Student Agency = Personal Integrity

Teachers who design lessons understanding the opportunity for agency exists know the motivations students possess.

Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center, Arlington ISD

STEAM Center, Allen ISD

STEAM Center, Allen ISD Energy Institute High School, Houston ISD

As finished projects reach fruition, eyes sparkle, and grins widen with personal satisfaction for quality work and feelings of accomplishment.

Student agency is evidence of meaningful learning, emotional learning, helping to solidify understanding. For agency to be realized, students must be willing to accept the responsibility for learning, but formal agreement is not required.

Generally, student agency is realized when students are able to participate in their own goals, and then reach them.

What happened during the process? What occurred after the teacher set the expectations for the lesson and introduced the concept and before the sparkling eyes and widened smile is the process of student agency. Students essentially dedicated their commitment to learning, but realized that it required personal integrity to do their part in the learning process. What they grasped are feelings of efficacy. That’s powerful! Generally, student agency is realized when students are able to participate in their own goals, and then reach them. The process that occurs to move them from goal to fruition can be realized via student agency. Although much of what contributes to student agency requires action, feelings of student agency are intrinsic. It feels like accomplishment, pride, self-worth, knowledge, and success. Conditions for student agency must be right for this to occur. The environment has much to do with fostering the empowerment opportunities that can result in realizing student agency. Students are quick to share that sunlight helps them think and feel good. When working on projects, they report preferring to decide on their teammates and their collective outcomes. They like their instructional tools easily accessible, and they want space to work regardless of their learning group size. VLK Architects makes it a priority to design schools that promote student agency. Inspiration, innovation, and curiosity – concepts contributing to student agency – can abound in a purposeful learning environment.

Williams, P. (2017). Student agency for powerful learning. Knowledge Quest, 45(4), 8-15.