Learner Choice and Task Engagement.
Students studied instructional materials under two choice conditions. In one case, students were free to choose the topic of study from six alternatives; in the other, the topic was assigned randomly. In addition, some of the students received immediate tests on the materials while the others took placebo tests. When free to choose the topic, students had higher affect for the material, showed greater willingness to continue work on the topic later, and spent more time studying the materials. While the presence of an immediate test increased delayed retention, freedom to choose the topic did not. A measure of students’ perceptions of the amount of freedom they felt in the choice and no-choice situations suggested that they felt relatively but not absolutely freer when able to choose the topic. Apparently, the relative increase in feeling of freedom was sufficient to influence affective but not cognitive outcomes.