STUDENT AGENCY

Enactment will look different at different ages in different contexts.  Creating a list of needs is not as easy as it sounds.  Students are not regularly asked to create a list, they are given supplies that teachers and parents have to offer.  Scaffold the process by asking guiding questions, written or oral:

• Will you need a person to help you learn this?  Who could that be?

• Will you need access to a computer or a library?  What will you look for?

• Will you need supplies to create an end product?  Where can you get these?

• Will you need to raise money to enact this learning?  How can you do that?

As teachers and parents, we regularly plan our days, weeks, months, and years.  We can help students begin to do the same for their learning.  Once your student(s) has made a choice and voiced it, it is time to plan how to make it happen.  Scaffold the process by asking questions:

• What steps must you take to make your learning happen?

• What will you do today to make this happen?

• What will you do this week to make this happen?

The final step of agency is enacting our learning, making it happen.  To appreciate the benefits of agency and their own power, students must see the end-product and assess their ability to influence their learning journey.

• What is your goal?  How will you know you have achieved it?

• What steps did you take to make your learning happen?  Were they effective?  Why or why not?

• What will you change next time you make a plan to learn something?