Opportunities for Choice in Literacy

Research Proposal

Eva Perez
43803022
ETEC 500
UBC
August 18th, 2014

Abstract

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This research study will examine the impact of choice in literacy with student learning
and classroom instruction. In this study, choice within the classroom refers to the ability
for students to be independent in choosing what materials to read and what topics to write
about: the power to make a selection among a number of options (Cooper et al, 2010, p.
896). This study will take place over a 10-month period, with participants from two
grade 2 classrooms from an elementary school in West Vancouver. The study will use an
experimental and a control group to compare student reading and writing skills. The
experimental group will receive Daily Five instruction, an approach that allows for
student choice in literacy. The study will seek to provide information with relation to
providing choice to elementary students within the language arts curriculum.

Introduction
Todays classrooms have students with diverse educational needs. Often, classrooms have
more than twenty students with only one teacher, making differentiated learning
instruction a challenge. Motivating students and increasing independence by providing
choice in the classroom, can enrich student learning and change teacher instruction. The
Daily Five program, created by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, teaches children
independence. By instructing literacy through 5 skills and allowing them choice in the
order, students become independent which allows for the teacher to meet with and
conference with each student to work on the specific skill(s) that child requires. Choice
in reading and writing provides meaningful opportunities for students to practice and
improve literacy skills.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Having taught primary the last 6 years, I have become particularly interested in providing
choice within the classroom to increase student motivation and independence. Each
classroom I have taught, has had diverse students with varying abilities, challenging me
as classroom teacher, to find instructional ways to reach all of the needs. To prepare
students to be successful in the 21st century, educators are responsible for providing the
best opportunities for them to be motivated, independent, and to reach their academic
goals.

The findings of this research study will be shared with colleagues in hopes that the
information be considered when planning for future curriculum instruction.

Purpose
The proposed study will seek to answer the following question.

Does providing choice to grade 2 students during daily literacy instruction

increase reading ability and written output?

In addition, the following questions have been formulated to guide the research study.

1) Does choice enhance student engagement, motivation and independence?

2) How does choice enhance teacher instruction?
3) What challenges may arise when providing students with choice during literacy
development?
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Hypothesis
I hypothesize that providing choice to students within the classroom during literacy
instruction will positively impact student Language Arts learning. By increasing student
engagement and motivation within the classroom through The Daily Five, I believe that
reading ability and written output will improve.

Literature Review
Many articles and journals pertaining to the topic of interest show trends that emerge
throughout the research. Considerable research shows that choice is related to motivation
and performance. That said it is important to consider all research in order to provide a
solid foundation for the question of interest.

Brooks and Young (2011) examine choice making opportunities in assignment

completion and class attendance with college students in Are Choice-Making
Opportunities Needed in the Classroom? Using Self-Determination Theory to Consider
Student Motivation and Learner Empowerment? In an attempt to offer practical advice
for educators in the classroom, the study looks at the relationship between intrinsic
motivation and learner empowerment. Specifically in educational settings, student
autonomy has been linked to motivation. Reeve, Deci and Ryan state that according to
Self Determination Theory, when people are self-determined, they are intrinsically
motivated (as cited in Brooks and Young, 2011). For the participants of the study, four
hundred and nineteen students from a large U.S. campus were drawn. The participants in
the study filled out a questionnaire and the findings indicate that although there is a large

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selection of literature that affirms the advantages of choice-making opportunities,
teachers who communicate a mix of styles and lack consistency and continuity may
impede the potential benefits choice has on motivation and empowerment. The
implication of this work for educators is to ensure consistency within the classroom in
terms of choice making opportunities to bring about positive learning outcomes.

In Intrinsic Motivation and the Process of Learning: Beneficial Effects of

Contextualization, Personalization and Choice, Cordova and Lepper (1996) focus on
three motivational embellishments that they hope can be used within the classroom to
increase student learning. In this study, 72 students, in the 4th and 5th grade, from the San
Francisco Bay area are randomly assigned to one of five groups (1 control and 4
experimental). Contextualization, personalization and choice are provided through a
computer activity designed to teach arithmetic order-of-operations. Being aware of the
motivational deficit apparent in the years after preschool and the steady decrease of this
throughout the school years, the authors focus on the educational benefits of these
strategies and their potential to increase motivation. Providing meaningful contexts for
learning abstract concepts increases interest, which results in students becoming more
involved in their learning. The findings show that measurements of direct learning were
significantly higher for participants in the experimental groups than for those in the
control group. Each strategy (contextualization, personalization and choice) had
beneficial effects on student learning. Important to note, is the authors mention of the
option of more than one choice having an educational benefit and comparing this to past
studies where only one choice was given. Other limitations noted include decline in

