical for learning. By giving students a sense of autonomy, they will probably be more engaged in the learning if they feel that they have some choice in what they choose to do. It empowers students by giving them control over what they are learning. Providing opportunities for choice stimulates students’ natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. Teachers can give choices to the students whenever possible in order to bring in autonomy. These choices could include what could be the sequence of topics in a unit, what would they like to learn about a particular topic, in what ways can they be evaluated, would the students like to do presentations on the topic, who would volunteer to present, ect. Being involved in some of the planning helps the students feel closely related to the course and enhances their intrinsic motivation to do the things required for the course.