Freedom of Choice: An Observational Study in Giving Students Control in the Classroom
Abstract
Teachers must assess student learning in order to assign a grade in a course. Without giving the student the majority of the control, as in contract grading, a compromise of giving the students a single choice affecting the grading scheme is considered. Given that an instructor does not know the circumstances of each student, it would be difficult to think that all students can handle or want to handle a specific workload. The authors look at offering students the control to choose to complete homework assignments or not in a college Business Statistics class and compare the results in terms of grades to classes where no control over the assessment of grades was given.