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interest for older children and adults in the fantasy aspect of the game, and that for
children who are highly motivated and already task-oriented, such fantasy games may not
be as effective. Novelty and habituation are also mentioned as issues that may with time
make the positive effects of the strategies on student learning decrease. The strong
evidence of the potential benefits of these motivational embellishments however, can be
shared with and used among teachers to incorporate and compliment, rather than replace
traditional methods to increase motivation and benefit classroom learning.

In order to create authentic writing experiences for her students, teacher Anne M. Beaton
(2010) offers choice in her secondary English classroom. In Student Choice in Writing:
Reflections on One Teachers Inner Struggle to Relinquish Control, she states that when
offered choice on writing topics, interest increases as students become more invested in
their work. Reflecting on her past experiences with choice and writing, and referencing
both Graves and Newkirk, whose work speaks to choice in writing topics at the
elementary level, she questions if children need[ing] to learn how to choose their own
topics when they write, should be translated into the secondary classroom (Graves, 106).
Confronted with unsafe topics (violence, drugs, sex, etc.) by students, she admits to at
times altering risky topics in order to make them classroom appropriate. When offering
a choice, there is a potential for sabotage-a disruption or interference-that temporarily
derails the flow of the learning and creates a caustic experience for some teachers, yet
these students are writing about what the know (2010, p. 113). She considers for the first
time, her decision to alter or even exclude some topics, as passing judgments and
disregarding the voice of some students. That said, although at times uncomfortable when

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presented with risky topics that bring personal experiences and help students make sense
of the world, she concludes her reflection by confirming that she will continue to offer
choice in order for her students and their writing to flourish (Beaton, 2010). By providing
a safe space for students to explore all topics, she believes in the educational benefit of
choice.

In The Classroom of Choice: Giving Students What They Need and Getting What You
Want, Jonathon C. Ewrin (2004) introduces Choice Theory, a psychological model
developed by William Glasser. According to Choice theory, all behaviors serve a purpose.
That purpose is to meet one or more of the basic human needs. After briefly describing
the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and the importance in the latter
motivating students to do quality work, learn well, and behave responsibly Erwin
describes the 5 basic human needs (2004, p. 6). Understanding these needs (survival, love
and belonging, gaining power, being free and having fun) has clear implications for
education. The purpose of the book is to help educators create conditions in the classroom
where students can meet their needs. Creating a needs satisfying learning environment
appeals to what intrinsically motivates students, which will help them to learn more
effectively (2004). For example, in a high freedom needs class of 15, examined in
Chapter 1, students required choices, movement and novelty to be motivated to learn.
Understanding the varied needs within a classroom will help educators differentiate
learning to ensure each of the students needs are met to benefit learning.

Bill Broz, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa, believes in

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supporting and guiding student choice of reading. In Supporting and Teaching Student
Choice Offering Students Self-Selected Reading, he speaks to the importance of choice
to academic development and how this should be a behavior that is actually taught at an
early age. Broz sees older students unable to find books they like and choose at the
university level. Self-selection increases ownership over learning, which then leads to
motivation and ultimately a love for reading and opportunity to learn. As cited by Susan
Dunn, Kohn Alfie states that depriving students of self-determination deprives them of
motivation (Broz, 2003). In summary, creating a safe environment that is conducive for
students to exercise choice is according to Broz, educationally beneficial.

