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Have you ever watched the scene in The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon uses a flow chart for how to make a new friend using a friendship algorithm? With the added bonus of humor, it provides three foundational structures that highly compare to what we need in our schools for nourishing a positive culture and building student agency:

Student agency is about getting out of the student's way; it's about how to answer the question, "what am I supposed to do now?" Even when we create a solution-oriented process for or with students to use at the beginning of the year, many times, we end up promoting a dependent culture because instead of expecting them to use the process or procedure, we jump to giving them the solution. Sometimes, we might take it away too soon because we assume it isn't going to work.

We want to help, but in the long run, we aren't. A positive school culture is one that is alive with student-driven actions that range from how they go get a drink of water to how they are going to get through their rigorous learning for the day. Positive school culture doesn't happen overnight; how we use student voice to set up procedures and processes in combination with consistency and modeling are essential for succeeding in building the positive culture that we need. These standard operating procedures (SOP) must not only exist at the classroom level, but it is also vital to have systemic building level procedures as well.

When I was an administrator at Highland Academy in Anchorage, Alaska, one of the first lighthouse secondary competency-based schools in our country, we had a building level problem with the boy's bathroom. The whole school knew about it. Although we had a SOP for when to use the bathroom, students weren't following our code of cooperation. They were littering and trashing the bathroom. On the one hand, students were following the procedure correctly, but on the other hand, did they deserve to have a SOP that gave them a lot of freedom if they were no longer able to live up to the expectations of our code of cooperation? Was the answer to take the procedure away because students were abusing the school environment? Of course, the abuse was only coming from a small group of students, but there was also the issue of the spectators involved and the bathroom was part of our school. The typical response would be to find those responsible, and provide a consequence such as removing their access to the procedure. But what if you couldn't determine who was responsible? What if your culture was still working on owning behavior and mistakes? Rather than ignore it because those responsible couldn't be determined, our answer was to close the bathroom during class time. While this was a legal move because the boys could still go to the bathroom during passing times while a chaperone stood watch near it, the mood of the building imploded with emotions. Even the girls were upset because our culture had been shamed. Because of a few boys, the hallways were now full of hard feelings.

You can imagine how upset the boys were about us essentially taking the bathroom procedure away from everyone. However, our message to them was that this is our school and it's our responsibility to come to a solution together. According to the data at hand, the boys were clearly demonstrating that they weren't ready for a bathroom procedure that allowed so much freedom. One student came to me upset saying, "Ms. Hilger, it's not fair. Most of the boys are using the procedure correctly and following our code." I replied, "You are correct. What are we going to do?" As an administrator, questions about how to deal with these cultural challenges arise throughout the year. What is important is how we use our agreed upon processes and collegial norms to work with the students to come to a solution. Culture isn't based on the actions of one person; it's based on the collective whole that harmonizes around its vision each and every day. It also takes time to build culture and if we don't take advantage of those learning opportunities, we end up doing what we've always done, and that is having the adults as the directors and the students as the followers.

Answering the call, students tried several methods to solve the problem, ultimately leading to a student summit that consisted of the advisory representatives, both boys and girls, all while the bathroom remained closed. They had to go through several ideas before coming to a solution that made sense to them. This involved them holding boy only assemblies, rewriting the bathroom SOP and holding discussions with upper level students. Although it took a while to come to a solution, the bathroom was never messed up again.

Some may argue that spending that amount of time on solving that problem took away from instructional time. Is the bathroom SOP really that important in comparison? In my experience, in the end, the student body was stronger, and therefore, it was very worth it. Would we have preferred for the students who made the mistakes to come forward and own it themselves? Of course, but at the time, they weren't ready to do that.

At a systems level, that is what we mean by the importance of having SOPs that build a positive school culture. It isn't just about having a poster on the wall; it's about putting the students at the center to practice independence and peer supports so that eventually they become stronger agents for themselves and their learning community.

At the classroom level, it is exactly the same. If a SOP is in place, in those moments when a student comes to you with a question that they can answer themselves by using that SOP, try remaining silent and point to the SOP. Or try asking a question that gets the student to the SOP instead of giving them the answer.

If a SOP doesn't exist and students are forced to come to you instead of figuring it out on their own, that's a sign that one is needed. When adults are constantly at the center, quite frankly, we are missing the point. Rather than build equitable leadership across the student body that becomes the positive school culture, we live with our pockets of success.

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Why are SOPs a Necessary Foundation for Positive School Culture?

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Have you ever watched the scene in The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon uses a flow chart for how to make a new friend using a friendship algorithm?

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What is Learner Variability and Why Does it Matter?

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What is Learner Variability and Why Does it Matter?

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Much has been written, debated and discussed what learning variability is, but what is it and why does it matter? Let's take a look at different perspectives of what it is and then decide why it matters. We will begin with the most succinct perspective from the Learning Variability Project:

"Learner variability is the rule, not the exception." - Barbara Pape, Digital Promise

Learner Variability and Identity

In a previous blog on Identity, we introduced the Empower the Learner Profile where a learner can share their variability about who they are, how they learn - strengths and challenges, and what they aspire to be. Learners are able to express their personal preferences and needs in learning along with their interests, talents, abilities and aspirations and what beliefs they may (or may not) have about themselves based on their unique advantages and adversities in their life. It matters when a learner can share their story as this can become the first step that opens the door for validation where they are seen, heard, valued and belong.

Learner Variability and the "Myth of Average"

In Todd Rose's Tedx Talk " The Myth of Average " in June 2013, he describes why there is no such thing as an average learner. He also points out that four percent of dropouts in the US are intellectually gifted. That comes up to 50,000 minds each year who don't fit in the average model. How much of this is bad design? We design learning environments for the average learner. We call our system age-appropriate, but it is not. Learners vary in many dimensions of learning.

Each learner has a jagged learning profile where they have strengths and challenges in their learning. Why does this matter?
If you design learning for
"...even though we have the most diverse population in the world, we are unable to exploit this natural advantage in human capital." the average,
you design it for nobody!
And from his Project Variability, Rose states that...

The average hurts everyone. Designing average destroys talents in two ways:
1. The existing educational environment can not challenge learners as it creates an environment where they become bored and sometimes dropout.

2. It means that your challenges will make it harder for you to see your talent.

How Learner Variability Impacts Learning

Let's take a look at what the science of learning and development tells us about Learner Variability, its principles and how it impacts learning.

We learn best when our unique advantages and adversities are identified, acknowledged and understood, with systems for supportive response and action plans.

Developmental State
We learn best when our experiences align with where we are developmentally.

Learning Differences
We learn best when our unique learning needs are identified, and resources and skill development are aligned with those needs.

Adapted from Transcend, Inc. Designing for Learning Primer, 2019.

To support Life Experiences: Learners experience both advantageous and adverse life experiences alongside systems of privilege and oppression. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) have an especially harmful impact on learning and can be toxic to cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. It is important that these learners are understood and that they receive consistent and responsive support with trusted and caring adults.

To support Developmental State: When learners enter school there are vast developmental differences: socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically. What is important here is to respond flexibly to reach all learners in these unique developmental zones. Most important, is to help each learner to understand and respond to their own development.

To support Learning Differences: Understanding one's learning differences is critical if we want to help each learner to develop the skills and practices to support learning challenges and enhance learning strengths. This comes down to a learner's identity so that they know and understand the strengths and challenges in how they learn so they can take action around their learning. The "Empower the Learner" Profile is that key tool for each learner to use so they can become self-aware of who they are, how they learn and what they aspire to be.

Why Learner Variability Matters

Learner variability is a term to describe all learners who enter the classroom who bring with them a unique constellation of strengths, challenges and experiences, both good and bad, that matter when it comes to learning. And when the school environment can be responsive and inclusive by helping each learner develop skills and practices around their learning and personal development, then equity in learning can be realized by every learner.

Educational equity means that every learner has access to the educational resources to develop skills and practices to support and enhance their learning for each moment in their education across race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, family background and/or family income. ( Adapted from CCSSO.org educational equity quote.)

Honoring Learner Variability = Belonging

Council of Chief State School Officers, States Leading: Promising Practices Advancing the Equity Commitments 2019,

Learning Policy Institute & Turnaround for Children. (2021). Design principles for schools: Putting the science of learning and development into action.

The Aspen Education & Society Program and the Council of Chief State School Officers. 2017. Leading for Equity: Opportunities for State Education Chiefs. Washington, D.C.

Transcend, Inc. Designing for Learning Primer, 2019.

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What is Learner Variability and Why Does it Matter? - Empower the Learner

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Much has been written, debated and discussed what learning variability is, but what is it and why does it matter? Let's take a look at different perspectives of what it is and then decide why it matters. We will begin with the most succinct perspective from the Learning Variability Project: "Learner variability is the rule, not the exception."

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Teachers Pursue Flexible Grouping to Better Support Second Grade Readers

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Teachers took the initiative in this South Carolina elementary school to ensure all their students received the guided reading instruction…

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By Lauren Mehrbach and Chris Beingessner - As SAS work to implement more personalized learning opportunities, they combat limiting physical space.

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Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

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Authentic student voice and choice is about helping students understand themselves as learners.

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Think back to a time when you were learning something new that really stuck with you and made a lasting impact. How did you learn new skills? What were the conditions? What resources did you use? Why?

As I work with diverse educators and talk with students about their own powerful learning experiences, there are common characteristics that surface, including:

personal connections,

opportunities to exert agency,

clear goals and accountability,

an inquiry-based approach,

collaboration,

authenticity,

productive struggle,

use of models, and

time for critique, revision, and reflection.

Katie Martin outlines the characteristics of an ideal classroom in her book "Learner-Centered Innovation." Download the chapter

Yet far too often we are focused on cramming for tests, covering textbook materials, averaging grades within isolated courses, and memorizing facts and figures apart from real-world application. All of these practices correspond to a one-size-fits-all approach, which is too fast for some and too slow for others. The challenge I see today is that there is a misalignment between what we know-and have experienced as powerful learning-and what we actually do in schools.

Creating alignment between authentic learning experiences and what we do in school is a critical aspect of a learner-centered model. It gives purpose and relevance to the knowledge and skills that students are learning and focuses on application rather than memorization.‍
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When we focus on learners we can create experiences that ignite curiosity, develop passion, and unleash genius. Learner-centered practices including PBL, community-based learning, real-world problem-solving, experiential learning, work-based and place-based learning, student portfolios and exhibitions, maker-spaces and design-centered learning focus on how we learn. I am continually inspired by the many educators who work within the confines of an outdated system to create authentic learning experiences for their students while simultaneously pushing the boundaries to create new and better systems.
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Connecting Our Aspirations to Practice
Lewisburg School: Creating Better Citizens
Lewisburg is a K-8 school in rural Kentucky where students engage in both exploratory programs to gain exposure to different experts and community members, and do their own passion projects to explore ideas that interest them and solve problems that they find important. Speaking to the middle school students, many of them shared how they loved the Ranger Academy where all students were able to choose topics of interest for exploration, such as sewing, building, cooking, and community service projects.

They completed several student-led projects. One group shared that they had put on a fundraiser to raise money for Ally, a student who needed support for a health condition. Three girls put together a program called New Kids on the Block to ensure each new student had a person to connect and sit with at lunch along with a welcome bag of goodies to make them feel like part of the community. Another group recognized a need for increased organization in teachers' workspaces and collaborated with their teachers to build them desk organizers. Although they acknowledge that sometimes it's hard to collaborate with others and it can take a while to figure out how to do a project-not to mention get it right-they loved learning about new things, working from their strengths, meeting new people, seeing different perspectives, and above all, engaging in personally meaningful work addressing real challenges in their community.

As Paul Mullins, Superintendent of Logan County schools, shared with me, "We aren't just creating students, we are creating better citizens." I couldn't agree more. In talking to these students, it was evident that they are already able to engage in our communities productively and work to make our communities a better place.

Devin Vodicka shares insights on Leading the Way to Authentic Learning

‍ Pioneer Elementary School: Designing for Authentic Learning

Authentic learning is often at odds with how we design learning experiences and accountability systems in school. It's exciting to partner with school districts like Peninsula School District in Washington state to build upon their sense of community and tradition while creating a new school design informed by past insights with an eye toward the future. I am encouraged to see diverse stakeholders, including educators, community members, students, and families, work together to create a new school-aptly named Pioneer-where learning environments and systems are intentionally designed to align with their learner profile stated in the Peninsula Promise:
We develop learners who are:

Readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians

Artists, performers, innovators, and creators

Responsible, ethical citizens and critical thinkers

Contributors, communicators, and skilled users of technology

Caring, compassionate, and confident humans

Collaborators and community partners

Able to connect knowledge - character - action

To achieve these aspirations, the Learner-Centered Collaborative team is working with Peninsula School District to develop assessment tools and practices based on their design principles. These tools, including report cards, student-led conferences and exhibitions, and overall metrics of success, reflect mastery of social emotional skills and mindsets in addition to rigorous academic content knowledge. With their vision and principles at the forefront, they are designing a schedule, resources, and collaboration time to facilitate the authentic experiences that grow and nurture the whole child. These include interdisciplinary STEM projects, multi-age groupings, family and community relationships, and removal of barriers ensures access to high quality experiences for all learners.
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Why Authentic Learning Matters

If you recall your own impactful learning experiences, you will likely acknowledge that it wasn't always a clear path from point A to point B, and you learned through trial and error, multiple inputs, and experience. The desire to accomplish a goal can be immensely motivating. As such, authentic learning is about creating the context for developing skills because they are critical to a task and individual growth. The schools and districts I highlighted have intentionally chosen to create authentic learning experiences that prioritize learners, integrate basic skills aligned to standards, and put those skills in a context that matters. Engaging in authentic projects not only allows students to improve in their numeracy, reading, speaking, writing, and critical thinking, but also ensures they are applying skills in ways that are meaningful to them.

