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Fostering Student Choice and Decision Making

Those who do the work do the learning. If this maxim is true, how can we structure our classrooms so students have the power to make important choices about their learning without creating unnecessary chaos? How can they do more of the work while still relying on us for guidance?

When we give students the opportunity to make decisions about their learning process, they are more likely to form deep connections and practice higher-level thinking skills. According to Deci and Ryan as cited in Stefanou et al. (2004), students need “autonomy, competence, and relatedness…in social contexts” (p. 98) to learn and achieve self-determination. Students must actively construct their learning within intentional, social contexts. Students who feel they have some freedom over their learning are more likely to set “realistic goals, [determine] appropriate actions that accomplish goals, and [assess] progress toward the goals” whereas students who feel powerless to make their own decisions “lack volitional strategies and behaviors” (p. 98).

Impact of choice on autonomy, competence, and relatedness

Autonomy

Autonomy is the need to feel in control of one’s own learning and choices. When students are presented with choices, there can be a shift from feeling controlled to feeling like engaged decision makers. Choice can also be embraced by students if there is the potential to align tasks with personal interests.

Competence

Competence is the need to have mastery over one’s environment and the capability of achieving desired outcomes. By providing choices, students are able to build self-efficacy and their validation becomes more internal, which lessens the importance of external validation.

Relatedness

Relatedness is the psychological need to feel a sense of belonging and connection with others. Choice can yield several benefits from a student perspective, such as the increase in mutual respect associated with a shift away from an autocratic instructor-student dynamic in the classroom; an increase in opportunities for students to share their cultural and personal identities; and indications that their perspectives and individual experiences are valued.

Benefits of offering choices

  • Enhances student engagement and intrinsic motivation.
  • Encourages cooperation through empowerment.
  • Builds responsibility and commitment.
  • Increases alignment with students’ interests.
  • Increases alignment with students’ career plans.
  • Fosters intellectual curiosity and love of lifetime learning.
  • Encourages students to approach assignments as a process of discovery and exploration.
  • Can help prevent disruptive behaviors.

Considerations for offering choices

Because the types of choices we present to students significantly affect their level of motivation, consider how students might contribute to the choices provided in your class. Additional considerations include:

  • Think carefully about the goals of an assignment and how they help students achieve course objectives.
  • Make choices you offer clear and specific.
  • Do not make student decision making difficult by offering too many options.
  • Put an onus on providing thoughtful feedback.
  • Use technology to enhance an assignment (e.g., virtual choice board with links).

Student choice strategies

Choice of Assessment Format (Oral vs Written)

Description of Activity: Students are given the option to complete their summative assessment through either a traditional proctored written exam or a scheduled one-on-one oral examination with the instructor. Both formats cover the same learning objectives and use a mirrored rubric to ensure grading equity.

Benefits to Students: May reduce barriers for students with specific learning needs or testing anxiety. By choosing their “stronger” medium for assessment, students can focus entirely on the content, leading to a more accurate reflection of their knowledge.

Assessment Content Choice

Description of Activity: In a high-stakes or low-stakes assessment, students are provided with a “bank” of questions and are given the autonomy to choose which ones to answer. For example, an exam might require answering two short-answer questions out of four options.

Benefits to Students: May reduce testing anxiety and help build trusting relationships between students and instructors.

Assessment Extra Credit Choice

Description of Activity: Students are given the option to answer an additional question that asks them to apply course concepts in a new way. For example, an exam might include an optional question asking students to apply a key concept to a real-world scenario that is not discussed in class.

Benefits to Students: This gives students a chance to demonstrate deeper understanding and the opt-in structure reduces test anxiety for students who might feel pressure to attempt every question regardless of their preparedness.

Assignment Format Choice

Description of Activity: Students can decide which format (within a range of options) they can use for an assignment that demonstrates their learning. For example, this might include the creation of a podcast, a picture book, a website, or other forms chosen by the student.

Benefits to Students: Students may be more engaged if they are given the choice to demonstrate their learning. Having a choice may allow assignments to integrate more creativity.

Presentation Format Choice

Description of Activity: Students present on the same topic or course content, but choose the format that best fits how they communicate. Presentation should have clear instructor guidelines (e.g., time limits, required connections to course concepts, peer feedback), but students decide how it’s delivered. For example, in an introductory course, students might present on the same theme but choose between a slide deck, a poster, a short video, or an infographic to share their findings.

