In this paper, we present the results of a study indicating that groups predominantly underrepresented in mathematics prefer to have a choice of instructional method. We use the concept of differentiated instruction to explain how different groups of students might perform better using various instructional techniques. Our study, which is based on student self-selection of traditional or active learning sections of a course, also presents evidence that using different instructional strategies in different sections of the same course is preferable to adopting only a single instructional method. In addition, we present evidence that student instructional selection improves student achievement in college level mathematics courses.
Keywords: active learning, differentiated instruction, course redesign, college mathematics