El Segundo uncovers how their district is realizing authentic, personalized, student-centered learning. Read the story

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Think back to a time when you were learning something new that really stuck with you and made a lasting impact. How did you learn new skills? What were the conditions? What resources did you use? Why? As I work with diverse educators and talk with students about their own

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Real-life scenarios enhance lessons and shouldn't require teachers to completely overhaul their practices.

One of the important lessons we have learned from Covid-19 is that the real world permeates the classroom whether we like it or not. Of course, a virus isn't the only real world that we face on a daily basis. From political strife to global warming, our students and teachers are constantly interfacing with the world outside the classroom and often finding it hard to juxtapose both in class curriculum and outside contexts.

Teachers want to leverage the real world in their classrooms. But how?

Before looking at a few helpful habits, let's define authenticity. Authenticity may be best defined as a set of experiences in which teachers and students engage in contexts and content that align with real-world experiences, and students have choice in the experiences. As such, authenticity is not a binary concept in the classroom. The question is not whether we have authenticity. The question is, to what degree are we exhibiting authenticity at this time?

Beyond increasing the degree of authenticity in the classroom, we need to find ways to make practices doable for time-starved teachers. One way to consider moving toward authenticity in the classroom is stacking new habits with what teachers are already doing in the classroom. Stacking is the idea that we integrate a new habit with habits we already have in place.

Stacking is focused on embedding a habit before, during, or after something we already do. The following stacking prompts may be helpful:

To move toward increasing authenticity in our classroom, high-leverage authenticity habits fall within three key areas: contexts, content, and choice. Let's review each area and evaluate important questions and a few suggested habits.

Context is the degree to which students and teachers are engaging in contemporaneous, real-world situations, opportunities, challenges, and people.

Students are drawn to problems of the present and problems that connect to them in some way. They are buzzing with questions such as what's happening now, how does that connect to me and the people I care about, and how can I help solve that problem?
Key questions and suggested habits:

How does this task, activity, or lesson connect to my life presently?

Where does this idea apply right now in the world? Across how many contexts?

Who is working on these problems presently?

Who can I engage within these contexts to learn about opportunities and challenges, various perspectives, and potential people and organizations that I may be able to work with over the course of study?

Such questions are all powerful motivators for kids. The past and future are used as fuel for students' contemporaneous drive. The following questions and habits are wonderful ways to promote a greater level of real-world contexts in the classroom.

Before starting a new unit, teachers may want to introduce students to a real-world professional or community member impacted by a problem who will task them with working to understand and solve the challenge. This would include interviewing community members and reading about the current situation.

Another habit to consider would be embedding a question on each day's exit ticket that asks students to brainstorm the number of contexts that apply to what the class is learning. Their responses can then be reviewed the next morning via a think-pair-share.

Content is the degree to which teachers and students are engaging in the academic knowledge and skills that are used in the real world.
Key questions and suggested habits:

To what extent do the task and context relate to the content area (discipline) I'm learning about?

To what extent do I need to learn surface and deep knowledge in one or more disciplines to get through the authentic challenges I'm working on?

Research continues to show that the ability to engage in real-world tasks and apply learning requires core content knowledge within the actual real-world situation. To promote the development of core content as a means of increasing authenticity, teachers should consider the following questions and habits.

Before students engage in a problem-based experience, teachers can incorporate a pre-assessment and engage in direct instruction for those students who need it. Or, after a lesson is completed, teachers can have students discuss the similarities and differences between what they have learned in class and the knowledge and skills they would need in different real-world situations.

Choice

Choice is the degree to which students and teachers have autonomy within the confines of an authentic context.
Key questions and suggested habits:

Where do I have an opportunity to express my perspective on the product/presentation/process/work structure (group)?

To what extent do I have a choice in how I display my work? Where are the boundaries of my choice?

Students need a level of defined autonomy in the classroom. Clear boundaries surrounding a set of choices for students potentially include the specific question(s) to work on, the products to create, the choice of group members to work with, and the means for navigating group dynamics and choice of problem-solving strategies. The following questions and habits are helpful to prime such discussions.

Before students begin creating a product, teachers can have them present their choice to others and receive feedback using a tuning protocol. Another option would be to have students work in groups and reflect on successes and challenges of their individual and collective decision-making using a critical friends protocol.

Authenticity doesn't require field trips or yearly projects. Authenticity requires daily embedded practices that bring the real world into our classrooms. With a few shifts in our practice, we can bring authenticity into our classrooms and into our students' daily lives.

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Increasing Authenticity in the Classroom

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Real-life scenarios enhance lessons and shouldn't require teachers to completely overhaul their practices.

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One Educator’s Journey to Authentic Learning: Building Trust, Empowering Learners

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Discover how trusting students transformed classroom discussions into authentic, real-world learning experiences.

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High School Example: How Personalized Learning Encourages Student Success

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High School Example: How Personalized Learning Encourages Student Success

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We're living in a new age of education where the one-size-fits-all model doesn't quite cut it anymore. Educational technology has played a huge role in personalized learning, but so has the work of educators who understand the nuances of individualized instruction. In this article, we'll look at the ways that personalized learning can benefit students, particularly those in high school who are struggling with attendance, engagement, and achievement.

What is personalized learning?

Overall, personalized learning is a pedagogy that shifts the focus from a one-size-fits-all approach to a student-centered approach. This recognizes and nurtures individual strengths and needs. A personalized learning approach to teaching methods tends to result in better academic performance, increased motivation, and a deeper understanding of the material.

As a broader concept, personalized learning can cover a wide variety of methodology, including:

Individualized pace. Students can progress through material at their own speed. This prevents boredom for fast learners and allows struggling students to grasp concepts fully before moving on.

Customized content. Curriculum, learning materials, and instruction can be adjusted to match students' interests and learning styles, making education more engaging and relevant.

Targeted support. Teachers can provide targeted interventions and support to address specific learning gaps or challenges that students face.

Benefits of a personal learning approach

Students can benefit in many ways when their schools embrace personal learning, including:

Ownership of learning. Students can take more responsibility for their learning process, which fosters independence, self-direction, and critical thinking skills.

Higher engagement. When students are actively involved in their learning and have choices, they are more likely to stay motivated and engaged in their education.

Preparation for the future. By honing skills like self-regulation and adaptive learning, personalized learning prepares students for lifelong learning and future career success.

An example of personalized learning

It's easy enough to discuss personalized learning in a theoretical context. But how does it practically apply to a student experience in an educational system or charter school like NDCHS? Let's look at a (fictional) example of a student who enrolls at our school.

One student, let's call her Maya, enters New Dawn Charter High School at age 17 after struggling with attendance and academic performance in her previous high school. Maya is two years behind her peers in credits and feels disconnected in traditional classroom settings.

At New Dawn, Maya encounters a personalized learning approach that transforms her educational experience:

Individualized learning path. Maya starts with an assessment of her academic strengths and weaknesses. This helps teachers create a personalized learning plan that addresses her specific gaps in knowledge and skills while building on her strengths. For instance, Maya excels in writing but struggles with algebra. Her teachers design lessons and assignments that align with her learning pace and style, allowing her to grasp core concepts at her own speed.

Project-based learning. Maya thrives in project-based learning activities where she can apply her knowledge creatively. For example, in a history class, Maya chooses to research and present a project on a lesser-known historical figure who inspires her. This hands-on approach not only deepens Maya's understanding of the subject but also boosts her confidence in her abilities.

Technology integration. NDCHS leverages technology to enhance Maya's learning experience. Maya uses educational apps and online resources that adapt to her learning pace and provide immediate feedback. This personalized approach helps Maya stay engaged and motivated, as she can track her progress and celebrate small achievements along the way.

Over time, Maya's experience at NDCHS transforms her from a disengaged and under-credited student to a confident learner who is on track to graduate. The personalized learning approach not only addresses Maya's academic needs but also nurtures her personal growth and resilience. Maya's success story demonstrates the power of personalized learning to help students who have faced academic challenges achieve their full potential.

Ready for your student to excel with personalized learning?

NDCHS provides a unique opportunity for over-aged and under-credited high school students who need a more personalized approach to education. With a school culture focused on both individuals and collective success, New Dawn is able to provide an educational approach that is uniquely innovative and encouraging for students who are underserved in traditional educational settings . If you think your student would be a good fit for New Dawn, check out our enrollment and admissions page .

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How Personalized Learning Encourages Student Success - New Dawn Charter High School

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We’re living in a new age of education where the one-size-fits-all model doesn’t quite cut it anymore. Educational technology has played a huge role in personalized learning, but so has the work of educators who understand the nuances of individualized instruction. In this article, we’ll look at the ways that personalized learning can benefit students, particularly those in high school who are struggling with attendance, engagement, and achievement.

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The Personalized Learning Journey: Positive and Negative Forces at Work

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Twenty-seven state Teachers of the Year & one National Teacher of the Year share some positive & negative forces affecting the personalized learning journey.

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This article stresses the importance of PCBL looking different in different schools - as transforming to PCBL approaches takes a design process to ensure you are meeting your specific school's student's needs...but there are videos and descriptions that may help you to "see" PCBL.

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We have a few answers to this question. One is that personalized learning always involves these core four elements - targeted instruction, data-driven decisions, flexible content, and student reflection and ownership. Check out our Core Four white paper for a more detailed description of these elements, as well as classroom examples.

Another answer is that, "it depends" - we believe strongly in the design thinking process, and that school leaders and teachers are in the best place to put together instructional models that meet the needs of their students. Check out this great blog post on the process by my colleague, Kelly!

That being said, we realize that we can never answer this question enough. In response to this demand, here is a short collection of videos, photos, artifacts, and teacher testimonies that we hope will help illustrate what personalized learning could look like at your school or district. Some of these examples are from Education Elements districts and schools, and some are from other places!

Personalized learning is: Incorporating Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting

In Middletown, NY , the school culture incorporates student reflection and goal-setting starting with the youngest grades. Check out these classroom photos of goal-setting artifacts.

From a Middletown teacher: "[Students] use a Google form, and t
he forms are sent to me automatically so I am able to instantaneously see how they are self-assessing. It gives them a sense of accountability and it also lets me be aware of how they think they did... I use their self-assessment to help guide my instruction and to help group them for math and ELA." Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Student Ownership & Reflection
Personalized Learning is: Flexible & Intentional Master Schedules

In Wake County, NC, school leaders at Rogers Lane Elementary School have created a master schedule that's aligned to their three core principles: Agents of Change, Out of this World Learning, and Intentional and Reciprocal Relationships. While it's still a work in progress, the schedule does a wonderful job of showing the back-end work it takes to explicitly incorporate co-teaching, multi-level classrooms, student choice, and blocks for targeted small-group instruction.

Additionally, to help parents and students better understand how this schedule would affect a student's daily experience, Rogers Lane created a "Day in the Life of" Primer .
Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Flexible Path and Pace Check out this video from a high school teacher, where she describes how she has students use a digital tool to demonstrate their ability to collect and analyze data from a field exercise.
Personalized Learning is: Using Digital Content and Tools in a Purposeful Way - Flexible Path and Pace
Check out from an elementary school teacher about how he uses a portfolio of digital content tools in his classes. These last 2 videos are part of a larger collection of great this video videos from BetterLesson on blended learning strategies.

Personalized Learning is: Incorporating Personalized Playlists

Many personalized learning classrooms incorporate flexible pacing by having students go through content via playlists. However, not all playlists are personalized.

My colleague Brittany, in partnership with teachers and school leaders at Rochester School District, NH, put together this helpful Playlist Building 101 Guide that describes how to build a personalized learning playlist.

Personalized Learning is: Planning for Flexible Seating
Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL

Flexible seating is a popular strategy because it is a physical manifestation of targeted, fluid instruction. With a focus on student choice and comfort, flexible seating is a great way to convey to students, "You matter."

Edutopia has a terrific article specifically focused on flexible seating at the high school level, including classroom photos and teacher testimonies. Ashley Rice Broomfield, a 1st grade teacher, shares, " I am in my 13th year of teaching, but this is my first year incorporating flexible seating into my classroom. I will never go back to traditional seating."

EdSurge also has a great post on 10+ brain-based methods to redesign your classroom, and how to include your students in the redesign process. We love this quote: "A good friend of mine often reminds me that we aren't raising a class of second graders, but in fact, we are raising future adults. She says, 'If they're old enough to do it for themselves, they should not only be allowed to, but expected to do so.'"

Finally, see these pictures above from our awesome partners in Loudoun County Public Schools, VA!

check out the BONUS:#LoudounPL hashtag for more amazing pictures of how Loudoun County schools are personalizing learning.

Personalized Learning is: Involving Students in Grading Conversations

Prolific blogger Catlin Tucker offers another great strategy - including "grade interviews" with students. Tucker shares, " As grade reporting approaches, I sit down with every single student for a grade interview. Students come to these grade interviews prepared with a formal argument. These conversations are invaluable. Students walk away knowing exactly what they need to work on or what they are doing well. Also, I feel like I know my students so much better because we sit down and chat about their learning every 5-6 weeks!" Check out her full blog post !

Additionally, student-led conferences (SLC's) can be a great way to engage both students and parents in reflection. In an SLC, a student might not only explain what progress he or she is making, but why it is that progress is occurring. This Edutopia post has a great set of resources on SLC's, sourced from articles like this Atlantic piece to protocols and videos of SLC's in action.

To learn more about how these examples build on the core four elements of personalized learning, check out our white paper.

More Personalized Learning reading

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Getting it Right

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting

Blog: How to Pick the Right Instructional Model for Your Classroom

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Flexible Pace & Path

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Targeted Instruction

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Collaboration & Creativity

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Six Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like

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Personalized learning takes different forms in different classrooms - here are six examples of what personalized learning looks like.