Benefits to Students: When students can present in a format they feel comfortable with, the focus shifts from managing anxiety to communicating ideas.

Reading Choice

Description of Activity: Instead of assigning a single reading, students choose one option from a short, curated set. All readings are comparable in complexity and connect to the same course concept, so students practice the same skill regardless of their choice. For example, in a sociology course, students might choose an academic article, a first-person narrative, or a news piece on the same topic. Another option is to ask students to recommend readings that meet specific criteria for a particular topic or course module.

Benefits to Students: Students are more likely to engage with a reading when they feel some connection to it. This reduces the experience of reading as a “required” task. For multilingual learners or students with different reading backgrounds, having options lowers the barrier to meaningful participation.

Explaining a Topic

Description of Activity: Students record themselves explaining a core course concept to a specific audience (like a peer, a child, or a grandparent) using a predetermined number of key terms. This activity is highly customizable; instructors can define the list of required terms or let students select the concept they find most challenging. Can be used as a regular assignment, or as extra credit.

Benefits to Students: This activity prompts students to move beyond rote memorization and translate complex academic terms and ideas into their own words. This activity can help students to build communication skills and provides an authentic way for them to demonstrate mastery over the material.

Discussion Post Choice

Description of Activity: Students choose which discussion prompt to respond from a small set of options, all connected to the same course content. For example, students might choose between analyzing a specific reading or responding to a broader application question tied to the same concept. Instructors can customize the prompt set to target different course concepts.

Benefits to Students: Choice can make discussion posts feel more meaningful and increase participation. Responding to peers who chose different prompts also broadens perspectives.

“Happy Hour” Discussion Forum

Description of Activity: Instructors create informal discussion forums centered around pop culture or personal interest topics, and students choose which forum they would like to join. The goal is to build community and encourage interaction in a low-pressure environment. For example, students might choose between forums focused on music, sports, movies, food, and others.

Benefits to Students: Giving students a choice in discussion topics can help build community and connection, especially in online or large courses. In addition, informal spaces can make participation feel lower stakes and help students engage more with peers and increase students’ sense of belonging in the course.

Choice of Case Study

Description of Activity: Students choose a case study related to the course and present it using clear instructor guidelines (e.g., time limits, required connections to course concepts, peer feedback). For example, in an introductory course, students might choose any case study connected to the course and give a short presentation explaining how it relates to a key concept.

Benefits to Students: When students have some choice over the case they choose, they can become more engaged in the assignment and focus on areas of particular interest.

Topic Choice

Description of Activity: Perhaps a common way to integrate choice, this approach allows students to choose a topic related to course content for an assignment. Instructors are encouraged to provide sample topics to guide their students.

Benefits to Students: Being able to select a topic gives students the opportunity to pursue learning in areas in which they are most interested, which can have positive benefits for their engagement.

Choice of Research Topic

Description of Activity: Students are given the autonomy to select a specific topic, theme, or variable from the course material to develop into a formal research question. Rather than responding to a preset prompt, students must identify an area of personal interest or curiosity within the course content and propose their own line of inquiry.

Benefits to Students: May enhance student engagement and encourage students to identify how course material intersects with their personal interests or professional goals. By picking their own topic, students can challenge themselves as needed. They may pick a comfortable, familiar topic so they can focus their cognitive energy on mastering complex research methods, or they may select a less familiar, challenging topic if they already possess strong research skills and want to expand their content knowledge.

Presentation Topic Choice

Description of Activity: Students choose a topic related to the course and present it using clear instructor guidelines (e.g., time limits, required connections to course concepts, peer feedback). For example, in an introductory course, students might choose any real-world issue connected to the course and give a short presentation explaining how it relates to a key concept.

Benefits to Students: When students have some control over their topic, they are often more engaged and confident in their presentations.

Interview-Based Assignment with Student Choice

Description of Activity: Students complete an interview-based project where they choose a topic, identify someone to interview, and decide how to present what they learn (e.g., written piece, podcast, or video). For example, a student might explore a topic of interest, interview a community member or professional, and present their findings as a short video or written report.

Benefits to Students: This assignment connects course concepts to real-world contexts and builds practical skills like communication and planning.

