5 ways to empower students in their learning.

Here are five ways to help you create the right environment to empower students in their learning. 1. Choice Do you allow students to choose the goals they work on each day? What about their resources? Are students allowed to choose the path they take to reach their goals, for instance in a project-based learning environment? Do they choose where they sit to experience learning or who they work with? All of these factors can be crucial to student’s learning. Take the time to establish routines and model expectations, but then step back and offer opportunities for students to make choices. Let them be their own guides. True learning occurs through mistakes and the correction of them. This is empowering in itself. 2. Reflection Are students reflective in their learning moment to moment, or passive? Is time set aside for reflective purposes or pushed to the end of the lesson when time runs short? Is reflection a part of the daily routine? Students must actively engage in the learning process and reflect on their own personal contributions, knowledge, and connections. They need to be allowed time to process their learning as a step of retention. Reflection allows for closure to a situation, conversation, or lesson, empowering students to make sense of their learning. 3. Students as teachers Do students have opportunities to articulate their knowledge? Are they given the chance to help others understand a concept? Do they get to demonstrate their strategies and assist others with a similar learning style? By allowing students to teach students we enlarge the learning platform. We suggest to them that their peers are experts and present them in the learning environment. Teaching empowers students to demonstrate and share knowledge, deepening their own understanding. 4. Self assessment Are students aware of their individual goals? Do they have the ability to assess themselves according to specific criteria? Can they provide effective feedback to others? Are they an integral part of the assessment process? When given opportunities to self-assess their own progress towards specific goals, students’ growth will soar. They can also be given the chance to positively impact others’ learning by offering feedback. Peer conversations regarding student work is a powerful thing. Again, it provides the clear message their peers are experts in the learning environment. Allowing students to engage in these conversations expands their learning awareness. Students clearly understanding their own strengths and challenges is empowering. 5. Student voice Do you ask the students for their opinion often? Is their voice used to make decisions in the classroom? Do you allow them to provide you feedback? Is their feedback used to plan lessons? The most valuable voice in the learning environment is that of the student. They are the consumer of the knowledge and can provide feedback regarding their needs being met. It is important to ask for input on a regular basis regarding structure, routine, systems, rules, responsibilities, etc. Taking their ideas into account for lesson planning/design and teaching strategies can also prove beneficial. You never know the possibilities unless you ask. Seek out their voice, you may be surprised. Believing in their ideas builds trust and empowers them to think critically.

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