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Research:  Student Voice and Choice in the Classroom: Promoting Academic Engagement

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Research:  Student Voice and Choice in the Classroom: Promoting Academic Engagement

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Open access peer-reviewed chapter

Written By

Jerusha Conner, Julianna Chen, Dana L. Mitra and Samantha E. Holquist

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.114346

From the Edited Volume

Edited by Kira J. Carbonneau

Abstract

Centering the concept of student voice, this chapter makes three key contributions to the research on instructional practices that promote active learning and engagement. First, using research-based vignettes, it explains what student voice practices look like in the classroom and how they differ from the provision of choice. Second, it reviews the research linking student voice practices and choice practices to deeper engagement and learning. Third, drawing on original survey, interview, and focus group data, it illustrates how student voice practices and choice practices enhance affective, behavioral, and cognitive student engagement from the perspectives of both students and teachers. This chapter offers useful guidance to educators who wish to expand their active learning pedagogical repertoires to include student voice practices.

Keywords

student voice

choice

active learning

engagement

student agency

Jerusha Conner*

Villanova University, Villanova, PA, United States

Julianna Chen

Villanova University, Villanova, PA, United States

Dana L. Mitra

Pennsylvania State University, College Park, PA, United States

Samantha E. Holquist

Child Trends, Rockville, MD, United States

*Address all correspondence to: jerusha.conner@villanova.edu

1. Introduction

I think when the teachers are more communicative with their students, their students choose to be more active in learning just because they feel comfortable with the teacher. They know that they are being listened to, that they can say their opinions without being judged, compared to a teacher that's just kind of teaching the lesson. They're like, "Oh, she's just here to do her job." There's no relationship with the student, so they just kind of go along with the class.

In the quotation above, a U.S. high school student describes two different kinds of classroom environments: one that fosters students' engagement in active learning and one that promotes a more passive approach to learning, where students "just kind of go along with the class." The former classroom is characterized by open communication between teacher and students, positive relationships, feelings of comfort, and the ability for students to speak up to share their opinions. In the latter classroom, the teacher delivers content without regard for students' opinions, ideas, needs, or preferences as learners.

A great deal of research and theory supports this student's perspective that student voice can be a key feature of an engaging classroom environment; however, for a variety of reasons, student voice practices remain rare in secondary school classrooms [ 1, 2, 3, 4]. By student voice practices, we are not referring to a teacher calling on a student to answer a question about the lesson or a student participating in a class discussion; instead, we define student voice practices as strategies that invite student feedback on, input into, or collaborative decision-making about educational planning, delivery, assessment, or reform. In this chapter, we offer examples of classroom-based student voice practices (SVPs), clarify how they differ from choice practices, and explain how both sets of practices promote active learning and student engagement, drawing on extant research and our own data. It is our hope that this chapter offers educators a roadmap and rationale for incorporating SVPs into their instructional repertoires.

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2. Conceptualizing student voice practices: Illustrative vignettes

2.1 Overview of student voice practices

Classrooms that feature SVPs are often marked by high levels of active learning. Active learning can be defined as activities that involve students in "doing things and thinking about what they are doing" [ 5]. Theorists emphasize that active learning requires higher-order thinking, including metacognition [ 6, 7]. Because SVPs require students to reflect on and articulate their needs, preferences, and goals as learners, active learning and SVPs go hand in hand.

Both students and teachers benefit from SVPs. These practices grant opportunities for student leadership and self-determination, as students learn to share their thoughts, opinions, needs, and preferences. Likewise, teachers can benefit from gaining a new perspective on their students and their own instructional practice [ 8], when students disclose information or share ideas that teachers had never considered. In this way, SVPs can help develop teachers' habits of reflective practice. As they contemplate the ideas students share about how their experiences as learners could be improved, teachers may be inspired to question and change their approaches. Such changes may further empower and engage their students, while strengthening teachers' own sense of efficacy as flexible adaptive educators and reflective practitioners. When teachers are receptive to students' contributions, SVPs can also generate a shared pursuit of learning and development. Indeed, SVPs have been linked to more inclusive learning environments, a greater sense of belonging for students, and more responsive pedagogy.

Educators wishing to engage in effective SVPs can use a variety of strategies to invite their students into conversations that transform a classroom. These strategies can be discussion-based, survey-based, or more creative, involving picture drawings, skits, social media posts, or photo essays; they can target students one-on-one or in small groups, or they can engage the whole class. SVPs can focus on issues of curriculum, instruction, assessment and homework, classroom culture, the overall learning experience, or some combination thereof.

Research has found that three types of SVPs tend to show up in the classroom [ 9]: seeking students' input into educational planning, delivery, or assessment; seeking students' feedback on educational planning, delivery, or assessment; and collaborating with students to make decisions about educational planning, delivery, or assessment. While input is prospective, feedback is retrospective. Both are consultative: students offer up ideas and suggestions, teachers take them into account, and then teachers explain how students' perspectives informed their decision-making. Meanwhile, collaborative decision-making, the rarest form of SVP [ 9], involves the students and the teacher making determinations for the class collectively and then taking action on the basis of those decisions. To help concretize these practices, this section offers research-based vignettes of the three different types of SVPs along with recommendations for successful implementation.

2.2 Vignette of input

The bell rings and students shuffle into Mx. Slear's 11th grade English class. Today the class is beginning a new argument unit. Rather than give a list of topics for students to choose from, Mx. Slear invites students to the front of the class to build lists of local, national, and global issues that most concern them. Expo markers in hand, students offer responses that range from drug use to pollution, forest fires to starvation - all topics that students are curious or passionate about and many of which have affected them personally. Mx. Slear closes out their time together with a simple, yet powerful recognition of student voice: "Thank you for your brilliant responses. I will use your thoughts to select the readings for the next unit..." Students excitedly make eye contact with one another, eager to find out which of their ideas will be picked first.

The next day, desks are rearranged in small groupings to facilitate the class activity. Two learning objectives are scrawled across the white board at the front of the room:

1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Mx. Slear welcomes students to the class, reviews the learning objectives, and acknowledges their contributions to the day's lesson. "Yesterday, you all helped come up with problems that matter to you. You told me these were problems you were facing that you wanted to learn more about. That's how I came up with what we're reading today. One of the things you identified was access to clean water, so that's the topic for today. Take a look at this with me, team." Mx. Slear passes out a photocopied article to the class. One student nudges another, and enthusiastic hushed whispers fill the room, as they flip to the first page.

2.2.1 Tips/application

Notice how the teacher used student input to form the curricular content of the unit, while continuing to address proscribed state standards for student learning outcomes. Instead of making assumptions about the interests of students, even from a previous semester, Mx. Slear took intentional time to ask the students to generate topics that were relevant to them. This pedagogical move initiated buy-in from students, who were more likely to have interest in the material because of having chosen it themselves. Additionally, notice how powerful it was that the teacher reminded students that the reading was selected on the basis of their ideas. This momentary acknowledgement demonstrates responsiveness to student input and indicates to students that their voice matters.

2.3 Vignette of feedback

On the first day of the school year, Ms. Perez welcomes students to her English class, introduces herself, tells them a little about the focus of the course and the exciting things they will be learning that year. To introduce her classroom procedures and student expectations, she passes out a handout to each student with her tardy policy, her cell phone policy, her expectations around homework and participation, and her grading system. She then explains that these are all in draft form and she'd like student feedback to improve them. Beside each policy is a question asking students to check a box: "keep as is" or "adapt" with space for written explanation. After several minutes, she opens dialog with the class, "Do you think these are fair procedures and expectations? Is there anything you would add? Anything you think we should change?" She allows students to offer suggestions verbally, while some choose to respond with written feedback. Rather than dismissing or disagreeing with these suggestions, she thanks each student for their idea and nods appreciatively. She sometimes asks a follow up question or two to make sure she understands. She then asks all students, "Please continue to mark up your papers with suggestions; they could be based on things you heard from classmates or other ideas you may have. Give your reasons too! Please hand them back in before the bell rings, and I will look at them tonight and fine-tune the policies based on your feedback for us to review together tomorrow."

The next day, Ms. Perez thanks students for their insightful feedback. She projects her policies, expectations, and grading system on the smart board, with strike-throughs and different color fonts to show how she has adjusted them based on student feedback. She explains how the feedback she received caused her to rethink and modify certain policies. For example, she has agreed to limit the at-home reading assignments to 15 pages a night based on student accounts of their after-school responsibilities, and she agrees to allow students to keep their phones in their bags or pockets, rather than placing them in the pouches by the door when they enter because of student concerns about reaching their parents in the case of an emergency. She also acknowledges certain points of feedback that she was unable or unwilling to incorporate and provides her reasoning. She thanks them again for their constructive feedback and explains that if they have further suggestions as the school year progresses that they are always welcome to offer it and she will give it serious consideration. Ms. Perez closes by encouraging students to use the "suggestion box" on her desk, that is available for students to write anonymous feedback about their classroom or learning experience all year round.

2.3.1 Tips/application

Ms. Perez provided meaningful opportunities for student feedback. Most often, feedback is sought through surveys. Surveys can be given at various points in the school year, not just at the beginning or end of a term. Questions on the surveys can focus on curricular content, class structure, specific course assignments, class policies, or even teaching style. When asking more personal questions, teachers must have an established relationship with students, as students are unlikely to offer honest responses if they do not feel a sense of safety and trust. Ensuring confidentiality, explicitly stating a lack of recrimination for candid responses, and expressing a genuine desire to learn from students' answers can help students to feel comfortable and secure as they provide feedback. In addition, circling back to students to explain how their feedback was used to inform changes moving forward is a critical part of the process.

2.4 Vignette of collaborative decision-making

It was the mid-marking period blues, and both students and teachers alike were feeling distracted. Mr. Lee's 7th period algebra class seemed less productive than usual, as students frequently asked for bathroom passes, excused themselves to get materials, or simply stood up and wandered around the room. Mr. Lee read a recent blog post on promoting increased engagement through flexible seating, but he wanted to invite his students into the conversation before approaching administration for new furniture and rearranging the room. "After all, it's just as much my classroom as it is their learning space." So, at the start of class, he simply asked his students, "Why do you stand up? Is there anything in this physical space that we could change to contribute to your learning?"

Talking to students gave Mr. Lee an opportunity to learn what they needed. Students explained: "I come from straight from P.E. and this tiny desk makes my legs start to cramp;" "I get claustrophobic sometimes, so it helps me to get up and stand near the window to see outside;" "My glasses broke, so I have to get up to look at the board;" and "Sometimes after sitting all day, my legs get restless, but I don't wanna bounce my knees on the desk and be annoying." It was clear the students wanted a change in environment, so Mr. Lee investigated flexible seating options. After sharing which furniture options were available, he invited students to submit floor plan suggestions to their class ombudsman, who created three options for the class to vote on based on the expressed needs and preferences of all students. Students anonymously voted on which design they liked best. Then, a small group of student volunteers worked together with Mr. Lee and the class ombudsman to write a proposal to administration, which was ultimately funded.

Now, the room is a mix of high-top tables, bean bag chairs, traditional desks, and tables situated towards the front of the room. Students are not assigned seats; rather they have the agency to decide where they sit each day. "I think just talking with our kids and having kids that wanted to talk made a difference in the classroom and their learning experience."

2.4.1 Tips/application

Collaborative decision-making rarely occurs in U.S. schools, because it requires the teacher not only to take into account the opinions and desires of the students but also to share responsibility with them. This powerful tool affirms student voice and leaves space for various needs to be shared. As in the example above, Mr. Lee knew that flexible seating could increase engagement of his classroom based on evidence-based research. However, instead of introducing new furniture and rearranging the space on his own, he first solicited student voice. With a posture of openness and curiosity, he was able to learn about the unique needs of his students. Notice also how students developed the ideas for the design of the classroom learning environment (within the bounds of what was available), rather than being given prescribed choices. Having a class ombudsman also affirmed collective student responsibility for their learning environment.

2.5 A word about choice

We argue that important conceptual distinctions can be drawn between SVPs and choice practices (CPs) in the classroom based on the ultimate goals and core processes of each. SVPs invite students to dream up possibilities and offer ideas that the teacher may not have considered, whereas CPs involve predetermined choices offered up by the teacher. When student voice is practiced, students generate ideas, reflect on their experiences as learners, and share perspectives intended to improve their learning environments and outcomes. In order for SVPs to be effective, teachers must strive to pair the practice with an openness to learning from students and a willingness to make changes based on students' perspectives. CPs, by contrast, are means of engaging students and giving them a sense of autonomy, but they are not typically used to transform or improve the learning experience.

Although SVPs and CPs can be distinguished, they can overlap. For instance, collaborative decision-making may reflect choice when students are choosing among options that have been set by the teacher. For example, a class vote to decide which of two review activities they will do that period (a practice test or an online game), both created and proposed by the teacher, exemplifies a CP. When the options are supplied by the students, however, collaborative decision-making is better situated squarely within SVPs. Students are still making choices, but their choices are not limited to those anticipated by their teachers. Figure 1 represents the relationship between SVPs and CPs in the classroom.

We offer this Figure and argument in an effort to move the field towards greater conceptual precision and clarity; however, as will be seen in the literature review and data presentation below, many educators and researchers see choice as a form of voice and equate CPs with SVPs.

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3. Review of research on student voice practices, active learning, and engagement

Much of the research on student voice focuses on school-level SVPs, what Skerrit and colleagues call "management-level consultation" [ 4], such as principal advisory boards, student councils, students serving on temporary student working groups, and student-led action research to drive school improvement [ 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]. This research finds that such SVPs can improve learning conditions for students, as students feel "a greater sense of inclusion, validation, and agency, which increases their learning engagement" [ 16, p. 227; see also 8, 17]. In one study, students who felt that they had a voice in school decision-making were eight times more likely to experience engagement in school [ 2]. The counterfactual has also been established: when students feel they have no voice in shaping their school experience, disengagement and alienation become adaptive responses [ 18, 19, 20].

