Learner Voice
When it comes right down to it, who is education for? And who should have the most say in the design of learning opportunities?
Is it radical to answer -- the STUDENTS??
Last week, I participated in the CAST Virtual Symposium on Student Voice. I have always thought that I stand for empowerment of youth voice, but this conference was a wake-up call. We have so much more we could do! And what a difference it would make!
As I watch my 7 month old grandson learning to sit, to feed himself, and to nearly crawl, I’m reminded that nobody has to prepare a lesson with a prescribed learning strategy. He will learn -- as millions of us have learned before him - at his own pace, using his own methods. He watches us, and he’s motivated to figure out how to get his body to do what he wants. We don’t grade him and average his performance for some report card. We provide a safe space combined with unlimited love and encouragement. He does the rest.
The truth is - no matter how much we participate as witnesses - the learning is all his. He clearly uses his learner voice. He has no hesitation to loudly vocalize if things aren’t going well. He is just as quick to squeal with delight in a joyful moment. He co-designs his own learning.
What will happen when he starts school in a few years? Will he continue to be the primary designer of his learning? Will teachers honor his learner voice and support his drive to learn? Probably not, unless we make some changes.
Back to the CAST conference on student voice. The keynote, Ninah Jackson, spoke about “Meaningful Co-Creation: Supporting Student Voice in the Classroom and Beyond.”
She is a college sophomore who served on her local school board during her high school years. She now serves on the Board of Directors of the National Parent Teacher Association. She invited us to think of student voice along a continuum. Then she described a ladder of student voice.
I’ve combined both of those into the organizer at the left. Apologies to her for selecting and simplifying her key concepts. You should have heard her whole presentation, including the stories of her journey!
Silent - students have no voice. Adults make all the decisions without them.
Token - adults ask a few students their opinion of decisions already made.
Consultant - students are surveyed about their opinions, but adults still make the decisions -- maybe after reviewing the surveys.
Participant - students have input when options are being considered.
Partner - students have equal input into discussion of problems, solutions, and final decisions.
Leader - students initiate discussion of issues, solutions, and methods of implementation.
I invite you to consider YOUR classroom.
What could you do to welcome student voice? There is research evidence that student voice is a key ingredient of student engagement in learning and student mastery.
That makes sense, of course. Aren’t we all more invested in learning about things when we have a say in what and how we learn?
Here are some questions for your collective self reflection:
Opportunities for student voice: Do our students have a voice in their learning? Where do we welcome their input? Where could we provide more opportunities for their choice and voice?
Culture for student voice: Do we embrace the variability in our learners (interpersonal differences between them and internal differences in each from day-to-day)? What have we done to make it safe for our students to express their preferences & feedback (not blaming them for having challenges or thinking differently)? What can we do to model acceptance of learner variability so we’ll have a community of belonging?
Student voice in assessment: How could we co-design methods with students to demonstrate what they’ve learned? (Does it have to be a test or project that adults design? Could it be another method using our learning outcomes rubric?)
Student voice in community: How could we co-design learning opportunities that increase student collaborative and collective learning within a culture of belonging?
These questions are built into my Year 3 package for schools “Inclusive School Communities.” This is a key component of the thinking that underscores instructional design using the Universal Design for Learning framework.
I’d love to hear from you!
What do you think? Will this work in your classroom? What questions would you add to my list?