Student-Created Review Tool

Description of Activity: Students choose a topic and create a study tool (such as a study guide, concept map, or graphic organizer), which they later share with the class. For example, students might select a key topic from the course, create a study guide, and contribute it to a shared resource folder for exam preparation.

Benefits to Students: Creating a review tool helps students organize and deepen their understanding.

Choice of GenAI on a Specific Assignment

Description of Activity:  Instructors allow students to have a choice on whether they can use generative AI for an assignment within specific parameters. To better understand their learning process, students may be required to submit all prompts and outputs as well as write a reflection about how they used generative AI for the assignments, how it impacted the quality of their work, any limitations of the technologies, as well as what they learned through the process.

Benefits to Students: Generative artificial intelligence continues to be integrated and utilized within common applications and within jobs. Allowing usage within a course can support students in gaining practical skills for career readiness. Additionally, giving choice allows students who do not want to use GenAI for various reasons to use alternative methods.

Discussion Post: Choice of Response Approach

Description of Activity: Students are given the choice to post a reflection on a course concept in one of multiple ways: a formal, technical explanation, a “simplified” explanation designed for a non-expert audience, or a video response in a panel-style format. This allows students to choose the communication style that best fits their strengths while still requiring a deep understanding of the material.

Benefits to Students: Video provides a multimedia and potentially more engaging format for students to participate in discussion forums and the approach provides an opportunity for students to evaluate the specific topic and decide which communication option will be more impactful for that particular concept. The choice of response approach also provides the flexibility for students to choose an option that fits their comfort level; for example, a student feeling highly confident in a complex topic might find translating it into simpler terms to be more engaging and challenging. In addition, This approach helps to diversify the responses produced, avoiding lots of similar responses. Students see a variety of explanations, increasing their understanding of the concept.

Reflection for Extra Credit

Description of Activity: Students complete a short, optional reflection on their engagement, study habits, and use of course resources. For example, students might reflect on their attendance, study strategies, or which resources they used to prepare for an exam.

Benefits to Students: This activity encourages students to reflect on how they learn and identify strategies that work for them.

Essay Revision with Student Choice

Description of Activity: Students choose how they want to approach an essay revision. They might revise their own work, improve a sample essay, or review a strong model and apply what they learn. A short reflection afterward explains their revision choices. For example, students might choose between revising a previous paper or practicing revision on a sample essay before returning to their own work.

Benefits to Students: This approach emphasizes revision as part of the learning process and can increase confidence and help students engage more thoughtfully with feedback.

Student-Created Quiz Questions

Description of Activity: Students create quiz or exam questions based on course content and provide both the correct answer and an explanation for why the answer is correct. Students also identify where they found the information for the question (e.g., lecture notes, textbook section, or course readings). The instructor reviews the submissions and may include selected student-created questions in a future quiz or exam.

Benefits to Students: Writing quiz questions encourages students to think more deeply about course material and identify what makes a question clear, accurate, and meaningful. Also, knowing that their questions may appear on the actual quiz or exam tends to increase investment and care in the work.

Choice of Role

Description of Activity:  In this collaborative exercise, students are assigned to a group but are allowed to choose their specific role within that group based on their interests or strengths. This is highly customizable; roles can be professional (e.g., “Project Manager”, “Lead Researcher)” or functional (e.g., “Skeptic”, “Synthesizer”, “Scribe”).

Benefits to Students: This activity can help to lower group work anxiety by allowing students to pick a role they are comfortable with, or conversely, it can allow them to challenge themselves by trying something outside of their comfort zone. The use of distinct roles can help to increase accountability and make individual efforts more easily distinguishable; students have a clear, personal responsibility to the group, which helps prevent uneven distribution of workload within the group. In addition, the professional alignment approach may allow students to embody roles that mirror their future career goals, making the activity feel more relevant.

Choice of In-Class Participation Modality

Description of Activity: Instead of requiring students to speak aloud to earn participation credit, instructors provide a “menu” of ways to contribute to class discussion. Students can choose to participate orally, through a live digital platform (e.g., a chat or collaborative doc), or via a post-class written reflection.