Research on classroom-level SVPs, what Skerrit and colleagues call "instructional-level consultation" [ 4], is more limited; however, some case studies in Physical Education [ 21, 22, 23], Arts [ 24, 25], and Science classrooms [ 26, 27, 28] illustrate how teachers can incorporate SVPs into their repertoires of practice and the effects on students when this is done. Again, most of this research emphasizes how such practices enhance student engagement. In their study of Year 5 & 6 classrooms in Australia, for example, Scarapolo & MacKinnon found that students not only reported more motivation and engagement but also better work products when voice-inclusive practices were used in concert with differentiated instruction [ 3]. Similarly, Seiler found "more promising patterns of student engagement emerge" when students experienced voice in the classroom [ 28, p. 372]. Drilling down into these relationships, Conner and colleagues found that students' reports of being listened to by their teachers were related to greater affective engagement and stronger student-teacher relationships, which in turn, were related to higher behavioral and cognitive engagement [ 29].

Studies of classroom SVPs highlight some specific instructional strategies, all of which might promote active learning, though this specific term is not regularly used. These strategies include encouraging student feedback [ 30], deciding collectively the structure of projects and agreed assessment criteria [ 1], inviting students to identify potential topics in the content area and develop driving questions [ 28], and offering project-based learning activities [ 30, 31].

Choice, however, is the most frequently discussed strategy in classroom-focused SVP literature, and choice and voice are frequently conflated by scholars, blurring the boundaries between the two. For example, Baroutsis and colleagues (2015) explain that "the provision of choice and where possible, the inclusion of young people's interest in the curriculum is an element of student ownership and of being heard in school" (p. 133). St. John and Briel assert that "instructional types of student voice" entail allowing students to choose the format to complete an assignment or a class project of interest [ 30]. Scarapolo and MacKinnon describe student choice of "how they worked, who they worked with, the pace they worked at, and how they demonstrated their learning" as voice-inclusive practices [ 3]. Studying teachers who use student voice in their classrooms, Hopkins [ 32] found that they routinely offer students choices and see this practice as emblematic of their SVP. CPs are seen by both teachers and scholars as prime examples of classroom SVPs.

Not as a SVP, but as an "autonomy-supportive practice," choice has been well-researched as a driver of student engagement in the classroom [ 33, 34, 35, 36, 37]. Schmidt and colleagues, for example, found that having choice in the classroom is associated with greater engagement than having no choice, and that specific types of choices yield differential impacts [ 38]. Choosing the topic, task, or how to define the problem has the most positive effect on engagement; choosing materials, how to use their time, and how to do activities also exerts a positive influence. By contrast, choosing whom to work with did not yield greater engagement [ 38]. This research suggests that the choice of what matters to student engagement in the classroom.

To explore whether CPs have a different effect than the SVPs of input and feedback on student engagement, we conducted a survey study of 1751 students from two middle schools and two high schools in an urban school district serving a high proportion of low-income Latiné students [ 39]. Controlling for students' school, gender identity, racial identity, grade level, socioeconomic status, and English Learner status, we found that CPs were not always a significant predictor of student engagement, but SVPs were. Furthermore, the more of their teachers who used the SVPs of seeking input and feedback, the greater academic engagement students reported [ 39]. In follow-up analyses, we found that seeking students' input and feedback on how to improve the classroom is significantly associated with higher affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement, while offering students choice in the classroom is only associated with greater affective and cognitive engagement (See Table 1). In what follows, we turn to the qualitative data we collected in these same school sites to understand these relationships.

Overall engagement β (SE)

Affective engagement β (SE)

Behavioral engagement β (SE)

Cognitive engagement β (SE)
R ²
.16***

.15***

.07***

.15***

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4. How and why SVPs and CPs promote active learning and enhance engagement

Our analysis draws on data collected at three high schools and two middle schools over the course of two school years: in the spring of 2022, the fall of 2022, and the spring of 2023. Across these time points, we conducted a total of 32 focus groups (with between two and five students), 41 student interviews, 39 teacher interviews, 18 administrator or staff interviews, and 54 classroom observations. Each interview and focus group was recorded and transcribed, and each transcript was coded by two separate coders, applying a jointly constructed coding schema. The data used in this chapter were all coded in Dedoose according to the code "engagement," and then subjected to a further round of analytic coding. For more information on our data collection methods, the sample, and our analytic approach see [ 9, 39].

Given that prior research has found that teachers and students can differ markedly in their perceptions of student voice practices, with teachers often reporting more frequent practice than students [ 2], we report teachers' and students' perspectives on the impact of SVPs and CPs on student engagement separately; however, we conclude this section by noting important points of convergence between the two sets of respondents.

4.1 Teachers' perspectives

When asked about how they incorporated or supported student voice in their classrooms, teachers identified four main categories or types of practice: collective decision-making (e.g., "I put it to a vote"), seeking feedback (e.g., "having those checkpoints: is what we're doing working for you or would you rather us change something?"), and showing receptivity to student input (e.g., "I want input... If [a student] says, 'I don't want to do it that way. I want to do it this way.' And it seems like that's a good idea. It's like, 'Okay, let's do that!'"). As expected, based on the literature conflating voice and choice, teachers also identified individual choice (e.g., "choices in the product that they're going to create or the information that they have to look into") as part of their SVP repertoire. When speaking generally about their use of SVPs and their impact on students, teachers sometimes seemed to be thinking of CPs, making it difficult to distinguish the unique effects of CPs and SVPs.

Referring to input and collaborative decision-making, one teacher made a point of acknowledging that these practices can be "hard and scary sometimes to do. Just because, to say like, 'What do you guys want to do today?', who knows what that's going to end up being?" Nonetheless, she underscored the value in listening to students' ideas and being open to their suggestions. She also stressed that when their ideas prove impractical or unfeasible, it is important to follow up with students to explain:

"Here's why this thing isn't going to happen. I heard what you said and here's the reason that this isn't here," or "Here's what I'm going to try," or "Here's why you're only getting part of this"... because students have intensely heightened and well-honed BS detectors, and they can tell when you are messing with them, and they can tell when you are being honest with them.

Closing the communication loop and explaining to students how their feedback, input, or decisions will affect classroom practice moving forward is an important part of any SVP. It can help SVPs not to feel performative or tokenistic, but authentic and potentially transformative.

Asked why they used SVPs, teachers tended to highlight two distinct sets of outcomes. The first and most frequently referenced outcomes concerned students' academic experiences, including improved motivation, enhanced engagement, and better learning. For example, one teacher explained, "Students do perform better when they're given choice. I've seen it time and time again...The more choice that is built into a project or a lesson, the more students feel motivated and then they do better...they learn better." Another teacher echoed, "When you give them the choice, the data shows that they are more bought in, there's more engagement, and there's a stronger level of understanding."

The second rationale teachers offered for using SVPs concerned improving students' skills beyond the classroom, particularly their ability to take responsibility for themselves and their communities. One teacher emphasized how teaching students to speak up for themselves and their needs as learners

breeds that sense of confidence... it always goes back to the self- advocacy piece. It's like they feel more confident in their abilities to communicate their needs... Geometry, yeah. We want them to be independent when it comes to solving math problems. But at the end of the day, I want them to be independent in life.

Another teacher who engaged students in collaborative decision-making as a way to help them see the classroom as "ours" not "mine," explained, "Whatever you take responsibility for, you will feel a sense of ownership over that." He hoped that learning to take responsibility for their shared classroom now would transfer to taking a similar approach to their community later in their lives. "So hopefully they can feel, in their adult years, they can feel ownership in their community if they take responsibility for the excellence of that." These teachers believed that SVPs could help build students' capacity as confident self-advocates and engaged citizens who work to improve conditions for themselves and others.

Four mechanisms emerged in the teacher data as possible explanations for how SVPs (including CPs) led to these desired outcomes, particularly greater engagement. The first two, increased interest and enjoyment/happiness, point to affective engagement as a driver of overall engagement, while the second two, enhanced meaning and ownership, are suggestive of cognitive engagement.

According to teachers, affective engagement, (i.e., feelings of interest and enjoyment), can be strengthened through SVPs. Happiness was cited by several teachers as a byproduct of both choice and voice. One teacher said, "They're definitely a lot happier when you let them pick stuff... If you say, 'You could do it this way, or you could do it this way, almost instantly kids are more engaged or at least feel better about what they are doing because they have a choice in it." Another teacher explained, "It makes class a lot more fun when students get to have more control over what's happening...Kids are much happier when they feel like they're getting heard." In addition to happiness and fun, interest was emphasized by several teachers as a mechanism linking SVPs to enhanced overall engagement. As one teacher said, "If they're allowed to pursue their own interests, then they learn better and they're more motivated to continue." Another teacher boasted, "My [students'] engagement is through the roof. I tell my students, 'You chose this. Those are your topics.' And because I've built the topics around their interests, they're more involved." By incorporating students' preferences and interests as learners into their classrooms, teachers created environments where students felt happy and invested, thereby setting the stage for greater overall engagement and active learning.

Teachers implied that cognitive engagement, understood as students' attitudes towards the work they were asked to do, can also be enhanced through SVPs. Specifically, teachers explained how SVPs can make the work more meaningful to students: "Student voice, the outcome would be they believe what they're doing has meaning to them because they have power over it. They've helped define it. They've helped give meaning to it and they know it's uniquely theirs." Other teachers highlighted the sense of ownership, responsibility, and buy-in students have when they have a say in the classroom. One teacher offered a detailed explanation of the impact of collaborative decision-making:

When we give that student choice, kids are more bought-in and that's obvious. If I have a choice to do something, and I make that choice, now I own it. They get to own what they are learning. They walk away saying, "I learned something today because I wanted to learn that way." And it helps them explain it to their peers too. Everybody says, "This is what we wanted to do." If there's a kid at a table that has not met expectations, the other kids look at that and say, "No, no, no! This is how you have to do it" because they are the ones that are like, "We said we wanted to do it this way. We have to make sure everybody does it that way. Because if we don't, they're going to take the choice away."

In this example, students take responsibility not only for their own learning but also that of their peers because they feel a sense of shared accountability as a result of having the opportunity to make a collective decision about the work done in the classroom. As they shift the classroom to a more "student led, student-driven instruction[al format] to the point where [the teacher] is just a facilitator, filling in the gaps," SVPs help propel active student engagement and learning.

4.2 Students' perspectives

Although they cited fewer examples than their teachers of collaborative decision-making, students indicated that some of their teachers sought their feedback, primarily through surveys, showed receptivity to students' input and ideas for how to improve the class, and offered occasional choices of activities and assignments.

Students primarily attributed behavioral outcomes to the use of these SVPs. They explained that they were "more involved," "more interactive," and more likely to "pay attention" in classes where teachers used SVPs than in classes where "it's just the teacher talking for an hour," or the teacher says, "No! This is how it works" in response to student suggestions. One student explained how he appreciated that his math teacher gives the class the choice to work with partners or alone because when he works alone he can listen to music on his earbuds and "it helps him focus." Students also spoke of greater engagement and greater learning. "It keeps us more engaged and less on our phones... Not allowing the classroom to get bored really benefits everybody because then they're always engaged and always trying to learn and get better," offered one student. Another observed, "With me being more engaged [in government class], I feel like I have learned a lot more."

In response to questions about how teachers' use of SVPs led to these positive outcomes, students cited four mechanisms, the first three of which concern affective engagement: fun and enjoyment; interests; comfort. The fourth mechanism, ease of learning, has more to do with cognitive engagement.

Several students explained how SVPs can make the classroom more enjoyable and fun. As one said, "Personally, when I have a voice in class, I enjoy the class a little more just because I feel like I'm being listened to and I'm more involved in the class." Answering the question, "How does it feel when you get to have a voice and say in your classroom decisions" another student said, "It makes me enjoy it a lot more. That's the one class I look forward to everyday." A third student echoed this sentiment, explaining how her teachers' responsiveness to student input "makes his class a lot funner and better and [makes me] want to go to it."

In addition to fun and enjoyment, students, like their teachers, highlighted the way SVPs can lead to teachers incorporating their interests in the classroom, thereby enhancing affective engagement. One student hypothesized that if more teachers used SVPs, "We'd pay attention more. We'd actually be more interested in it." Another speculated of her peers, "They're going to be more interested and pay attention more to what the teacher is trying to teach," in classes where SVPs are used.

Feelings of comfort arose in a few student responses. For instance, one student noted how allowing students to choose group partners for collaborative work "makes it better because I work good with people I'm comfortable with." Another student offered that "asking students what they actually prefer, that'll make the student more comfortable in the environment." When teachers can accommodate the student and shift the learning environment to be more hospitable and responsive to the students' needs, whether by adjusting the furniture in the classroom or by changing the assignments or activities (examples that came up in our data), students feel more prepared and willing to do the work asked of them. One student, Maria, gave a powerful explanation:

If there's something maybe I do not like that we are doing or I have a different viewpoint, I know I can speak up and be like, "Hey." And maybe it's not always going to turn out my way, but at least he'll hear my opinion and think about it. It makes me more engaged and ready to do the work. If I have questions or concerns, I know I can ask him and talk to him about it. He always listens to students and what they say and how they feel towards classwork and stuff. He'll always have a lesson, but if there's something a student says [about it], he'll try to switch it up to make it more fun and interesting. And that's something I love about him.

This teacher's receptivity and responsiveness to students' input and feedback, which allowed Maria to feel comfortable in his classroom, had a direct bearing on her engagement, her readiness to work, and her grades. She happily shared that though she anticipated the class was "going to be horrible" at the beginning of the year, she has an A in the course now.

Building on the idea of comfort, several students explained how teachers' use of SVPs can facilitate learning by making learning "easier" and more accessible. One put it simply, "I just feel like it's a lot easier to learn in an environment where the teachers listen." Another explained how his math teacher's responsiveness to student voice led the teacher to use a variety of methods to help students learn, and "the different activities and the different ways of getting to the same answer...helps me retain" the concepts. Describing a different teacher who made adjustments to his teaching in response to student feedback on surveys, another student said, "Changing the way you teach to the strengths of your classroom is going to be beneficial to the rest of the class." This simple but profound observation about the power of teacher responsiveness to student voice underscores the value of the practice from the standpoint of students.

