Give them ONE way to do it

Last year, I was talking to a science teacher who was new to the profession. She had been a scientist, so her content knowledge was strong, but had some understandable pedagogy struggles.

In a physical science class, she was teaching 8th grade students to write chemical formulas and name compounds. To be fair, this is a challenge now matter how long you have been teaching. It is a complex thing because the rules are different for covalent compounds than they are for ionic, so you have to teach them to identify which one it is first. Then, there are slight differences between binary ionic and polyatomic ionic. It's a lot for an 8th grader to grasp, and the order you teach it is makes a big difference, which a new teacher might not fully appreciate. But the part that stood out most in our conversation was this.

"I gave them so many ways to do it. Why can't they do it?"

I said, "Oh, heavens no. Just give them one good method."

Why are we inclined to give students too many choices, and why is that misguided?

Why do we do it?

1. Let start with this. We're Americans. We think choice is our birthright. If you've been to a grocery store lately, you know we are inundated with lots of choice. No longer do you choose between Heinz or Hunt's ketchup. Now, there are at least 7 brands, but even within one of the brands, there are added features - Want it spicy? You can have it with jalapeño or sriracha. Like to mix it with mayo? You no longer have to do that yourself. Less salt, half the sugar, thicker, made with mushrooms (or even bananas rather than tomatoes) - the choices are endless. 

2. We've bought in to "buy-in." We've been told at many PD training sessions that students will do better if we earn their approval, and choices are the key to that. We were trained to give them assignment bingo cards and let them choose which row to complete. If they choose, we are told, they will be more likely to buy in to the assignment. They never address the fact that there is no evidence that students will perform better or learn more if they are "bought in." We kind of just accept it on vibes. I'm not against some controlled choice. I used to say, "you can express this in a video or as a live presentation."

3. We like choice, so we reason they will like it too. As adults, we usually do prefer to decide how we want to express the knowledge we have. I'll address this later, but adults aren't kids. What we like isn't always what they like.

4. We think it will lead to deeper thinking. Surely, we reason, if kids have multiple methods that lead to the same conclusion, they will have to think deeply about what the best way is to reach that conclusion. 

Why Is it Misguided?  Why Should We Limit Choice?

1. Novice learners cannot discern which choice is best. They just don't know enough about the topic to decide whether solving a math problem by cross multiplying is better than using an algebraic method. Down the road, they might have a favorite method, but when they are first learning it, they don't know which one is easier for them. Often, they don't understand that we have taught multiple methods. They just try to do what they remember the teacher showing them in class and end up blending all methods into one, which definitely does not work. 

2. Kids aren't adults. I know that's surprising, but it's true. Often, educators and those in charge of education policy make decisions based on what works for the adult brain, but kid brains are NOT just smaller versions of ours. They think more concretely than we do, lacking the fine grained ability to discern nuance. Kids often want the security of knowing they are doing the assignment the way the teacher wants it. Choosing what to do or how to do it takes additional time, and they aren't sure if they are choosing the best way. 

3. Choice takes up room in working memory. I buried the lead here, but in my opinion, this is the big one. Working memory (what we are able to hold in conscious processing) is limited. The typical classroom is an assault on working memory. Sights, sounds, other people's conversations, the buzzing of phone alerts, etc. fill up space that we need for thinking deeply, solving problems, and doing the work of learning. Choice may seem appealing, but for the student, it is just one more thing that has to be processed while they are attempting to learn. To decide which method is best for writing a chemical formula, they have to think about both methods (which they JUST learned, so they are not yet in long term memory) simultaneously and compare and contrast them and then must use whichever method they chose. It's just too much.

As a science teacher, the argument I heard most for anyone's favored method of teaching or assessment or anything else in the classroom was that I should be "teaching them to think like scientists." But it's not making them think like scientists. It's preventing them from developing the knowledge and skills necessary to think like scientists later. When current scientists were the age of your students, they did not think like they do now. It took years of knowledge building and practice with fundamental skills before they could begin the work of synthesizing all of that into a way of thinking.

As American, adults we often think choice is always good. We think options lead to deeper thinking. Sometimes?  Maybe. If the learner is already an expert in the discipline and has enough knowledge in their long term memory to lean on that his working memory won't be full. For novice learners? Never.  

Give them the best possible way.  Save nuance for later - much, much later.