Building Student Agency
When considering implementing these tactics in your own classroom, always consider the individual needs of students and adjust accordingly. Incorporating student agency and fostering it within your students will take consistent effort, but will reap many benefits. Through the writings of Bruno and Chuter, I have compiled the most valuable tips on how to establish an effective classroom environment and offer why I believe this is a crucial part of establishing a classroom concerned with building student agency.
Building Blocks of Agency in the Classroom
Having Clear Expectations on Autonomy
Assignments should allow students to make their own choices and take creative liberties. Although you are offering more autonomy to your students in regards to the assignment, students still need to understand basic guidelines and if there are any limitations to how they would like to approach a given assignment.
(Bruno, 2021)
Goal Setting
Students should understand why they are learning what they are learning, and what goal they are trying to meet with a specific assignment. Students should be instructed to set their own goals, and then understand how to continuously track their progress and make changes if needed.
Continuous Communication and Collaboration
Students should have a clear understanding of how often you will be checking in with their progress on a given assignment. They should understand that you are there as support when needed. If it is a collaborative project, students should be instructed to make decisions with their peers on roles assumed to complete a task.
Culturally Responsive Practices
Culturally responsive practices create an inclusive environment where students' individual backgrounds and perspectives are recognized and factored in as part of the learning process. Whatever assignment is given, you should consider how it is connected to students’ own daily lives and individual cultures. (Bruno, 2021)
Choice Based/ or Inquiry Based Learning
Choice-Based: For students who may need some extra guidance, you could offer a selection of topics in relation to the project that they can choose from. This allows students to select what interests them most, and they can have freedom on how to move forward with their selected topic.
Inquiry-Based: You can incorporate inquiry-based learning by having students begin by forming questions, and then investigating these topics that they are curious about. they can explore.
(Chuter, 2020)
Reflection Opportunities
Students should be able to continuously reflect on what progress they have made, what new ideas they have discovered, and about challenges they have faced. This could be done through journaling, digital platforms, art-making, or even discussions with their peers.
Bruno, J. (2021, October 28). How to build student agency in your classroom. Teach. Learn. Grow. https://www.nwea.org/blog/2021/how-to-build-student-agency-in-your-classroom/
Chuter, C. (2020, January 20). The role of agency in learning. THE EDUCATION HUB. https://theeducationhub.org.nz/agency/#_edn3