Learning contracts make authentic student choice possible
They can be used to teach students the qualities of self-directedness and personal responsibility.
Student ownership boosts motivation
The freedom to make choices and steer one’s own learning stimulates the internal motivation to master the material. The drive to accumulate points and high grades is displaced by the desire to become better at learning.
Boredom is a choice
For many students, boredom is a regular feature of school. Students commonly blame teachers when they are bored because they have been assigned busywork. Learning contracts eliminate this problem. When a student has chosen to do work that is repetitious or too easy, it’s no longer possible to blame the teacher: it is a bad choice, no more, no less. Discovering that boredom is no longer required or necessary undoes a common source of student resentment.
When a student steers her own learning process, she learns more, both about the curriculum and about herself as a learner
Because she can learn to pay attention to what she needs and to make good choices, she can become much more effective at learning. And at the same time, she is learning to become more a responsible and self-directed individual.