Encouraging an Environment that Empowers Student Autonomy and Decision-Making
At the recent Tech & Learning Regional Leadership Summit in Atlanta, the focus was on launching and sustaining opportunities for students to share their voices. The event celebrated innovation and aimed to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment by celebrating students' diverse backgrounds.
The summit highlighted the importance of teaching students how to choose what works best for them to be successful, supporting their classroom problem-solving and decision-making skills. Participants were provided with links to various tools and examples to help create a classroom environment that empowers students.
The presentation included tools to enhance student voice, such as Nearpod, Flip, Wakelet, Canva, Pixton, Chatter Pix, Kami, and Minecraft. These tools offer a range of possibilities for visual storytelling, teaching, and mentoring, allowing students to demonstrate leadership in various ways.
Providing time for students to process and discuss a topic deepens their understanding and gives them an opportunity to hear others' perspectives. Multiple assessment methods should be provided to allow students to express their voice in the most powerful way for them, such as art, poetry, video, a paper, or activity.
Allowing for student voice can enhance student engagement, making students more likely to feel academically engaged and respected in the school community. Students value a classroom or school culture in which they feel cared about, and something positive is going on when students want to spend time in a classroom after school or during lunch.
Students feel valued when they feel their voices are heard, which is essential in creating a safe culture for students to share their voice. Approximately a third of students entering high school reported feeling engaged with their education during the speaker's tenure as a district and school leader.
The speaker believes that education should provide students with meaningful learning experiences in a classroom of engaged learners. Using the above strategies for instruction shows students that their voice matters, and empowering student voice transforms a learner from being an observer to an initiator.
Participants at the Tech & Learning regional leadership roundtable included educators and experts who proposed establishing a classroom culture that values and promotes student voice. Creating a classroom culture that rewards risks and recognizes students who share opinions or positions can foster a more open and participatory learning atmosphere.
By adopting these strategies, educators can empower students to take an active role in their learning journey, fostering a safe, inclusive, and engaging learning environment that prepares students for success in the future. For more details on the tools and examples shared, follow the links provided to support your journey into creating a classroom environment that empowers students.
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