It is interesting to me that what is “real” in the results of my data collection is that student responses during the focus groups did change. The initial answers to my questions about who they are as a learner and about their choices were limited in scope. The students seemed unsure how to respond in many cases and mimicked each other frequently. They were focused more on compliance and seemed to stay on the surface of the question. As I coded the responses for description of agentive thinking, there were very few to code. However, in the next two rounds of the data collections, I coded more than twice the number of responses. Clearly, something changed for these students. Now what that leads me to “believe” is that the students were influenced at least in part by what was happening in classrooms across the school. Some students even mentioned that they were talking about agency as a class during the period of the study. And in some cases they described teacher actions that led to their choices or decisions. But it is difficult to make a direct correlation without asking them specifically what led to the change. I would like to dig deeper into this question with the students before the end of the school year. So rather than another round where I repeat the same or similar questions I want to be able to point out the change to them as well and see if they can give me more insight into what prompted their responses.
Next steps for me following this initial research is to continue to strengthen our practice as a team by building on what we heard from students and becoming more purposeful in naming and noticing when the students either use their agency or not. Both teachers and students had trouble answering the question, “What does the teacher do for you that you could do for yourself?” I think we need to be more creative in our thinking about what constitutes agency, voice, and choice in the classroom. I actually observe it happening more than I think teachers are even aware. One of the things that I’ve learned from the students is that given the opportunity they are really thoughtful not only about their own learning but how they can support their peers as well. We need to keep exploring these concepts and deepening our reflection.
I am anxious to share the results of the student interviews with our team which I will do next week. In addition to learning a lot about the relationship between teachers actions and language and how students see themselves, there have been a number of other outcomes from the interviews. For the most part, students were able to express the things that help them most as a learner and in some cases what gets in their way. They had definite opinions about virtual vs in-person learning and how it has affected them over the last year. They were eager to share their experiences with me. Much of my research was prompted by our concerns over students losing their independence and stamina as learners. But it was so clear how much they recognize their need for the structure and safety of school and being supported by their teacher. It was also really moving to hear them talk about how they can exercise agency to help others and to take action in the world. Since this is our mission as a school, I was so appreciative of their reflections about what they can do to make a difference. We need to continue this work and I need to continue to gather this kind of authentic data to really know where our students are and how we can help them in becoming more.
Next steps for me following this initial research is to continue to strengthen our practice as a team by building on what we heard from students and becoming more purposeful in naming and noticing when the students either use their agency or not. Both teachers and students had trouble answering the question, “What does the teacher do for you that you could do for yourself?” I think we need to be more creative in our thinking about what constitutes agency, voice, and choice in the classroom. I actually observe it happening more than I think teachers are even aware. One of the things that I’ve learned from the students is that given the opportunity they are really thoughtful not only about their own learning but how they can support their peers as well. We need to keep exploring these concepts and deepening our reflection.
I am anxious to share the results of the student interviews with our team which I will do next week. In addition to learning a lot about the relationship between teachers actions and language and how students see themselves, there have been a number of other outcomes from the interviews. For the most part, students were able to express the things that help them most as a learner and in some cases what gets in their way. They had definite opinions about virtual vs in-person learning and how it has affected them over the last year. They were eager to share their experiences with me. Much of my research was prompted by our concerns over students losing their independence and stamina as learners. But it was so clear how much they recognize their need for the structure and safety of school and being supported by their teacher. It was also really moving to hear them talk about how they can exercise agency to help others and to take action in the world. Since this is our mission as a school, I was so appreciative of their reflections about what they can do to make a difference. We need to continue this work and I need to continue to gather this kind of authentic data to really know where our students are and how we can help them in becoming more.