4.3 Summary

Students and teachers agree that SVPs (often including CPs) can improve students' learning experiences by enhancing their engagement (See Figure 2). Both cite affective and cognitive engagement indicators as key catalysts for boosting behavioral engagement, overall engagement, and learning. Teachers and students alike point to SVPs as a means of strengthening student interest and imbuing the learning experience with greater enjoyment. Students also emphasize the way SVPs can improve their sense of comfort in a classroom. On the cognitive side, teachers point to mechanisms like ownership and meaning, while students highlight ease of learning to explain how SVPs facilitate engagement and active learning in the classroom. Importantly, both teachers and students note that soliciting and supporting student voice in the classroom does not always mean the teacher does exactly what the students request. As Maria said, "it's not always going to turn out my way"; instead, SVPs mean having open dialog about student preferences, needs, and hopes; the rationale behind the decisions the teachers make; the constraints that limit them; and the possibilities that still exist to improve the learning environment and experience for all students.

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5. Conclusion

When students engage in SVPs by providing feedback, offering input, or participating in collaborative decision-making about educational planning, delivery, assessment, or reform in the classroom, not only are they "doing something" more than listening passively, but also they are thinking about their experiences as learners: what works for them as learners and what does not, what and how they want to learn, how they want to demonstrate their knowledge and be assessed. These behavioral and cognitive activities in themselves constitute active learning. Furthermore, they are likely to propagate the use of even more active learning strategies, as students tend to prefer "hands-on activities" and interactive discussions to lecture-based instruction [ 40, 41, 42].

Skeptics of student voice may fear that when students have a say in the classroom, they will advocate for and select the path of least resistance: more recess, less homework, more movies and games in class and fewer lectures and assessments. Some may doubt whether students really know what is best for them and their learning. Indeed, some work finds that students' perceptions of how much they learn under different pedagogical conditions may not be accurate [ 43]; however, other work shows that students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness are accurate and powerful predictors of their achievement outcomes [ 44]. Student voice starts with the premise that students want to learn and to feel that they are gaining something valuable from their time in school. The more teachers can frame their SVPs with these goals in mind, the more likely students will be to participate in ways that actualize such outcomes.

Certainly, there are challenges to SVPs. Students' educational imaginations may be limited to what they have experienced; they may need to be encouraged to stretch themselves or take a risk rather than simply work within their comfort zones; and students may offer contradictory feedback or input. However, it is in these moments that rich conversations about learning can occur and partnerships between teachers and students become possible. Partnerships focused on working together to improve the learning environments, experience, and outcomes may well be the ultimate form of active, engaged learning.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter was written through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-031504). Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the foundation. We are grateful for research assistance from Paula Akakpo, Ghadir Al Saghir, Bailey Bonds, Yosmary Rodriguez, Enrique Rosado, Caitlin Wilson, and Nikki Wright. We also appreciate the generous support of our school district partners.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

1. 2. Quaglia Institute. School Voice Report. School Voice Report. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press; 2016

2. 8. Rudduck J. Student voice, student engagement, and school reform. In: Thiessen D, Cook-Sather A, editors. International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary School. Dordrecht: Springer; 2007. pp. 587-610. DOI: 10.1007/1-4020-3367-2

3. 32. Hopkins SE. Passing the mic: Teachers' conceptions of student voice in urban classrooms. Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education. 2022;1(1):Article 5. Available from: https://commons.emich.edu/impact/vol1/iss1/5

4. 39. Conner J, Boat A, Holquist S, Mitra D. How teachers' student voice practices affect student engagement and achievement: Exploring choice, receptivity, and responsiveness to student voice as moderators. (forthcoming)

Written By

Jerusha Conner, Julianna Chen, Dana L. Mitra and Samantha E. Holquist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Voice and Choice in the Classroom: Promoting Academic Engagement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Centering the concept of student voice, this chapter makes three key contributions to the research on instructional practices that promote active learning and engagement. First, using research-based vignettes, it explains what student voice practices look like in the classroom and how they differ from the provision of choice.

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Inspire Students with Project-Based Learning.

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Inspire Students with Project-Based Learning.

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Inspire Students With Project-Based Learning - AVID Open Access

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Explore this dynamic classroom approach where students acquire deep knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems.

# data[].attributes.headline
Student Voice and Choice: Level Up Your Lesson Plans

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Student Voice and Choice: Level Up Your Lesson Plans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Early in my teaching career, I prided myself on having well-structured lesson plans - everything organized, timed, and planned down to the last detail.

But even with all that structure, something was missing. My students were compliant, but not always engaged. That's when I realized they didn't feel connected, because they didn't have a say.

My shift toward incorporating student voice and choice didn't happen all at once. It began with small invitations - a choice between project formats, a quick poll on what book to read next, or even pausing mid-lesson to ask, "What do you think?" These moments led to deeper engagement and stronger connections. Students began to see themselves as co-owners of their learning - and that changed everything.

Here's how I started adding more student voice and choice into my lesson planning - and how you can, too.

What Is Student Voice and Choice?

For me, student voice means giving students a real say in their learning - what we focus on, how we approach it, and how they show what they know. Student choice goes hand-in-hand by offering options that tap into their strengths and interests, whether that's choosing a project format or selecting a topic that excites them.

It's not about giving up structure; it's about designing learning experiences that are responsive and student-centered. When students feel ownership, their engagement and investment naturally grow - and so does their learning.

Why Voice and Choice Matter - Especially Now

Students are navigating a rapidly changing world while dealing with increased academic pressure and social complexities. In this environment, giving students agency in their learning isn't just nice to have, it's essential.

In my own classroom, I saw immediate benefits when I started incorporating more student voice and choice. Participation increased dramatically. Students who had been quiet suddenly had opinions and ideas to share. Their work became more creative and personal.

Most importantly, our classroom relationships grew stronger because students felt heard and valued.

Even small shifts had a big impact. When I allowed student interests to drive their projects, their engagement soared. When I offered different ways to demonstrate their understanding, students who had struggled with traditional tests suddenly excelled. These engaging lesson plan ideas didn't require a complete overhaul of my curriculum - they just required a shift in mindset toward personalized learning for students.

5 Ways to Incorporate More Student Voice and Choice

Let Students Choose Their Projects

One of the easiest ways to include student voice in the classroom is by offering different options for how students can demonstrate their learning. Instead of everyone writing the same essay, let students choose between creating a video, designing a poster, recording a podcast, or writing a traditional paper. The learning objectives remain the same, but students can showcase their understanding in ways that play to their strengths.

Add Choice Boards or Learning Menus

Choice boards are visual organizers that offer students different pathways to engage with content. Think of them like a restaurant menu - students can choose from different "appetizers," "main courses," and "desserts" of learning activities. This approach gives students autonomy while ensuring they still meet your learning standards.

Create a simple grid with nine squares, each containing a different activity option. Students might choose three activities that form a line (like tic-tac-toe) or select from different categories based on their interests and learning preferences. This strategy works particularly well for differentiated instruction and helps accommodate various learning styles.

Build in Time for Student Feedback on Lessons

One of the most powerful ways to include student voice is simply asking students what they think about their learning experience. Use quick surveys, exit tickets, or informal check-ins to gather their thoughts on what's working and what isn't.

I started ending each week with a simple reflection: "What helped you learn this week? What made learning harder? What should we do more of?" Their responses completely changed how I planned future lessons. Students told me when activities were too long, when they needed more examples, or when they wanted to dive deeper into a topic.

Invite Students to Co-Create Rubrics or Project Ideas

Instead of presenting students with a finished rubric, involve them in creating the criteria for success. Ask them what good work looks like in your subject area. Let them contribute to project ideas or suggest modifications to assignments.

When students help create the standards they'll be measured against, they develop a clearer understanding of expectations and feel more invested in meeting them. This collaborative approach also teaches valuable skills in goal-setting and self-assessment.

Use Reflective Journals or Exit Tickets to Capture Voice

Daily reflection practices give students a consistent way to share their thoughts and feelings about their learning. These don't need to be lengthy - even a simple prompt like "Today I learned..." or "I'm still wondering about..." can provide valuable insights.

Exit tickets are particularly effective for capturing student voice because they're quick and focused. Ask students to respond to prompts like "What was the most important thing you learned today?" or "What question do you still have?" Use their responses to adjust your next lesson or address common misconceptions.

Start Small and Build from There

The beauty of incorporating student voice and choice is you don't need to revolutionize your entire curriculum overnight. I started with one lesson per week where students had some choice in their learning. Then I gradually expanded to include more opportunities for student input.

Begin by identifying one area where you can easily add choice - maybe it's how students practice a skill or how they share their learning with classmates. Try it for a week and see how students respond. You might be surprised by their enthusiasm and creativity.

Remember, it won't be perfect from the start, but it will be powerful. Students will appreciate having a voice in their learning, even if the implementation feels messy at first. The key is to start experimenting and reflecting on what works for your specific students and classroom context.

Transform Your Teaching Practice

Student voice and choice isn't about giving up control - it's about sharing power to increase learning. When students have input into their educational experience, they become partners in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information. This shift transforms not just how students learn, but how much they learn and how deeply they engage with content.

Changing the way we teach by including student voice and choice takes time and courage, but the rewards are worth it. When students feel seen and heard, their learning becomes more meaningful and joyful. It's not about perfection - it's about progress and being open to learning alongside our students.

So take that first step, try something new, and watch your classroom transform into a place where every student has a chance to shine. Your lesson plans - and your students - will thank you for it.

Professional development for K-12 teachers: Advance your career with Moreland University's 100% online, collaborative, hands-on professional development. Click here to view the schedule and register for an upcoming course.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Voice and Choice: Level Up Your Lesson Plans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Want to boost student engagement? Learn how to build student voice and choice into your lesson planning from a former K-12 teacher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Voice and Choice- AVID Open Access

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Empower and motivate students by giving them voice and choice throughout the learning process.

# data[].attributes.headline
Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

# data[].attributes.subject
Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authentic student voice and choice is about helping students understand themselves as learners.

# data[].attributes.headline
Exploring choice, receptivity, and responsiveness to student voice

# data[].attributes.subject
Exploring choice, receptivity, and responsiveness to student voice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How teachers’ student voice practices affect student engagement and achievement: exploring choice, receptivity, and responsiveness to student voice as moderators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Strategies that promote student voice have long been championed as effective ways to enhance student engagement and learning; however, little quantitative research has studied the relationship between student voice practices (SVPs) and student…

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Getting to Know You: Learner Profiles for Personalization

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Getting to Know You: Learner Profiles for Personalization

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Getting to Know You: Learner Profiles for Personalization (Opinion)

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As more and more educators work to replace factory-model schools with personalized, student-centered learning experiences, knowing our students has taken on new meaning.

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Continuum of Voice: What it Means for the Learner Voice gives learners a chance to share their opinions about something they believe in. We adapted the Continuum of Voice chart we used from researc…

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Rethinking Learning - Define Your WHY Through Stories

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The Opportunities for Choice by Barbara Bray (2018) is a derivative adapted from the original content around the continuums by Bray and Kathleen McClaskey (2015). Graphics by Sylvia Duckworth. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Changing teaching and learning can be daunting. The idea of meeting all students where they are means redesigning the system and how we teach. That also means understanding and meeting our students where they are. It is about changing the concept of being a "teacher" to becoming more of a researcher, designer, diagnostician, and expert facilitator of constructive learning experiences. [CompetencyWorks 2018]

After reading the paper from iNACOL, " Meeting All Students Where They Are," I realized I needed to bring in new concepts to address choice. It is not a continuum of choice. It is about providing opportunities for choice at different levels. It depends on where the learners are around tackling a task if the environment provides multiple opportunities, and how empowered students are to take responsibility for the choices they make.

Teachers may only know what they know or learned as students themselves. Many teachers believe that providing a set of pre-planned choices from a computer program or a list of options was enough to give students opportunities for choice. I see so many teachers working way too hard to create opportunities for students to choose the best way to learn. The idea of developing opportunities for choice is to start turning over the learning so students learn best by being the ones working harder than the teachers.

I believe that any learner at any age can have opportunities for choice inside and outside of school. Educators reached out to me to let me know they were concerned about choice being on a continuum. They mentioned that some learners were ready to advocate around something they were passionate about, and, at the same time, we're also at the participant level when preparing for a test or taking notes.

Participant

At the Participant level, learners of any age may be more comfortable following instructions, step-by-step directions, or a pacing guide. Students as participants comply with what is required to pass assignments, get grades, or prepare for graduation. Yet, learners of any age can be at the participant level when they may be uncomfortable or not confident in what they know, how they feel about themselves, or what they can or cannot do in some situations.

This is where teachers can refer to Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). Vygotsky believed that mental tools extend our mental abilities enabling us to solve problems and create solutions in the real world. This means that to successfully function in school and beyond, children need to learn more than a set of facts and skills. They need to master a set of mental tools-tools of the mind to be able to choose the most appropriate tools, resources, and strategies that support their learning.

Teachers can do this by providing a menu of options for students and empathy as students take risks and make mistakes with the choices they make. These opportunities for choice can be in the form of images, videos, text-based resources, audio, hands-on activities, or interactions with peers. The choices available can also provide opportunities to showcase what they know from writing a paper to creating a performance.

"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill;
the willingness to learn is a choice." ~ Brian Herbert

Designer

At the Designer level, students are starting to make some meaningful choices about their learning. The teacher provides learning opportunities and then gets out of the way for students to go on their own journey (via Jackie Gerstein). The teacher invites input from students to decide on topics based on interests or questions around content areas they are studying. The teacher collaborates with students to brainstorm ideas for lesson design, assessment strategies, and types of tools and resources to use with the activities. The teacher and students as co-designers review and collaborate on how to give more choices as they learn. The teacher is also inviting their input on the redesign of the learning environment so they can select seating based on the activity. Students then choose and demonstrate evidence of learning with the teacher.

