{"id":6805,"date":"2016-02-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/how-next-gen-learning-can-support-student-agency-part-1\/"},"modified":"2020-02-27T14:46:05","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:46:05","slug":"how-next-gen-learning-can-support-student-agency-part-1","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/how-next-gen-learning-can-support-student-agency-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How Next Gen Learning Can Support Student Agency, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Students1\"This post is adapted from the Next Generation Learning Challenges<\/a>‘ Friday Focus.<\/p>\n

Happy New Year! As I reflect back on 2015, I find myself thankful for the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by all of you in the NGLC network. Case in point: <\/span><\/i>December\u2019s #NGLCchat on Student Agency<\/span><\/i><\/a>. As a parent, I wholeheartedly want my children to be agents of their own lives, growing into adults who are empowered to question the world and confident in their ability to change it for the better. But today, I just want them to put on their shoes so we can get to school on time, to wear sneakers instead of flip flops because it\u2019s cold outside, and to do it in the next three minutes\u2014so I <\/span><\/i>make demands<\/span> and <\/span><\/i>expect<\/span> them to do what I say and <\/span><\/i>cross my fingers<\/span> they don\u2019t question me or throw a tantrum. Ugh! There\u2019s a place for authority, rules, and compliance\u2014I do need to ensure my kids are safe from harm, healthy, and respectful of others. But my real job\u2014nurturing their heart, mind, body, and soul\u2014is hard. That\u2019s why it was so uplifting to learn from educators like you during the chat, educators with the passion and commitment and strength and expertise to recognize the agency within students and enable them to be agents of their own learning today and their own success tomorrow.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The hour-long chat was chock-full of expert thinking, advice, resources, and inspiration. For today\u2019s edition of Friday Focus, I tried to pull it together, make meaning, and organize the wealth of insight provided by all the participants during the first segment: \u201cDefine what student agency means. What does it look like?\u201d In an upcoming Friday Focus, I\u2019ll dive into the next segments when participants explored how blended learning, competency-based learning, and project-based learning can support student agency.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why Student Agency Is So Important <\/b><\/p>\n

Why are we talking about <\/span>Student Agency<\/b>? Because agency underpins the whole broader, deeper range of <\/span>MyWays competencies<\/span><\/a> needed for student success. And <\/span>today\u2019s students NEED the skills to be lifelong learners<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n

Harvard professor Roland Barth has observed that in the 1950s when young people left high school they typically knew about 75% of what they would need to know to be successful in life. Today, he predicts that young people know about 2% of what they will need to know. (Barth, R.S. (1997, March 5). The leader as learner. Education Week, 16(23). 56.) This shift is not because young people are learning less than previous generations. In fact, there is good evidence that they know much more. The force behind this change is the rapid and ever-increasing pace of change, the complexity of the world in which we live and the unpredictability of what people will need to know in the coming decades \u2013 the future for which we are preparing today\u2019s learners.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Understanding Student Agency<\/b><\/p>\n

Student agency is a bold concept, demonstrated by the words participants used to describe what student agency requires and how it is exhibited:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NGLC1\"<\/p>\n

But student agency is more complex than what is captured in a collection of related words. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ownership & Persistence: <\/b>Agency is present <\/span>when students take charge<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>who, what, where, why, and when<\/span><\/a> they learn. This includes choice, self-awareness, self-management, social relationships, responsible decisions, time management, organization, and self-regulation on the way to a <\/span>long-term, personalized goal<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agency also requires <\/span>tenacity and grit<\/span><\/a>. It involves persistence to tackle challenges, to use failure along the way to success, and to embrace curiosity, creativity, and innovation as essential as breathing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Students exhibit agency when they persevere, not just feeling in control but <\/span>having the skills and tools to persist when challenged<\/span><\/a>. We don\u2019t give young people enough credit for their ability to take on significant challenges, and <\/span>facing challenges<\/span><\/a> may be a necessary prerequisite for becoming strong adults. <\/span><\/p>\n

A Student\u2019s Perspective: <\/b>What conversation about student agency is complete without <\/span>asking students what they think<\/span><\/a>? One thread during the chat looked to the EdSurge article by Davidson College student Andrew Rikard who defines agency as <\/span>recognizing the responsibility to take action<\/span><\/a> in a world that needs makers and creators. He also said that agency isn\u2019t something you give or take, it\u2019s collaborative. It is a two-way street, part of a school\u2019s culture. Armaan Ismail, a student at Incubator School, started another thread of conversation when he joined the chat, this one about <\/span>freedom<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NGLC2\"<\/p>\n

Empowerment, not <\/b>Learned Helplessness<\/b><\/a>:<\/b> Another thread during the chat focused on how children recognize their agency in relation to their environment. Agency is <\/span>being in control of what happens<\/span><\/a> around us, where we can <\/span>influence events<\/span><\/a>. And that starts with children believing that they can actually change or reshape their environment through their actions. When the environment is unpredictable, turbulent, and non-responsive to a child’s actions, the child learns that they have little or no effect on the environment and are, in fact, powerless. A poor environment leads to learned helplessness in place of agency. <\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>How Children Succeed<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Paul Tough describes how adverse childhood experiences create a hostile environment for students. Our schools exacerbate this when they teach compliance and prioritize getting the one right answer, both of which produce learned helplessness. To avoid learned helplessness, we need learning environments that empower students. When students are empowered, they can take an <\/span>active role in their life path<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

To sum up all of these ideas about agency, I like the imagery and impact of the <\/span>MyWays definition of student agency<\/span><\/a> that Grace Belfiore shared: <\/span>\u201cA deep and durable self in charge of one\u2019s learning and development<\/b>.<\/span>\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\"NGLC3\"<\/p>\n

How often do we think of ourselves as <\/span>deep and durable and in charge<\/b>? How wonderful would it be to have a generation of deep and durable and in charge citizen-learners in our midst?<\/span><\/p>\n

Promoting Student Agency<\/b><\/p>\n

This list includes strategies that guest experts and other participants shared as a way to describe what student agency looks like in the classroom and how schools can honor and encourage agency in the learning process, helping students learn not only that they can influence the world around them but also develop the tools and skills to do so. <\/span><\/p>\n