In The Effectiveness and Relative Importance of Choice in the Classroom, the authors
conduct a 2-part study where in the first part; choice in homework is provided to high
school students. The second part of the study examines how perception of choice
supports the perception of other autonomy supported teacher behaviors in the classroom.
Citing much relevant research that supports a relationship between homework and
academic achievement, Cooper, Wynn and Patall are interested in how teachers can
encourage students to complete homework (2010). Reviewing Self-Determination Theory
as well as Choice literature, they look at how providing opportunities to make choices
increases autonomy, motivation and ultimately learning. In this study, pre-service
teachers implement an experiment as a requirement for their program, with 207 grade 912 students from 14 classrooms at 2 urban high schools in a southeastern state. Students
were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (homework choice and homework no
choice) and findings suggest positive effects of choice: when students had choice and

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perception of choice, they experienced more enjoyment and interest in, felt more
competent and completed more homework, performing better on unit tests. These
findings outline the importance of creating a classroom environment with opportunities to
make choices as well as where students feel their autonomy is supported and are therefore
more interested and motivated to increase academic achievement.

Flowerday, Schraw and Stevens (2004) examine the separate effects of choice and
interest on learning, engagement and attitude in The Role of Choice and Interest in
Reader Engagement. The authors examine past findings in the subject matter and
question whether it is choice or the interest in what one chooses that has an effect on
engagement and learning. The study separates choice and interest by asking participants
to chose one of two packets without the knowing what is being chosen. In the two-group
design, 98 undergraduate educational psychology students from a Midwestern university
are randomly assigned to one of two groups (choice and no choice). The study examines
the relationship between choice, interest (both topic and situational) and performance
using several measures. Three conclusions are made. First, the authors found that
situational interest (spontaneous interest) significantly affected attitude and engagement.
Second, although topic interest (longstanding interest) did have an effect, this was not as
significant as situational interest and it only occurred in isolation. Third, choice had very
little impact on engagement and attitude and even had a negative effect in one of the
experiments. The implications of these results on past findings and for the classroom
require additional research on choice without being confounded by interest.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
In Every Child, Every Day, Allington and Gabriel (2012) outline the six elements of
instruction they believe students should experience every day. The first element is that
every child read something he or she chooses. The experience of choice, the authors state,
itself increases motivation. Choice also increases the chance that each student will engage
with a text at his or her level. One limitation is the cost of providing a classroom library
with a wide selection of texts that are multileveled. Research is cited that speaks to the
money provided for workbooks, photocopying ad computers, although no findings
indicate that they improve student learning. On the other hand, research shows that selfselected texts do. Another element mentioned that has to do with choice is that every
child writes about something personally meaningful. Writing provides a different
modality within which to practice the skills and strategies of reading for an authentic
purpose (2012, p.12). Responding to teacher-selected prompts or writing within a strict
structure does not provide students with an opportunity to write about something that
they care about. These research-based elements are the things that really matter and
according to Allington and Gabriel, are strategies that can easily be implemented into the
classroom (p.14).

Analysis of Literature
This literature examines choice in the classroom. I believe it is important to consider all
of the research, and both sides of the findings with students of all ages. Providing choice
opportunities in the classroom increases motivation and engagement, which has been
demonstrated to be beneficial to student learning. There are benefits to both students and
teachers as we consider the reading and writing abilities of students in one particular

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classroom. There is no way that one teacher can adequately prepare for and teach to all
students by providing one activity, workbook or program. To meet the varied needs of the
students in the classroom, providing opportunities that allow for each child to self-select
their reading and writing material will allow for students to take ownership over their
learning to be more independent, be engaged and motivated to learn, and therefore
increase academic performance. Student independence in the classroom allows the
teacher more time to circulate and meet with each child to work on reading and writing
skills that are at their level.

Methodology
Participants
Participants of the proposed qualitative study will be 48 grade 2 students from one
elementary school in West Vancouver, British Columbia. Two classes will be used from
the school site, with one being the experimental group and the other the control group.
The two classes are composed of 24 students each with E.L.L. students. Students are
from high socio-economic backgrounds and will be of varying reading and writing
abilities.

Instruments
The PM Benchmarks, a comprehensive reading assessment that uses 30 unseen, leveled
texts, will be used to measure student reading. The British Columbia Performance
Standards for writing highlight meaning, style, form and conventions. These rubrics will
be used to measure student writing. These instruments were chosen because they are

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relevant, accessible and the expectations are clearly outlined. Triangulation of the data as
discussed in Gay et. al. will be used through anecdotal notes, writing samples, as well as
teacher and student interviews.
Design
Students will complete a reading and writing assessment at the beginning of the study and
then again at the end. Additionally, they will fill in a survey questionnaire. Another
measure of data will be teacher observations at the end of the study. This will allow for
information to be crosschecked strengthening the findings of the study. The experimental
and control group will be compared to determine the differences in reading and writing
performance between the students who had choice opportunities through Daily Five, and
those that did not.