"Design is the intermediary between information and understanding."
~Hans Hoffmann

Advocate

At the Advocate level, students are validated as "learners" who believe they can own and drive their learning. This is where students as learners identify challenges or problems that they want to address, research, and tackle. When they identify and take on a challenge or problem, they then own an authentic voice with a clear purpose for the choices they will make to advocate for what they believe. They are empowered to develop strategies to solve the problem and may even build a network with others who want to solve the challenge or problem with them. Learners choose different spaces for learning and collaborating. They reach out to experts and others in and outside of school to support their research. Learners may work strategically individually or with a group to develop an action plan to shape the change. They do the research and find the appropriate evidence to support the action plan. When learners experience advocacy working toward something they believe in, they begin to understand their part in how they can make change happen.

"I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side,
be an advocate for myself and others like me." ~ Maya Angelou

Innovator
*** The goal of providing more choice is to move from being participants of learning to become self-directed, independent learners with agency. It is about teachers and learners changing mindsets and having "can do" attitudes. This takes time and a process for both teachers and learners. When you acquire the skills needed for advocacy and innovation, learners automatically take more responsibility for their learning. The more choices learners make on their own will give them the skills to advocate for what they are passionate about and become more innovative about how they discover their purpose for learning.
At the Innovator level, learners use their strengths and interests to explore what could be their passion for learning. When they find their passion, they can then discover their purpose for learning and life. Learners can then choose their learning path based on that purpose. Being at the Innovator level can happen at any age and learners can realize that their passion and purpose may change often throughout their lives. They may want to learn a new language, create a product, solve a problem, or design something new.

Learners can be part of a pathways program to guide the design of their learning. They can find an advisor or mentor who can guide them as they explore their interests, talents, and passions to discover their purpose. They can choose extended learning opportunities such as internships or apprenticeships to take their aspirations to another level. Learners can also be innovators by doing a "Capstone" or "Passion" Project that they work on throughout the year and then present as a culminating activity. As part of the project, they select evidence of learning for their portfolio and final presentation. Being an innovator includes attributes of an entrepreneur as someone who creates new ideas or ways of doing things.

"The spark of passion ignites the fuel of innovation." ~Craig Groeschel

****

A big Thank You to Sylvia Duckworth @sylviaduckworth (www.sylviaduckworth.com) from Toronto, Canada for designing the graphics for the Opportunities for Choice!

****

Websites about Moving to Agency

Reference

CompetencyWorks. iNACOL. " Meeting All Students Where They Are Report. 2018

Meeting Students Where They Are

Vygotsky, L. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development/

*****

For all of the Rethinking Learning podcasts with Barbara Bray, click on the podcast tab at the top, the logo below, or go to https://barbarabray.net/podcasts/

Go to this page for resources, questions, and more information about Barbara's new book, Define Your WHY.

About the author

Barbara Bray is a story weaver capturing stories from inspirational people about insightful journeys to discover their purpose. As a creative learning strategist, speaker, coach, and disruptor, Barbara has been trying to transform teaching and learning for over 30 years. Her journey as a teacher, coach, columnist, database developer, and grant writer led to her becoming the owner/founder of Computer Strategies, LLC with its divisions, My eCoach and Rethinking Learning. From 2013 to 2017, Barbara was the past co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC, and co-authored Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning. In 2017, Barbara became the host of the Rethinking Learning Podcast where she has conversations with inspirational educators, thought leaders, and influencers! At the same time, Barbara started the #rethink_learning Twitter chat. Through all the stories and her journey, Barbara is the author of "Define Your WHY" which is all about owning your story so you live and learn on purpose.

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Opportunities for Choice: The Learning Path to Advocacy and Innovation - Rethinking Learning

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Opportunities for Choice involves students being at any of the levels based on the tasks, environment, and how empowered they are to choose the learning path.

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Students lead parent-teacher or peer conferences; articulate their own goals, progress, and next steps

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The Toolkit provides information about student voice — what it is, what it looks like in practice, how to support it, and how to measure it.

# data[].attributes.headline
Multimodal pathways (multiple ways to access / engage content)

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Multimodal pathways (multiple ways to access / engage content)

# data[].attributes.body
Offer materials in multiple formats (text, audio, video, interactive simulations) and let students pick the modality that resonates with them.

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Let students propose their own investigation questions or project topics aligned to course objectives. They take more control of what they learn.

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Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

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Authentic student voice and choice is about helping students understand themselves as learners.

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Allow students to decide when to complete certain tasks (within a window) or to progress at their own pace.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Voice and Choice: It’s More Than Just “What”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Consider letting students decide what they want to study, who they want to work with, what outcomes they expect, and where and when they do their work.

# data[].attributes.headline
Tiered assignments / scaffolding with choice

# data[].attributes.subject
Tiered assignments / scaffolding with choice

# data[].attributes.body
Provide a series of tasks of increasing challenge, and let students choose which “tier” to tackle (with support). The teacher still ensures core standards, but students control complexity.

# data[].attributes.body
Invite students to help generate the criteria by which their work will be assessed. That gives them voice in how they will be evaluated.

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5 Ways to Give Your Students More Voice and Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia blogger Rebecca Alber offers up five ways to inspire more student-centered learning in your classroom.

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Surveys or polls on student interests / preferences

# data[].attributes.subject
Surveys or polls on student interests / preferences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Ways to Give Your Students More Voice and Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia blogger Rebecca Alber offers up five ways to inspire more student-centered learning in your classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
At the end of class, ask “What helped you learn today? What was confusing? What would you like more of?” Use that feedback to adjust upcoming lessons.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Early in my teaching career, I prided myself on having well-structured lesson plans - everything organized, timed, and planned down to the last detail.

But even with all that structure, something was missing. My students were compliant, but not always engaged. That's when I realized they didn't feel connected, because they didn't have a say.

My shift toward incorporating student voice and choice didn't happen all at once. It began with small invitations - a choice between project formats, a quick poll on what book to read next, or even pausing mid-lesson to ask, "What do you think?" These moments led to deeper engagement and stronger connections. Students began to see themselves as co-owners of their learning - and that changed everything.

Here's how I started adding more student voice and choice into my lesson planning - and how you can, too.

What Is Student Voice and Choice?

For me, student voice means giving students a real say in their learning - what we focus on, how we approach it, and how they show what they know. Student choice goes hand-in-hand by offering options that tap into their strengths and interests, whether that's choosing a project format or selecting a topic that excites them.

It's not about giving up structure; it's about designing learning experiences that are responsive and student-centered. When students feel ownership, their engagement and investment naturally grow - and so does their learning.

Why Voice and Choice Matter - Especially Now

Students are navigating a rapidly changing world while dealing with increased academic pressure and social complexities. In this environment, giving students agency in their learning isn't just nice to have, it's essential.

In my own classroom, I saw immediate benefits when I started incorporating more student voice and choice. Participation increased dramatically. Students who had been quiet suddenly had opinions and ideas to share. Their work became more creative and personal.

Most importantly, our classroom relationships grew stronger because students felt heard and valued.

Even small shifts had a big impact. When I allowed student interests to drive their projects, their engagement soared. When I offered different ways to demonstrate their understanding, students who had struggled with traditional tests suddenly excelled. These engaging lesson plan ideas didn't require a complete overhaul of my curriculum - they just required a shift in mindset toward personalized learning for students.

5 Ways to Incorporate More Student Voice and Choice

Let Students Choose Their Projects

One of the easiest ways to include student voice in the classroom is by offering different options for how students can demonstrate their learning. Instead of everyone writing the same essay, let students choose between creating a video, designing a poster, recording a podcast, or writing a traditional paper. The learning objectives remain the same, but students can showcase their understanding in ways that play to their strengths.

Add Choice Boards or Learning Menus

Choice boards are visual organizers that offer students different pathways to engage with content. Think of them like a restaurant menu - students can choose from different "appetizers," "main courses," and "desserts" of learning activities. This approach gives students autonomy while ensuring they still meet your learning standards.

Create a simple grid with nine squares, each containing a different activity option. Students might choose three activities that form a line (like tic-tac-toe) or select from different categories based on their interests and learning preferences. This strategy works particularly well for differentiated instruction and helps accommodate various learning styles.

Build in Time for Student Feedback on Lessons

One of the most powerful ways to include student voice is simply asking students what they think about their learning experience. Use quick surveys, exit tickets, or informal check-ins to gather their thoughts on what's working and what isn't.

I started ending each week with a simple reflection: "What helped you learn this week? What made learning harder? What should we do more of?" Their responses completely changed how I planned future lessons. Students told me when activities were too long, when they needed more examples, or when they wanted to dive deeper into a topic.

Invite Students to Co-Create Rubrics or Project Ideas

Instead of presenting students with a finished rubric, involve them in creating the criteria for success. Ask them what good work looks like in your subject area. Let them contribute to project ideas or suggest modifications to assignments.

When students help create the standards they'll be measured against, they develop a clearer understanding of expectations and feel more invested in meeting them. This collaborative approach also teaches valuable skills in goal-setting and self-assessment.

Use Reflective Journals or Exit Tickets to Capture Voice

Daily reflection practices give students a consistent way to share their thoughts and feelings about their learning. These don't need to be lengthy - even a simple prompt like "Today I learned..." or "I'm still wondering about..." can provide valuable insights.

Exit tickets are particularly effective for capturing student voice because they're quick and focused. Ask students to respond to prompts like "What was the most important thing you learned today?" or "What question do you still have?" Use their responses to adjust your next lesson or address common misconceptions.

Start Small and Build from There

The beauty of incorporating student voice and choice is you don't need to revolutionize your entire curriculum overnight. I started with one lesson per week where students had some choice in their learning. Then I gradually expanded to include more opportunities for student input.

Begin by identifying one area where you can easily add choice - maybe it's how students practice a skill or how they share their learning with classmates. Try it for a week and see how students respond. You might be surprised by their enthusiasm and creativity.

Remember, it won't be perfect from the start, but it will be powerful. Students will appreciate having a voice in their learning, even if the implementation feels messy at first. The key is to start experimenting and reflecting on what works for your specific students and classroom context.

Transform Your Teaching Practice

Student voice and choice isn't about giving up control - it's about sharing power to increase learning. When students have input into their educational experience, they become partners in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information. This shift transforms not just how students learn, but how much they learn and how deeply they engage with content.

Changing the way we teach by including student voice and choice takes time and courage, but the rewards are worth it. When students feel seen and heard, their learning becomes more meaningful and joyful. It's not about perfection - it's about progress and being open to learning alongside our students.

So take that first step, try something new, and watch your classroom transform into a place where every student has a chance to shine. Your lesson plans - and your students - will thank you for it.

Professional development for K-12 teachers: Advance your career with Moreland University's 100% online, collaborative, hands-on professional development. Click here to view the schedule and register for an upcoming course.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Voice and Choice: Level Up Your Lesson Plans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Want to boost student engagement? Learn how to build student voice and choice into your lesson planning from a former K-12 teacher.

# data[].attributes.body
Provide a menu (grid or list) of learning tasks, and let students pick among them (e.g. a “tic-tac-toe” menu of three activities).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Early in my teaching career, I prided myself on having well-structured lesson plans - everything organized, timed, and planned down to the last detail.

But even with all that structure, something was missing. My students were compliant, but not always engaged. That's when I realized they didn't feel connected, because they didn't have a say.

My shift toward incorporating student voice and choice didn't happen all at once. It began with small invitations - a choice between project formats, a quick poll on what book to read next, or even pausing mid-lesson to ask, "What do you think?" These moments led to deeper engagement and stronger connections. Students began to see themselves as co-owners of their learning - and that changed everything.

Here's how I started adding more student voice and choice into my lesson planning - and how you can, too.

What Is Student Voice and Choice?

For me, student voice means giving students a real say in their learning - what we focus on, how we approach it, and how they show what they know. Student choice goes hand-in-hand by offering options that tap into their strengths and interests, whether that's choosing a project format or selecting a topic that excites them.

It's not about giving up structure; it's about designing learning experiences that are responsive and student-centered. When students feel ownership, their engagement and investment naturally grow - and so does their learning.

Why Voice and Choice Matter - Especially Now

Students are navigating a rapidly changing world while dealing with increased academic pressure and social complexities. In this environment, giving students agency in their learning isn't just nice to have, it's essential.

In my own classroom, I saw immediate benefits when I started incorporating more student voice and choice. Participation increased dramatically. Students who had been quiet suddenly had opinions and ideas to share. Their work became more creative and personal.

Most importantly, our classroom relationships grew stronger because students felt heard and valued.

Even small shifts had a big impact. When I allowed student interests to drive their projects, their engagement soared. When I offered different ways to demonstrate their understanding, students who had struggled with traditional tests suddenly excelled. These engaging lesson plan ideas didn't require a complete overhaul of my curriculum - they just required a shift in mindset toward personalized learning for students.

5 Ways to Incorporate More Student Voice and Choice

Let Students Choose Their Projects

One of the easiest ways to include student voice in the classroom is by offering different options for how students can demonstrate their learning. Instead of everyone writing the same essay, let students choose between creating a video, designing a poster, recording a podcast, or writing a traditional paper. The learning objectives remain the same, but students can showcase their understanding in ways that play to their strengths.

Add Choice Boards or Learning Menus

Choice boards are visual organizers that offer students different pathways to engage with content. Think of them like a restaurant menu - students can choose from different "appetizers," "main courses," and "desserts" of learning activities. This approach gives students autonomy while ensuring they still meet your learning standards.

Create a simple grid with nine squares, each containing a different activity option. Students might choose three activities that form a line (like tic-tac-toe) or select from different categories based on their interests and learning preferences. This strategy works particularly well for differentiated instruction and helps accommodate various learning styles.

Build in Time for Student Feedback on Lessons

One of the most powerful ways to include student voice is simply asking students what they think about their learning experience. Use quick surveys, exit tickets, or informal check-ins to gather their thoughts on what's working and what isn't.

I started ending each week with a simple reflection: "What helped you learn this week? What made learning harder? What should we do more of?" Their responses completely changed how I planned future lessons. Students told me when activities were too long, when they needed more examples, or when they wanted to dive deeper into a topic.

