Developing Students’ Voices: An Intricate Part of a Student’s Lifelong Learning, Self-Confidence, and Advancement DR. KENNETH WATERS
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s a former college professor, there were several questions I would hear from my students, be they undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate students: “How many pages should this paper be?” or “What’s the word count for this paper?” Despite my internal disdain for these questions, I would calmly respond with the same answer: “Your paper should be long enough to provide evidence that you understand the topic you are producing.” Seeing that students were uneasy with this response as they realized they would have to use their critical thinking and active reading skills and bring their own perspective to achieve success on my assigned papers provided me with a sense of enjoyment and justification that I am in the right profession. The root of my excitement relates to the notion that a number of today’s learners are conditioned to follow a rubric, which is both beneficial and problematic. The majority of my students prefer a rubric, primarily because this mechanism creates a more objective method of scoring and because they are clear on how they will be evaluated.1 My issue with relying on a rubric is that I believe students can be less inclined to think critically or holistically about the purpose of the assignment – thereby losing the opportunity
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to explore their learning at the sake of only obtaining a passing grade. When this is common practice, I posit that students’ voices, literacy, and perspectives can be muted as they simply navigate towards a grade, consequently impacting their development, self-confidence, and advancement in life. Classes need to have student voice designed into them. Providing students with a space to voice their ideas “create[s] programs and policies that are more effective at meeting the school’s own goals for supporting young people in their healthy development.”2 And while some of the places where student voice might be either incorporated or shut out are obvious, some, such as how we create rubrics, are perhaps not. Below are some strategies I employ in my 11th grade English classes at St. Andrew’s to develop, support, and advance students’ voices on a consistent basis: • Having students respond to statements, quotes, or current issues both orally and in writing • Engaging students in discussion about the learned material and its applicability to their everyday life and society at-large, as opposed to simply perusing through the curriculum • Avoiding closed-ended questions and posing open-ended questions, while also
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