Autonomy
I really like getting student suggestions of the sequence of asssignments/activities but I am not sure how to handle it when thing get out of hand when studens disagree on the sequence. There always seems to be one student that thinks their way is the is the best way.
Rhoda, autonomy does not imply that each student will get exactly what they want. The focus here needs to be on the group. If you have 10 students in a class and you can get 6 to agree with your sequence then you have collaborated with your class and the class has been given autonomy to make choices that impacts the entire class. Not sure I have ever seen 100% agreement on such issues so do not feel like you are compromising. The fact of life simply reveals that it is hard to please everyone so we focus then on the majority. I hope this helps.
James Jackson
I agree. Especially with larger classes or classes with people who have different levels of knowledge or experiencepertaining to specific subject matters. The technique that I current am using to help with this is what I consider to be a "molded autonomy." I try to clearly present the benefits to the course and students by stating the benefits and cons the possible sequencing of assignments/activities. It's not a perfect system...but what it does allow is a little guidance as to why something maybe needs to be completed first or last, while still allowing the students the autonomy to make the ultimate choice. After hearing the pros and cons, this allows easier collaboration with the autonomy making decisions. This seems to help those one or 2 students who are the outliers understand why the sequence chosen by their classmates was