Invite Students to Co-Create Rubrics or Project Ideas

Instead of presenting students with a finished rubric, involve them in creating the criteria for success. Ask them what good work looks like in your subject area. Let them contribute to project ideas or suggest modifications to assignments.

When students help create the standards they'll be measured against, they develop a clearer understanding of expectations and feel more invested in meeting them. This collaborative approach also teaches valuable skills in goal-setting and self-assessment.

Use Reflective Journals or Exit Tickets to Capture Voice

Daily reflection practices give students a consistent way to share their thoughts and feelings about their learning. These don't need to be lengthy - even a simple prompt like "Today I learned..." or "I'm still wondering about..." can provide valuable insights.

Exit tickets are particularly effective for capturing student voice because they're quick and focused. Ask students to respond to prompts like "What was the most important thing you learned today?" or "What question do you still have?" Use their responses to adjust your next lesson or address common misconceptions.

Start Small and Build from There

The beauty of incorporating student voice and choice is you don't need to revolutionize your entire curriculum overnight. I started with one lesson per week where students had some choice in their learning. Then I gradually expanded to include more opportunities for student input.

Begin by identifying one area where you can easily add choice - maybe it's how students practice a skill or how they share their learning with classmates. Try it for a week and see how students respond. You might be surprised by their enthusiasm and creativity.

Remember, it won't be perfect from the start, but it will be powerful. Students will appreciate having a voice in their learning, even if the implementation feels messy at first. The key is to start experimenting and reflecting on what works for your specific students and classroom context.

Transform Your Teaching Practice

Student voice and choice isn't about giving up control - it's about sharing power to increase learning. When students have input into their educational experience, they become partners in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information. This shift transforms not just how students learn, but how much they learn and how deeply they engage with content.

Changing the way we teach by including student voice and choice takes time and courage, but the rewards are worth it. When students feel seen and heard, their learning becomes more meaningful and joyful. It's not about perfection - it's about progress and being open to learning alongside our students.

So take that first step, try something new, and watch your classroom transform into a place where every student has a chance to shine. Your lesson plans - and your students - will thank you for it.

Professional development for K-12 teachers: Advance your career with Moreland University's 100% online, collaborative, hands-on professional development. Click here to view the schedule and register for an upcoming course.

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Student Voice and Choice: Level Up Your Lesson Plans

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Want to boost student engagement? Learn how to build student voice and choice into your lesson planning from a former K-12 teacher.

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Instead of “write an essay,” allow students to choose among formats (poster, video, infographic, podcast, drawing).

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Student Voice and Choice- AVID Open Access

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Empower and motivate students by giving them voice and choice throughout the learning process.

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Let students pick where or how they work (e.g. desk, floor, standing table, quiet corner).

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Voice and Choice: It’s More Than Just “What”

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Consider letting students decide what they want to study, who they want to work with, what outcomes they expect, and where and when they do their work.

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E.g. “Do you want to do your work on paper or digitally?” “Would you rather start with Problem A or Problem B?” In special education settings, even choices like which pencil or color of paper help students feel more agency.

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Facilitating Voice and Choice in Your Classroom

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Teachers can learn easy-to-use strategies for implementing voice and choice in any special education classroom setting.

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Building Authentic Relationships with Students

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Building Authentic Relationships with Students

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

Borrowing some ideas from psychology can help forge strong relationships with high school students, improve their academic performance, and promote a sense of belonging.

This reality challenges teachers more than ever to develop healthy relationships with students. Not only does this impact individual academic performance, but also it could improve the social and emotional health of students by helping to give them a sense of belonging. Psychology offers insight into building relationships that teachers can utilize in the high school classroom for positive rapport with students.

Building authentic relationships takes time. Researchers cite spending approximately 40 to 50 hours together as the threshold for establishing a friendship. Adults often do this by sharing a common activity, such as video games or a recreational sport. Of course, no one is suggesting that teachers and students should become friends, because appropriate boundaries should always be set and maintained. For example, social media relationships for solely personal reasons, especially DMs, aren't appropriate between teachers and students because they break down any semblance of professionalism.

In the classroom, relationships with students can't be rushed. Teachers can be confident that consistent kindness, saying students' names, and general interactions with students will build relationships with students after 40 to 50 hours of proximity. Every student is different, so some will warm up to teachers immediately, while with others it might take much longer. In high school, 40 to 50 hours could take place over three to four weeks, so patience is important.

'I need help'

Psychologists say that asking for assistance is a great way to become friends with someone. For example, with adults, asking a new acquaintance to help you with something like building a shed or pressure-washing your house forges a lasting bond with that person. This shows a level of vulnerability on behalf of someone asking for help while simultaneously displaying trust in the person willing to give the help.

Within the classroom, teachers can ask students for help in a variety of ways, both important and trivial, that foster trust. Teachers can tell students, "I need help," by asking them to take something to the main office or creating a Kahoot game to use for review. These acts help build rapport with students because they make students feel special, trustworthy, and an integral part of the classroom community. This provides students with a sense of ownership in the classroom and the knowledge that their voice matters.

Callbacks can be conversations recalling a story, person, experience, or place that enriches a relationship. According to psychologists, shared experiences deepen relationships between individuals. For example, if two people went to the same college and had the same professor, a callback would be discussing the quirks of the professor. These shared experiences are often accompanied by humor, nostalgia, and a sense of community.

When callbacks are applied to the classroom, teachers recall with students a shared experience. This becomes easier as the semester or school year progresses, and it can make relationships with students more authentic.

A callback example could be a teacher setting off the fire alarm due to overcooking their Hot Pocket. Those 10 to 15 minutes spent outside waiting for the fire department can lead to positive interactions and relationships with students for the remainder of the semester.

In addition, making a callback to a guest speaker, extracurricular activity, field trip, school dance, fond memories from a previous teacher, or another school experience strengthens the bond between teacher and student. Recalling a past experience humanizes everyone involved and helps students associate positivity with the school experience.

Authenticity

Building relationships with students involves authenticity. In my first year of teaching, I was so desperate to establish myself as an authority figure that I put up a charade as someone who didn't tell jokes and didn't have a personality outside the classroom. I was miserable, and so were the students.

Teachers should embrace who they are, and students will appreciate it. Don't hesitate, during downtime or with room decor, to share your hobbies, your interests, books you're reading, and music you like. When students found out that I listened to Blink-182, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Michelle Branch, and Avril Lavigne, they responded positively (and audibly laughed). In addition to sharing, during classroom downtime, ask students about their lives, what they like, and how they are.

This authenticity builds positive relationships that not only help academic performance but also fight loneliness and sadness. This isn't a substitute for therapy, of course, but it does trend in the right direction.

Keep in mind that even after all these attempts, there will be some students who won't like you as a teacher. That's OK. You can still have mutual respect and kindness with each other that can lead to meaningful learning. Borrowing principles from psychology, teachers can employ proximity, "I need help," callbacks, and authenticity to help cultivate positive relationships with students.

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Building Authentic Relationships With Students

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Borrowing some ideas from psychology can help forge strong relationships with high school students, improve their academic performance, and promote a sense of belonging.

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Practitioner Perspective page 75-76 in Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom

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Cohort 1 Convening 6 Choice Session A Practitioner Perspective page 75-76 in Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom

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Cohort 1 Conv 6 Choice A Fifth Grade example:  Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom

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Stories from the Field: Choice Session A Cohort 1, Convening 6

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Unpacking the Competency Based Classroom First Grade Example from 

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What Personalized Learning Is and What it is NOT

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What Personalized Learning Is and What it is NOT

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Vermont educators are working on models of personalized learning that are built around relationships and connected to community needs.

Peter Stratman / Cabot Leads

A student displays produce from the gardens at Cabot School in Vermont. The produce supplements the school lunch program, and the gardens serve as outdoor classrooms for hands-on science lessons.

We've seen personalized learning in the news a lot lately. In some cases, communities express concern that students are working independently on screens for hours at a time. Yet it strikes us that personalized learning needn't-and in fact shouldn't-come at the cost of social connections and collaborative opportunities. Personalized learning should be both personal and social.

Many Vermont schools are demonstrating how learning can be both customized to individual interests and inherently collaborative, particularly when educators know their students well, design flexible pathways for their students to explore, and value and assess learning well beyond the school day and building.

Learning Who Students Are

Personalizing learning requires teachers to get to know their students well. In Vermont, one of the ways educators are doing this is by inviting them to reflect on questions about themselves: Who am I? What defines me as a person and a member of my community? What do I like to do, and what do I do well? What do I want to do with my life after high school?

At Lamoille Union Middle School, we've seen learners delve into this kind of identity work, writing "Where I'm From" poems based on George Ella Lyon's poetry. Students couple their poems with images and share them with others. At Montpelier Main Street Middle School, learners explore identity in relation to others, as they draw relationship webs that identify key connections with extended family, teams, or other individuals or groups.

In both cases, students include these artifacts in their personalized learning plans, which serve as windows into who they are and what they care about. Their teachers learn more about them, and use this knowledge to build relationships, foster a sense of community in their classrooms, and plan relevant and engaging curriculum. We see in this an important blend of personal and social.

Designing Flexible Pathways

Knowing students well helps teachers create flexible pathways for those students to demonstrate learning. Flexible pathways are at the heart of making learning personal, and Vermont teachers are finding that project-based learning, service learning, experiential learning, and similar approaches invite learning of personal and social significance.

Cabot School's service learning and leadership program is one example: Students apply for a job with a mentor within the school or community, based on their interests and on authentic community needs. On the culinary team, students learn how to manage a kitchen, working with the school chef to feed their peers and provide food for community events and fund-raisers, which creates a sense of connection and purpose.

Up the road at Burke Town School, students use the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to map their town's assets and identify individual and collective interests. One student group has created public murals in support of mental health and wellness, another has built a community garden, and still another has set up mountain biking trails on the school campus.

In these schools, students are not only learning vital skills-they're contributing to the health and well-being of their schools and communities. And they're doing so based on their interests, as educators make space in the curriculum for learning of personal and social significance.

Valuing and Assessing Students' Learning

While flexible pathways are engaging for students, they can make assessment tricky. It's a lot easier when all students respond to the same prompt, take the same test, or perform the same experiment. Assessing personalized learning, in contrast, often means valuing a wide range of authentic evidence of knowledge and skills.

Vermont educators are tackling this challenge by involving students directly in the assessment process. Students in Shelburne Community School's physical education class, for example, choose an area of fitness that interests them, set goals related to transferable skills, and self-assess their progress by compiling evidence and mapping their growth. Along the way, teachers provide regular formative assessment.

These teachers make sure students have a vision of what success looks like, clear feedback on where they are and what they need to do to improve, and opportunities to engage meaningfully in assessing and sharing their learning for real purposes.

A Statewide Effort

Students feel that their work is not disposable,

Students see themselves as competent,

Students create work that has an audience beyond the teacher, and

Students contribute in powerful ways to their communities.

In each of these schools, students know their voices and actions matter. Across the state, we see more and more students engaging in deeper learning experiences like these, about issues they care about-issues that matter in their daily lives and in their communities. When personalized learning is more than solely individual, online learning, we see that:

In most of these cases, technology plays an important role in student learning. Yet its use is distinctly different from the self-paced, online curriculum that is rightfully concerning to families. Instead, in these examples, technology serves as a creative tool that students use to connect with peers and to create and deepen meaningful work.

These are the environments we explore, through research and examples from the field, in our new book with John Downes, Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades, based on our work with more than 50 schools in Vermont. Our students have rich lives that are important and should be connected, validated, and celebrated through opportunities to share, connect, and feel a sense of purpose.

When co-designed by teachers, students, and educational leaders, personalized learning can be rooted in relationships, community, identity, and shared purpose. Personalization that validates students' lived experiences, connects them to their communities, and puts them in the driver's seat is possible. Learning is powerful when it's both personal and social.

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Vermont educators are working on models of personalized learning that are built around relationships and connected to community needs.

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Incorporating UDL in PE emphasizing choice, voice, goal setting and inclusive instruction (including students with special needs)

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Incorporating UDL in PE emphasizing choice, voice, goal setting and inclusive instruction (including students with special needs)

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National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)

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Universal Design for Learning in Physical Education

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The Principal's role in Personalized Learning - Lakota Schools

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The Principal's role in Personalized Learning - Lakota Schools

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We are Personalized - This was the number one goal in our new District Strategic Plan. It was not, "We are moving towards personalization", or "We are learning about personalization". It was simply WE ARE, and this opened the door to panic and excitement and an immediate call to duty. We quickly turned to the Ed Elements learning cycle for development and direction. Looking at our implementation from a learning, practicing, reflecting and owning standpoint has not only allowed us to dig deep into the progress of our work, but has encouraged us to pivot when needed. And pivot we have! Our journey has blossomed into an undeniable excitement that we have not seen in our teachers and administrators in years. One Principal even stated, "providing a vision, and working alongside Principals to develop strategies and tactics to support implementation has made me feel like a better instructional leader than at any other time in my career."

The Realization

We began our journey for personalized learning in the 18-19 school year with a pilot at our two freshman buildings. At this time we focused not only on learning for ourselves as district leaders, but also empowering teacher leaders in the pilot buildings to bring this work to life in classrooms. We worked closely with our Innovation Specialists, teachers on special assignment, to provide ongoing, job-embedded support and modeling for teachers. We also built a team of classroom teacher leaders called LakotaNext who would learn and lead alongside us.

We put so much of our time and energy into training and empowering these teachers to support buildings, that we may have somewhat lost sight of the group that TRULY drives the culture and practice of our buildings...our principals! Of course, we invited and encouraged our secondary principals to be part of the personalized learning PD since the beginning, but we also know that principals have buildings to run and the reality is that they don't have subs and it can be difficult for them to step out for full days of training.

No worries, if we empower teacher leaders, then the teacher leaders can support the principals, right? Wrong.

Not wrong in that these teachers can't or won't support their building leaders, but wrong in that support isn't enough. Buildings need to be LED by principals, and principals want to lead because they are the instructional leaders.

