Student Agency in Learning
What lights you up?
What question do you have burning inside?
What do you want to spend your time learning, making or practicing?
A NOTE FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL…
As I wander through the upper elementary and middle school these days I see that what sets us apart from other schools is that we give our students the time, support and resources to actually follow their interests and passions.
We are the school that says “yes”... your ideas matter. This is what we mean when we say agency.
Independent Passion Projects.
There is no truer expression of the trust we put in our students to be coauthors of their education than the independent projects that our upper elementary and middle school students undertake during the expression phase of the arc.
a boat, that actually set sail in the bay!
The projects are as varied and creative as the students working on them!
We have crafty mathematicians creating models for how much yarn is needed to crochet a scarf. Young activists leading campaigns against animal cruelty in fashion and creating clothing to educate people about different social movements. We have designers creating clothing from trash, making accessories that help SPCA animals to get adopted and using software to create 3-d models of clothing. We have biologists examining bird plumage, social scientists exploring the intersection of gender and fashion and material scientists testing new fabrics.
As we help students choose, refine and work on their projects we, as adults, approach our students with curiosity helping them evolve their ideas and build their own metrics for success. We give them accountability structures to help hold them to their goals. Check-ins, documentation, peer feedback sessions and task tracking tools all help students to continue moving towards their goals.
It’s not about what the students make.
It is the process that these kids are going through that is most valuable. We can only guess at the future these kids will inherit. Teaching students how to turn their passions into reality prepares them for a world where creativity, adaptability and problem solving are essential.
What a beautiful learning voyage we are setting out on, along with our learners. And how lucky each of us are to be on board!
In community,
Mackenzie