The simplest example is to ask students to plan—to make a plan for the part of the class session where they do independent work, for their study outside of class, for how they will get help when they need it—anything connected to their study of math. When I ask, "What’s your plan for…?" the learner knows from experience and from previous talk that I expect his activities will not be random, and that I expect him to be making a plan in the light of what work he has to do, his personal style, his energy level and what constraints he has on his time.
If I am to be successful in turning decision-making power over to learners, I need to be clear with myself about my own expectations around learner decisions. I expect them to make a decision about how they will spend their time, for example, but I do not expect them necessarily to make a "good" decision. Furthermore, I expect them to notice that they have made a decision, rather than me making it for them.
Setting aside my judgments about the efficacy or correctness of learner decisions is the hardest part of all. Of course, when learners make "good" decisions ("I’m going to finish this assignment before I leave class, and review the chapter at home tonight,") I don’t have any trouble "letting" them make the decisions. When they make "bad" decisions I have to take myself in hand. I have to remember that I expect them to make decisions, and that when a learner makes a decision, she has fulfilled the expectation. When Rhonda says to me, "I’m going to skip my math class today so I can make a birthday card for my sister," I say, "I see you’ve made a plan. Do you know where the fancy paper is?"
At the end of the week, when she has not completed her work in math, or when she is talking about how to move to the next level of math, I will remind her of the criteria for completing my class. "You didn’t get your assignment done this week. What could you do to make sure you get it done next week? "
But in the moment, Rhonda’s job is to make a decision, and she has decided to make the birthday card instead of going to math class. If I say, "Can’t you make the card later? Do you want to miss class (again)? then I am making the decision, not Rhonda, and my goal to have learners make decisions is thwarted. If I fight Rhonda’s decision, she may continue to refuse to go to class and make a scene, which wastes a lot of my time and sets a sour atmosphere in the room, which I have to work to make right. Alternatively, she may come to class reluctantly and not participate fully because of the emotions left over from my refusing her decision to skip class, which wastes her time and sets a sour atmosphere between us, which I have to work to make right.