Learner agency is the initiative and ability to act in a way that produces meaningful change in oneself or the environment. It’s also an important part of student-centered education. Below is a list of resources that can help educators promote learner agency so that students feel empowered to solve problems, make changes and construct the way learning happens in their classrooms and schools.
Teaching Students to Self Advocate During Distance Learning
An important part of learner agency is the ability for students to self-advocate. In virtual environments, it is important for learners to feel that they can approach an educator when they need help, have questions or want to share ideas. This article describes moves educators can make to help learner agency flourish online.
Nine Things You Can Do to Support Student Agency with Formative Assessments
Teachers from Arizona describe the three stages they saw their students go through as they increased their agency by using formative assessments themselves. They also elaborate on how they supported students’ progress along the way.
Ten Tips for Developing Student Agency
After a 2015 study from Harvard suggested that student agency may be as an important outcome as basic skills, Tom Vander Ark provides ten techniques educators can implement in their classrooms to improve learner agency. He also emphasizes ways schools can structure supports like advisories to empower students.
