The concept of voice and choice is essential to Rowland Hall’s vision to develop people the world needs, giving students of all ages agency and purpose in their learning.

Voice and choice is often called out when it comes to giving students a say in what they learn (think: elective classes in middle and high school), and that’s certainly true at Rowland Hall.

Listen to this story | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

This dual commitment [to voice and choice], both in the breadth of our program and in the daily classroom experiences of students, ensures that they not only acquire skills, but also discover how they learn best, cultivating depth of understanding and confidence as learners.—Brittney Hansen, assistant head of school for academics

“Voice and choice begins with a rich array of offerings in our course catalog,” said Brittney Hansen, assistant head of school for academics. “Students have genuine opportunities to pursue subjects that ignite their curiosity and dive deeply into areas of passion.”

But at Rowland Hall, voice and choice also extend beyond course selection.

“In every classroom, from 3PreK to 12th grade, teachers design multiple pathways to engage with the same learning targets, whether through different ways of exploring a concept or diverse avenues for demonstrating understanding,” Brittney explained. “This dual commitment, both in the breadth of our program and in the daily classroom experiences of students, ensures that they not only acquire skills, but also discover how they learn best, cultivating depth of understanding and confidence as learners.”

Examples of voice and choice are found in classrooms across all divisions every day—for instance, during a recent math lesson in Hannah Ruske’s fourth-grade class. Over the early weeks of the school year, the fourth graders had been reviewing multiplication and division, and Hannah wanted to highlight the many methods for visually solving division they’d been covering.

Hannah invited students to gather on the rug, then asked the group to identify a number sentence to tackle together. Class members called out ideas until Hannah heard one that would suit the group well—not too hard, not too easy. She wrote it on the white board:

56 ÷ 8 = ?

“Okay,” said Hannah, turning back to her class. “What are the different ways we can show this problem? What works for your brain?”

“An array,” came one suggestion.

“Great,” said Hannah, uncapping her dry erase marker. “Let’s count together.”

As the class started counting, Hannah began drawing a column of circles—one for each number—on the board. When she completed a column of eight, the divisor in the problem, she began a new column, repeating the process until the class counted to 56. At that point, the board showed seven columns, each containing eight circles. It was an illuminating way to identify the missing quotient: 56 ÷ 8 = 7.

“This works well,” said Hannah. “I would love to know a different way. I want to know what works for you.”

Students began tossing out other favorite strategies: traditional skip counting, skip counting on a number line, the loops and groups method. Hannah added their contributions to the board, showing how each one arrives at the same answer: 56 ÷ 8 = 7. Along the way, Hannah engaged the group’s critical-thinking skills: What strategies take more time? Where do we need to be careful to not miss a step?

The more strategies [students] have, the more likely they are to find something that clicks for them.—Hannah Ruske, fourth-grade teacher

As the board filled, it became clear just how many problem-solving options there are for today’s students. That’s a good thing. Making space for a variety of approaches to in-class work, whether it’s solving a math problem or presenting a book report, is at the heart of voice and choice. It lets students be their authentic selves at school by allowing them to embrace the learning approaches that feel most intuitive to them. This grows their understanding of themselves, not to mention their confidence.

“It reiterates that every kid has a math brain,” said Hannah when asked about why she uses choice in daily math work. “The more strategies they have, the more likely they are to find something that clicks for them.”

Class member Kinley P. said voice and choice has definitely made her more confident, and she believes her classmates feel similar.

“At my old school, they’d teach the same strategy and everyone had to do the same steps,” she said. She’d see peers struggling with this approach and said many finished the lesson feeling defeated. Kinley now enjoys being in an environment where students are reminded of their capabilities, and where it’s safe to try out strategies to find what works best for you. “It makes school fun,” she said.

Classmate Claire C. agreed, saying this approach lets students focus more on getting better at what they can do, not on what others are doing. “You’re all learning the same thing but you learn it at a different pace and a different way,” she said.

And as students find the approaches that work for them, they begin to more easily grasp the lesson at hand, preparing them to navigate increasingly challenging material. In fourth-grade math, this can be seen as students move from concrete approaches to problem-solving (like drawing an array) to more abstract approaches—using efficient mental shortcuts, built on a solid mathematical foundation, to solve problems even quicker. A glimpse of this kind of learning transformation happened during Hannah’s lesson, when class member Stevie S. raised his hand to offer a final strategy to the problem on the white board.

“I already knew eight times eight,” he shared, “so then I just went backwards.”

Stevie’s approach—based on the multiplication fact “snap” that 8 × 8 = 64—shows that students begin to build sophistication around material once they identify the learning methods that make the most sense to them.

“Kids don’t need to memorize every fact,” explained Hannah. “They just need access points.”

As the discussion began to wind down, Hannah moved to reinforce the day’s lesson by having students return to their tables to write their own division number sentences. She asked them to challenge themselves with a problem that’s a little tricky for them—like writing a sentence with 7 as the divisor if you’re working on mastering your 7 times table. Students were then to show how to find the answer in three different ways, using methods covered in that day’s discussion or others they’d learned, such as area models and ratio tables.

“And if your strategy is like Stevie’s, something that works in your brain, show me that too,” said Hannah.

While the class worked, Hannah walked around, offering fist bumps and affirmations that fueled their efforts. “Proud of you for picking a big one. I hope you’re proud of yourself,” she told Monroe O., who was solving for 84 ÷ 12. Hannah then held up a paper as an example: “Check out the way Stanley labeled his number line.”

At Rowland Hall, we’re huge on kid voice. It solidifies concepts and lets students take ownership.—Hannah Ruske, fourth-grade teacher

As she continued to circle the room, Hannah offered support as a coach and cheerleader, as well as provided plenty of opportunities for students to speak out as the experts—another way educators use voice and choice to strengthen learning.

“At Rowland Hall, we’re huge on kid voice,” Hannah explained. “It solidifies concepts and lets students take ownership—they say in their own words and feel like they’re the pro. Plus, it’s easier to understand a concept when you explain it.”

And, added class member Elliana R., “It’s fun to teach one another.”

Before long, the students began completing their division models and prepared to head to lunch. To many, the math lesson they’d just completed was fun, but routine—and that’s exciting. That’s because at Rowland Hall, this way of learning—of prioritizing students’ self-understanding and curiosity—is baked into the day-to-day. This allows for the full reach of voice and choice, which builds over time, quietly accumulating toward something profound: students who know and trust themselves, and, as a result, are empowered to lean into their passions as they become people who positively impact the world.

Academics