What happens when students are awarded points for assignments, but not given feedback? What message is sent to students who receive 100% on homework simply for turning it in? In traditional school settings, these practices have been the norm for decades. Students quickly learn that compliance is valued above all and become passive participants in the learning process. When we are met with students from traditional settings who have walked a path of disengagement for many years, it presents challenges. The transition to a Competency-Based Learning (CBL) system requires careful coaching to help students engage with the learning process rather than chase points. The goal is that students work towards mastery of the standards so that grades reflect what they know and can do with that knowledge. In order to help our students move from passive to engaged learning, we must focus on building student agency.

What is Student Agency? 

Student agency refers to empowering students to manage their own learning. Building student agency creates a chain reaction. When we build choice and voice into our lessons, students become more invested and motivated to engage. When they are more motivated to engage, they move beyond surface-level learning. As they plunge deeper into the depths of knowledge, they are more likely to experience transfer learning. Transfer learning means a student can apply knowledge and strategies under new conditions. This is where the true magic happens. Transfer learning is the key to helping students excel on assessments and standardized tests like the CAASPP.  So how can we build student agency and spark this chain reaction to academic success? 

Why Choice and Voice? 

The new high school lesson plan template is designed to be a structure that allows teachers to create the conditions that build student agency. (This structure also works with K-8!) A choice board forces students to make decisions about their own learning and, therefore, become invested in the process. Think about how many choices students have in all areas of their lives compared to when we were younger. Where I had maybe 7 TV channels to choose from growing up, students today have endless options for what to watch, how to watch, and even when to watch. Are our students waiting hours to record their favorite song from the radio on their tape recorder? Nope! They just add it to their never-ending Spotify playlist. And for many years people either took their coffee black or with cream and sugar. The options today include lattes, frappuccinos, cappuccinos, mistos, and macchiatos. All of these come in a variety of flavors with different milk options, foams, syrups, and toppings. Our students have grown up in a customizable world. We need to meet them where they are and design lessons with their life experiences in mind. 

Fostering Student Agency

While offering choice is a quick and easy way to help students develop student agency, there are also 4 essential elements of competency-based learning to consider. How can you make these part of your practice for live sessions, meetings with students, and student assessments?

More Strategies to Empower Students

You added choices for students and created engaging lessons. You created meaningful practice and measure learning often. You provide specific, timely feedback to help students progress. What else can you do daily to help empower students to walk a path of engagement? Here are other 4 additional ways to help build student agency during 1:1s and live sessions. 

Focus on student decision-making: Explicitly teach the behaviors students need to succeed

• “Forget the right answer, let’s just just focus on the steps, what’s next?” 
• “What should you think about before you write?”
• "What key words help to identify what is being asked in the question?
• "Where could you find more information about this topic?"

Model the messy: Show them the thinking and the trial and error that goes into learning

• Do a think aloud (this works in any content area!)
• Ask the questions out loud that they should be asking in their heads.
• “What do you think will happen if?” 
• “What have you already tried?”

Spotlight the process: Make the invisible parts visible

• “Watch me solve this… What do you notice I am doing?”
• “Write down what you think I’m doing and why I made that choice as you watch.”
• Debrief as a group after and analyze the process--ask “What makes you say that?” 
• After doing a process, ask students to imitate what you just did.

Recognize relationships: Help students see the relationship between their efforts and academic success.

• “Yes! When you did X, Y happened. That is exactly what you need to do to master this concept.”
• “I noticed you used my feedback from the last assignment and that moved you from a 2 to a 4, well done!”
• "After you attended the live instruction, you showed growth on your assessment. Well done!"
• Point out the relationship often in live sessions and on written feedback.

We can coach students to place value on the learning process by offering multiple entry points into engagement. Set students up for academic success by encouraging them to see beyond a grade.

What are other ways you can empower students to take charge of their own learning? Share your ideas via Slack!