Teaching students to be responsible for their learning.

The word agency derives from the Latin word?“agentia”, which translated into?“doing”. In modern times, it is often used as a noun to describe a service provided by a group or company like a Travel or Advertising Agency. The original use was as a verb describing the behaviour needed to accomplish a goal. So, a person would use their agency to?“do”?something to be the?“agent”?of an action. The modern use of this meaning is found in spy stories where the spy is called an agent and has a mission to achieve.?

In the context of home-schooling, this is a critical concept. An accomplished home-school environment is one where a child is an agent whose mission is to learn. We need to answer the challenge of leading our students to develop agency as both a skillset and a mindset. In reflecting on this, we have derived a series of building blocks that, if taught to students, should develop their ability to accomplish their goals independently. These building blocks are:

1. Engagement.?It is self-evident that a student will not learn how to know or do something if they are not paying attention. Engagement is an active process that requires listening and thinking about what you have heard. It also requires trying out the skill with your full attention focused on your performance and the outcome.
2. An enabling context, creating the space as parents and a school that encourages our children to take risks and learn from their mistakes.?
3. Reflective, Metacognitive Capacity?is a student’s ability to think about their learning. Marzano Taxonomy of Learning includes the domain of a Metacognitive system. This system is described as “the metacognitive system is the “mission control” of the thinking process and regulates all the other systems. This system sets goals and makes decisions about which information is necessary and which cognitive processes best suit the goal. It then monitors the processes and makes changes as necessary. For example, a middle-school student who is contributing to a virtual museum about different rocks first establishes the goals of what his Web page will have on it and what it will look like. Then he chooses what strategies he will use to fit what he needs to know to create the page. As she implements the strategies, she monitors how well they are working, changing or modifying how she is working on completing the task successfully”.
4. Self-Efficacy.?A child’s ability to act independently and confidently is related to three issues: Their belief in their ability to achieve the task. The emotional response they have to the subject matter or requirements of the mission. (Often, their relationship with their Activator is essential). The degree to which they think the task is relevant to their lives.
5. The Cognitive Framework.?In his book,?Why Don’t Students Like School, Willingham points out that?“research from cognitive science has shown that the sorts of skills that teachers want for students—such as the ability to analyse and think critically—require extensive factual knowledge” (Willingham, 2009)[i]. This idea implies that we need to focus on the vocabulary and facts of each learning topic to give a child the tools to properly apply their minds to creative and critical ways of thinking about that topic.?“Research from cognitive science has shown that the sorts of skills that teachers want for students—such as the ability to analyse and to think critically—require extensive factual knowledge.”
6. A Strong Purpose beyond Self.??Students need an inspiring vision of a better future with every expectation of succeeding in achieving that future through the learning and actions they are engaging in today. In an online article, Lichtcsien articulates this well when he says that?“for young people, vision can change how a person wakes up and walks into the world every day. When children have a vision, they can make decisions in the context of how their choices will affect their future desires.” “With so many societal influences facing adolescents and teenagers every day, vision gives them a filter. If they envision a happy and successful future for themselves, and they understand some of what it takes to get there, it just may sway them into better decision making amid daily peer pressure.” (Lichtcsien, 2021)[ii]?We contend that if students have this understanding, they are more motivated to act and be agents of their success.?

?I have tried to unpack our conceptualisation of Agency in some detail to set the scene for the podcast series. In the first podcast, Lora and I discuss the idea of Engagement and how it plays a significant role in successful learning outcomes for children. For this discussion, engagement is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as be “the fact of being involved with something” or “the process of encouraging people to be interested in the work of an organisation.” Achieving engagement requires agency from both the student and the Activator (teacher). Students need to make a conscious decision to spend the time and give attention to their learning. The Activators need to ensure that they design the learning process, tasks, and assessments to capture the imagination of their students and spark curiosity and a sense of achievement.?

[i] WILLINGHAM, D., 2021.?WHY DON'T STUDENTS LIKE SCHOOL?. [S.l.]: JOSSEY-BASS INC ,U S.

[ii] Lichtcsien, K., 2021.?Helping Young People Create Vision: What might happen when your children and grandchildren learn how to develop their own life vision?. [online] Resourcestrategies.com. Available at: <https://www.resourcestrategies.com/getattachment/Estate-Planning/Helping-Young-People-Create-Vision-KS.pdf.aspx> [Accessed 9 September 2021