Benefits to Students: This approach can help to remove barriers for introverted students, students with social anxiety, and multilingual learners. Offering multiple modalities for engaging may help the instructor create a trusting, comfortable environment where all students can express their ideas without the pressure of immediate verbal performance. Choice in participation also directly enhances a student’s sense of belonging. As Fleming (2023) notes, when students feel empowered to engage in a way that matches their strengths, they feel more seen and valued, which is a primary driver of academic success and retention. In addition, students can learn to evaluate which medium allows them to express a specific idea most impactfully, which is helpful in building their metacognitive communication skills.

Independent vs. Partner Work

Description of Activity: For a specific assignment or in-class exercise, students decide whether they want to complete the work independently or collaborate with a partner. This choice allows students to select the social environment that best supports their focus and productivity for that specific task.

Benefits to Students: Choice in this area can help a student build confidence as they reflect on their own learning needs (Flores et al., 2022) and identify the environment that would benefit their learning most in a specific activity; e.g., hearing their classmates’ differing perspectives versus decreasing their social stressors by working independently.

Choice of Partner

Description of Activity: Students are given the autonomy to select their own partner(s) for a specific project or in-class activity.

Benefits to Students: Choice of partner provides an opportunity for students to self-organize based on existing rapport, shared schedules, or complementary skill sets (e.g. “big picture” thinker vs. “detail-oriented” organizer). For many students, especially those with social anxiety or those from marginalized backgrounds, the ability to work with a trusted peer may help reduce social anxiety, allowing them to put more cognitive energy to the actual task rather than navigating social friction.

Experimental Design Choice

Description of Activity:   Instead of following a manual of pre-defined lab steps, student teams are given a hypothesis or simply a research problem (customizable) and must collaboratively choose the design of the experiment to test it. The team is responsible for deciding which variables to control, which tools to use, and how to structure their data collection.

Benefits to Students: Engaging in the critical thinking process can allow students to truly apply and learn the experimental design process. Through this process, students must evaluate different approaches, anticipate potential errors, and justify their choices. This “productive struggle” can help solidify their understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed.

Co-Created Course Guidelines

Description of Activity: Students co-create course guidelines for discussions or other aspects of the course.

Benefits to Students: When students co-create course guidelines, they may feel more involved and part of the classroom community.

Drop the Lowest Grade

Description of Activity: The instructor can drop the lowest grade for a series of assignments. Typically, this might be implemented when there are multiple homework assignments or quizzes all weighted similarly, but not for a singular major assignment. This provides students the option to drop an assignment if they have circumstances come up where they are unable to complete it.

Benefits to Students: Students may have a variety of reasons why they are not able to perform well on a given assignment given competing academic and personal obligations.

Choice-Based Grading

Description of Activity: Also known as choice-based assessment, this is a system of grading that gives students choice. For example, students might choose from a menu of assignments that count towards their final grade for the course, or students might choose the final weights of course assessments.

Benefits to Students: It supports self-regulated learning and has been shown to positively impact student performance (Cook, 2011; Rideout, 2018) and can increase students’ sense of agency, self-efficacy, and motivation (Pope et al., 2025). In addition, students may have higher satisfaction with the design of the course by giving them a sense of autonomy about their grades.

Self-Grading or Hybrid-Grading Choice

Description of Activity: Students assess their own learning using a rubric or grading criteria provided by the instructor. In a hybrid model, both evaluations are weighed together. For example, after submitting a project or assignment, students might score their work using the rubric and provide a justification for each score before the instructor reviews and finalizes the grade.

Benefits to Students: Asking students to evaluate their own work builds metacognitive awareness. Students who engage seriously with a self-assessment often develop a clearer understanding of what excellent work looks like, which can improve future work. The hybrid model gives students a sense of agency in the grading process without removing the instructor’s role.

Skip the Final Exam or Project

Description of Activity: If students achieve a certain level of mastery of the learning outcomes from the course, instructors can give them a chance to skip the final exam or final project.

Benefits to Students: Students able to meet the learning outcomes early for a course can focus their efforts on other academic or co-curricular work. Students who need more time to learn the material or could benefit from additional course assignments still could complete the final or final project.

Flexible Attendance

Description of Activity: Students are given the choice to miss a limited number of class sessions without any reduction of their participation grade.

Benefits to Students: Class attendance has been shown to be strongly associated with student achievement (Credé et al., 2010). Such evidence provides a rationale as to why attendance might be considered within a participation grade for a course. Simultaneously, allowing some flexibility with regards to attendance can allow students to navigate their workload and personal circumstances.