Procedures
Prior to the beginning of the study, all students involved will participate in a school-wide
cold write to collect information on their current writing ability. Students will then
conference with their teacher and complete a reading assessment to collect information
on their current reading ability. This data will be a baseline assessment of reading and
writing ability. Students will also complete a survey using a scale of 1-5 about their
attitude and confidence in reading and writing.

Data will be collected from both classrooms to determine the effects of choice through
Daily Five when used as an instructional strategy to teach literacy skill (reading and
writing). One classroom will be identified as the experimental group, receiving Daily

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Five instruction and the other class will be the control group where students are taught
reading and writing without choice opportunities.

The results will be calculated and compared from the beginning of the study to the end.
The results will be used to determine whether implementing choice through Daily Five
improves reading and writing performance.

Timeline:
Date
September

Experimental Group

Control Group

Reading Assessment

Reading Assessment

Cold write (pre-study data

Cold write (pre-study data

October-May

collection)
Daily Five Instruction (choice)

collection)
Language Arts Instruction (no

June

Reading Assessment

choice)
Reading Assessment

Cold write (post study data

Cold write (post study data

collection)

collection)

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Analyze results and make

Analyze results and make

recommendations for future

recommendations for future

curriculum planning

curriculum planning

June-July

Ethical considerations

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Before starting the proposed study, informed consent will take place between the
researcher and the school administrator. Following that, parents and guardians of the
participants will be informed of the study with a written letter sent home to each family
inviting them to attend an information session regarding the study. Each of the language
arts instructional strategies will be clearly explained and defined. They will also received
and have to fill out a permission form requiring informed consent for their child to take
part in the study. Student confidentiality will be taken into consideration by not using the
names of the participants or any specifics in the study.

Discussion
I believe the findings and results from the proposed study will impact instruction and
student learning. Providing choice opportunities in the classroom is valuable in helping to
motivate and engage students. By increasing student interest, reading and writing
performance skills will improve. Choice could then be integrated into all areas of the
curriculum to benefit student achievement. It is my hope that the results of this study will
help teachers to develop meaningful and engaging instructional activities by integrating
choice throughout the curriculum.

References

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Allington, R.L., & Gabriel, R.E. (2012) Every Child, Every Day. Reading: The Core
Skill. 69(6), 10-15.

Beaton, M. Anne (2010). Student Choice in Writing: Reflections on One Teachers Inner
Struggle to Relinquish Control. Schools: Studies in Education. 7(1), 111-121.

Boushey, G., Moser, J. (2006). The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the
Elementary Grades. Stenhouse Publishers.

British Columbia Ministry of Education (2006). English Language Arts: Kindergarten to

Grade 7: Integrated Resource Package, 2006.

Brooks, F., & Young, S. (2011). Are Choice-Making Opportunities Needed in the
Classroom? Using Self-Determination Theory to Consider Student Motivation
and Learner Empowerment? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education. 23 (1), 48-59.

Broz, Bill. (2003). Supporting and Teaching Student Choice Offering Students SelfSelected Reading. Professional Resource Connection.

Cooper H., Wynn S.R., & Patall E.A. (2010). The Effectiveness and Relative Importance
of Choice in the Classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology. 102 (4), 896915.

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Cordova, D., & Lepper, M. (1996). Intrinsic Motivation and the Process of Learning:
Beneficial Effects of Contextualization, Personalization and Choice.
Journal of Educational Psychology. 8(4), 715-730.

Erwin, C. J. (2004). The Classroom of Choice: Giving Students What They Need
and Getting What You Want. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.

Flowerday, T., Schraw, G., Stevens, J. (2004). The Role of Choice and Interest in Reader
Engagement The Journal of Experimental Education. 72(2). 93-114.

Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research competencies for
analysis and applications. (tenth ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Graves, D.H. (1994). A Fresh Look at Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Newkirk, T. (2002). Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular

Culture. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Reeve, J., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Self-determination theory: A dialectical
framework for understanding sociocultural influences on student motivation. In

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D. M. McInerney & S. Van Etten (Eds.), Big theories revisited . Greenwich,
CT: Information Age Publishing.

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