The struggle is real when it comes to balancing instructional leadership and managing a building, but leaving principals out of these important personalized learning experiences because they have to be present to manage buildings is not an option. Time to pivot.

Are you invested in developing effective leadership? Use the Education Elements Guide to Innovative Leadership Development to learn about the importance of innovative educational leadership, common issues that stand in the way, and how to nurture leadership development in your organization.
Download the guide

The Journey Begins

We recognized in January of 2019 that we had to figure out a plan to support and empower our principals around personalized learning. We knew that in order to make this work lasting and meaningful we had to start with the culture. We knew that if the culture was strong and supportive then our planning, lessons, classrooms, attitude, and result would follow suit. After all, our Principals asked us to "define personalize learning and provide small, digestible bites as we chart our journey and grow."

In true personalized form, we had to begin our work with a driving question that we could revisit often and use to guide our work and keep our focus. We asked ourselves, "How do we provide the foundation for principals to become instructional leaders of personalized learning in their buildings?" and "How can we support and inspire principals and teachers to bring their own energy and ownership to the PL journey?" Our guiding principles followed our strategic plan - everything we do is designed to provide a future-ready, student-centered learning experience for every single child. Which we quickly realized that for us that meant we could not plan out the work in advance, be overly prepared and run PD as we had in the past. We had to follow the same cycle we were asking our principals to try and we turned to the Ed Elements Responsive Org Playbook. The playbook gave us the ability to tailor our "plays" to meet the needs of our learners and also left them with a "play" they created to help them to move forward. This model forced them to own their own learning before growing the learning of their staff. Before we knew it, they were saying things like "I am ready to lay the foundations with staff on the journey. We are starting with developing strong formative instructional practices. We will then lead them on a journey to building student agency. The "they" is a team we built in the building called "the personalizers."

See how the leadership team in South Brunswick School District has approached strategic planning in their district and schools.
Watch the video

Making PL a Priority

As mentioned previously, one of the struggles for principals is finding the time to step away from the current reality of leading their buildings to take on this new work. We had some existing opportunities that we could redesign but also saw a need for additional opportunities.

Monthly District Principal Meetings

We began with a structure already in place, our monthly district principal meetings. These meetings typically involved principals getting information from various departments in the district but when we shared our PL plan and need for time, our executive team was on board for us to use the majority of the three hours per month for personalized learning PD and planning. (Important note...we also made sure to repeat each of these PL sessions on a different day that month for Assistant principals who were not at the monthly principal meetings since both admins couldn't be out of the building at the same time.)

These meetings were the perfect face to face opportunity to launch the Principal's Journey to Personalized Learning. We adapted the First 20 Days of Personalized Learning for teachers to be a tool for principals to use with staff in a "practice what you preach" approach. We started with culture and moved through the rest of the 18-19 school year creating, curating and providing resources that both built necessary foundational knowledge of personalized learning while also introducing and modeling strategies and experiences that principals could easily integrate into their building leadership. The response to these meetings was energizing, to say the least and principal feedback more than validated our decision to just do it! Our building leaders are so excited to be owners of this learning and planning, especially because they know that they are the drivers of implementation in their buildings. They are embracing the movement and understand we are not planning for perfection. One principal even stated, "I would love to begin the work in our building of PL for all students. To move teachers from being comfortable in their current practices to being open to try (and even possibly failing) something new."

Virtual Check-Ins

We wanted to make sure the learning and planning around PL were ongoing so we scheduled weekly virtual check-ins with principal teams by grade band. This allowed us to touch base, talk about PL each week, keep principals in their buildings and also brought the principal and assistant principal(s) together at the same time. In true Ed Elements form, our agendas included a check-in, opportunity to build the agenda on the fly, some type of learning and sharing around PL and a check-out. We stayed true to the time allotments and these 30-minute meetings proved to be super effective and efficient. (Not to mention a great opportunity to model effective meeting practices for our building leaders.) Wondering what this looks like? Take a look: Lakota Virtual Admin Mtg Example

In order to effectively do the work we had to change our mindset for learning ourselves. We quickly pivoted from focusing on development "done to" our staff to development that was "driven by" our staff. We had to be creative and innovative and most importantly LISTEN to them and their needs in order to determine our next steps. What we heard them asking for was first to "develop a scope and sequence to focus the work," and secondly to "develop a plan in which all professional development (within their building) aligns with the principles of PL." This is the platform launching our 2019-2020 work. Looking for a secret foreshadowing of what's to come in Lakota...which is not so secret since we are blogging about it? Think personalized learning pathways for teachers, learning vs. exposure, play building, cross-grade level, subject area and admin team reflection groups, personal portfolios, design challenges, and peer observations...and guess what, we have set the stage for our principals to take charge and lead the charge - WE are Personalized.

Are you looking for ways to introduce personalized learning to your school? Not sure where to begin, short on time, or trying to establish clear buy-ins? The PL Toolkit will guide your PL implementation for up to 12 months, giving you and your team a low-stakes way to bring personalized learning to your school.

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The Principals' Journey to Personalized Learning

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How can school principals be enabled to succeed in leading and owning the personalized learning initiatives in their schools?

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Middle School and High School examples contained on this site (Thrively mentioned in this article)

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Middle School and High School examples contained on this site (Thrively mentioned in this article)

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While next-generation assessments and instructional data can help educators gain a deeper understanding of students, the sheer amount of information available can prove challenging. As I discussed in a prior post, educational technologies can amplify the impact of proven formative assessment strategies. But in doing so, educators must often navigate various platforms and other sources of student information that, in many cases, do not seamlessly align or integrate together.

So how can we make sense of all this information about our students' abilities and interests?

Enter the concept of "learner profiles." In general, a learner profile provides a practical way for educators to make use of assessment results, student interest data, and other relevant information. Although they can come in many forms, effective profiles have two main characteristics: they are coherent and actionable. If the information available in the profile is unclear or at times contradictory, it leads to confusion. And if the learner profile does not lead to action regarding changes in instructional practices to further personalize instruction, then a key rationale for the profile is lost.

Many educators and schools that make use of learner profiles are also focusing on including students in their development and revision. Including students throughout the process fosters agency and ownership of the learning since they have a clear say in their strengths, interests, goals, and steps needed to improve certain skills and academic competencies. Several edtech products and platforms are also aiming to simplify the process for teachers so that accessing actionable information in a student's' learner profile is as timely and seamless as possible.

Below are key resources, practical examples, and questions to consider when creating learner profiles.

"If we really believe that teaching is about the student, then it sure would help to actually get to know the students in deeper ways."

Getting to Know You: Learner Profiles for Personalization (EdWeek)

In this EdWeek article, the author provides specific examples from schools around the country regarding ways that educators are gaining valuable insights about students' skills, backgrounds, and interests through learner profiles. She also explores how, as opposed to traditional data meetings or interest surveys, learner profiles go a step further as they can foster personalized, student-centered pathways toward student-selected goals.

Learning Profile Grid (ReSchool Colorado)
This tool developed by ReSchool Colorado provides practical resources, strategies, and guidelines to help educators build personalized learning profiles across age spans.

Otus Student Performance / Learning Profile Platform ( Video 1, Video 2)

Otus is an example of a new edtech platform that aims to provide teachers with a holistic view of student performance by streamlining student data, teacher feedback, and student learning artifacts from various sources.

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Exploring Learner Profiles: Resources, Examples, and Questions to Consider - TomDriscollEDU

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As next-generation assessments and instructional data can help educators gain a deeper understanding of students, the sheer amount of information available can prove challenging. As discussed in a prior post , educational technologies can amplify the impact of proven formative assessmen

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Personalized Learning in Action... Mr. Patch Fort Recovery Middle School

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Personalized Learning in Action... Mr. Patch Fort Recovery Middle School

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Mercer County ESC Personalized Learning NWOH Spotlight Mr. Patch at Fort Recovery

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One School in Arkansas doing personalized learning with a Career Focus (research paper)

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One School in Arkansas doing personalized learning with a Career Focus (research paper)

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How Personalized Learning is Breaking the "Gym" class stereotype

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How Personalized Learning is Breaking the "Gym" class stereotype

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How Personalized Learning is Breaking the “GYM” Class Stereotype

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How Personalized Learning is Breaking the “GYM” Class Stereotype

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Did you ever take a course in school and wonder why it was not related to the real world outside of school?

In the current school model, coursework is often disjointed and unrelated to the workplace. In this environment, student engagement and motivation is often lacking, and the dropout rate is higher because of it.

When students see that what they are doing in school is directly related to their interests, strengths and passions, using personalized learning, they are more deeply engaged in learning, more highly motivated and can quickly see the connection between what they do and how they want their future to look. Thus, they are more prepared for the future, the dropout rate is significantly reduced, behavior problems evaporate, and students want to stay in school longer.

This is where personalized, student-centered learning solves both the achievement gap, and deepens the learning process. Personalized learning is centered around the idea that students should drive their own learning, and the teacher acts as their mentor, rather than a depositor of facts. Early research by companies such as the Rand Corporation and ASCD has shown that it raises grades, increases graduation rates and results in more students entering college than ever before.

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Personalized Learning in Physical Education

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Personalized Learning in Physical Education

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The goal of my class is simple: to build active learners who have the skills to succeed healthily in college and the world beyond. I asked my 5th grade P.E. classes to respond to this question: "Why is it important to get exercise daily?" The most striking response that helped reinforce the reason I use personalized learning was one from a 10-year old student: "Exercise helps keep me disease free so I can live longer." A simple answer really when you break it down, but one that made me feel happy because I as her teacher was able to help her see this very important connection between exercise and longevity.

Getting my students to see this is easier when I connect learning to their own lives. I started our Jump Rope for Heart Month by sharing a story about my father who died from a heart attack. I showed my class a video which tells the stories of several young children and the stories of their heart disease. My students then participated in a whole class discussion based around their own experiences and understandings of what it means to have a healthy heart.

I asked some of my students to suggest different types of cardiovascular jumping exercises that they thought would be fun to do during our Jump Rope For Heart Month. My 5th graders came up with lots of creative ideas that only kids can: box jumps, tire jumps, the agility ladder, hopscotch, the skip it, and line jumps. I implemented these ideas as stations and gave my students the opportunity to test them out and to see which ones got their hearts beating the fastest. Maria, one of my 5th graders, wrote: "jump roping gets my heart beating much faster than running, I would like to practice jump roping with my Dad." Another 5th grader, Jose, wrote: "I did not know exercise could make you feel happier, I would like to teach some of these exercises to my family."

Once I got my students connected to cardiovascular health and sharing what they learned with their own families, I implement the program's healthy challenges that students can do at home with their loved ones. The challenges involve students and a family member making pledges to eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water, and get more exercise daily. Students were coming up to me each day telling me about a new pledge they made with a grandparent, cousin, or sibling. The greatest thing I heard was a student telling me that they "can't wait to go home to try and beat their Mom in a jump roping contest."

Personalized learning gave my students the opportunity to share what they were learning with their family. This eventually led to our school's Family Fitness Day where my students got to bring in their family members to participate in several different exercise and healthy eating challenges that they learned in class. Seeing students share their expertise with their own families was incredibly fulfilling. One parent said: "Having the chance to do this with my child is amazing and I am very thankful for this event!"

Giving my students the opportunity to implement their own ideas and then to follow through with testing them gave them power over their own learning. My students were excited to discover different cardiovascular exercises and to implement them in our own classroom. By giving my students the power to make educated decisions about their own cardiovascular exercise regimens, it allowed them to discover more on their own than they ever would have had I planned and taught the whole curriculum myself.

Jackie Greaves is an elementary and middle school health and physical education teacher at Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy in Lincoln, Rhode Island. She is a Teach Plus Rhode Island Teaching Policy Fellow.

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Learner vs. Student: Who Do you Want in Your Classroom? By Kathleen McClaskey

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It is the start of the school year and you have been preparing to have your assigned children enter your classroom. You have so many questions about them but one you may have not thought about is: Are they students or learners? Think about that... do you want students or learners in your classroom this year? What is the difference anyway? Well let's take a look at the difference and have you decide for yourself.
Learner vs. Student
We are at a crossroads in education where we understand that traditional school systems are not preparing our children for a world where they will need to learn, unlearn and relearn in an ever-changing economy. As we try to create more personalized, learner-centered environments, it is important to understand that we need to change the language so we can change the culture in the classroom and school. Using the term "Learner" is a critical first step so that we see every child and every person as a learner. So what is the difference between a learner and a student? Let's look at the definitions:

From Wikipedia, "A student is primarily a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution who attends classes in a course to attain the appropriate level of mastery of a subject under the guidance of an instructor and who devotes time outside class to do whatever activities the instructor assigns that are necessary either for class preparation or to submit evidence of progress towards that mastery."

From Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, a learner is "a person who is finding out about a subject or how to do something."

From The Glossary of Education Reform, when comparing learner and student, they point out that "While this preference may seem arbitrary on the surface, it does appear to serve a semantic purpose: learning can occur in the absence of teaching, but teaching doesn't occur without some form of learning taking place. i.e.,

learners can learn without teachers, but students are only students when they have teachers."

Now take a look at the comparisons in the chart and decide on the qualities you would like for the children in your classroom to have. This is not a comprehensive comparison of Learners vs Students but it does offer an initial comparison on what the distinct differences are and what qualities would be found in a traditional vs personalized learning system. If you have decided you want learners in your classroom, then the question you need to consider exploring is....

How can I create a classroom culture in which being a learner is more valuable than being a student?

The simple answer is to empower your learners to share their story of who they are and how they learn! Have your learners use the UDL Lens to develop a Learner Profile, based on the learning sciences, to discover their strengths and challenges, preferences and needs in the what, how and why of their learning. Value every learner by building a strong relationship with each of them. Help them develop learning goals in a Personal Learning Plan so that they can gain the skills to be agents of their own learning. Reflect with each learner so they can realize the progress they are making with their goals. When you do this, your classroom culture will be filled with learners who are future ready!

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