Delayed Assignment Submission with Reduction

Description of Activity: Students can submit assignments on time or after the deadline with a reduction (e.g., 15 or 25% of grade) with no questions asked.

Benefits to Students: Sometimes students have a variety of factors that impact their ability to turn in assignments on time. While simultaneously teaching the importance of deadlines, this guideline also allows students to have a second chance.

Flexible Assignment Deadlines Without Penalty

Description of Activity: Instructors build in grace for assignment deadlines. One option is offering students two deadlines; a standard deadline and an extension deadline a few days to a week later. Students choose which works best for them, with no explanation needed.

Benefits to Students: Students may have a variety of reasons for requesting assignment extensions, both personal and academic. Students have reported less stress, being able to manage personal circumstances better, and better course achievement with extensions (Ruesch & Sarvary, 2022). Further, flexible deadlines have been found to support students in completing their programs (Patton, 2000), and students report that they help them with time management and self-regulated learning (Hills & Peackock, 2022).

Assignment Redo

Description of Activity: Students are given the opportunity to redo an assignment within specific parameters. For example, if they score below a certain grade, they can improve their grade by a particular percentage (e.g., 10%, 15%, or 25%) by redoing the assignment for a higher grade. Students are also given a timeframe for submission that does not result in them turning in all course assignments at the end of the semester and still being able to keep up with the course flow.

Benefits to Students: Being able to redo assignments gives students a second opportunity to demonstrate their learning. Assignment redos can be particularly useful for students to give them more time to demonstrate their learning after feedback (Tila & Levy, 2020).

Choice of GenAI Usage in Course

Description of Activity: Instructors allow students to have a choice on whether they can use generative AI (GenAI) for an assignment within specific parameters. To better understand and support their learning process, students may be required to submit all prompts and outputs as well as write a reflection about how they used generative AI for the assignments, how it impacted the quality of their work, any limitations of the technologies, as well as what they learned through the process.

Benefits to Students: Allowing structured usage of GenAI within a course can support students in gaining practical skills for career readiness. Additionally, giving choice allows students who do not want to use GenAI for various reasons to use alternative methods.

References

Cook, A. (2001). Assessing the use of flexible assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 26(6), 539–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930120093878

Credé, M., Roch, S. G., & Kieszczynka, U. M. (2010). Class attendance in college: A meta-analytic review of the relationship of class attendance with grades and student characteristics. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 272-295.

Fleming, E. C. (2023). UDL for inclusive teaching: Offering choice to increase belonging through technology. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/jotlt.v12i1.36327 

Flores, M., Kehoe, M., & Thompson, C. (2022). Assessment choice and student voice with UDL. The AHEAD Journal, 15. https://www.ahead.ie/journal/Assessment-Choice-and-Student-Voice-with-UDL 

Hills, M., & K. Peacock. (2022). Replacing power with flexible structure: Implementing flexible deadlines to improve student learning experiences. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 10. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.26

Patton, M. A. (2000). The importance of being flexible with assignment deadlines. Higher Education in Europe, 25(3), 417-423.

Pope, L., Anacker, A. M., Burg, M. B., Dion, L., Plouffe, R. B., Vivanco, L. A., … & Parker, H. B. (2025). Impact of Choice-Based Assessment on Undergraduate Student Engagement, Stress Level, and Self-Efficacy. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 36(2).

Rideout, C. A. (2018). Students’ choices and achievement in large undergraduate classes using a novel flexible assessment approach. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1294144

Ruesch, J. M., & Sarvary, M. A. (2024). Structure and flexibility: systemic and explicit assignment extensions foster an inclusive learning environment. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1324506. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1324506

Stefanou, C. R., Perencevich, K. C., DiCintio, M., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Supporting Autonomy in the Classroom: Ways Teachers Encourage Decision Making and Ownership. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 97–110.

Tila, D., & Levy, D. (2020). Revising online assignments and the impact on student performance at a community college. Community College Journal of Research and Practice

Citations

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Portions of the text are adapted from an original article licensed by Portland State University under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License by the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation (CTLI, Vermont State University).

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Portions of the text are adapted from an original article licensed by Rutgers University under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License by the Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation (CTLI, Vermont State University).