The players have a set of choices as they go about achieving their objectives. They could choose to go down different paths, and build confidence along the way.

This description could be used to describe players in an online role-playing game, or students in Mika LaVaque-Manty's Introduction to Political Theory class at the University of Michigan.

LaVaque-Manty, an associate professor of political science, is letting students choose the kinds of assignments - be it posting on a class blog or commenting on blog posts, a group project or a conventional essay - on which they want to be graded for 60 percent of their grades. ...