Before the second round of focus groups, we had met as a staff and drafted our agreements about what teachers would do to promote student agency. Interestingly enough, most of the things we agreed on were practices that were already fairly cohesively in place at our school. But we agreed that it was really important that we notice and name for the students every time we saw them demonstrating agency as a learner. We also focused on giving students multiple ways to express their learning and having voice and choice in the classroom.
The second round of focus groups was significantly different. This time, I tried hard to set a tone of casual conversation and they seemed to have gotten past seeing me as the principal. Right away, I could see that the students were more comfortable and forthcoming about their experiences. Many of the students gave concrete examples of choices they made as a learner. Most grade levels brought up their current unit of inquiry and that generated many comments about choices they were given about topics and decisions with their groups, etc. The students were more reflective about themselves as learners and were able to articulate what they need to improve and how their teacher or peers help them. The student would sometimes get off on tangents but it was part of the natural discussion going on. For example, when I asked about decisions they make as a learner, one 3rd grade student said, “I’m wondering why some people don’t have enough money to live in a home, it’s very sad.” He then went on to talk about seeing a homeless person when he played baseball and then the other students started sharing ideas about how they could help and I let the conversation go for a few minutes. As I transcribed the discussion, I could see several examples of students expressing ideas and opinions and setting goals for taking action. They were showing agency as a result of this student’s caring question. This time my final question about agency was met with many responses and examples of choices students had made in their learning.
It is difficult at this point to determine how much of the change in response is due to the environment and teacher moves in the classroom. Some of the change may be due to the fact that these students know they are going to be asked about agency. I think it’s reasonable to assume that just participating in the focus group is leading to a better understanding of what agency is and how to articulate it. This round of data came right before spring break. Grade level teams are working on their next steps for promoting agency and the next round of focus groups will be at the end of this week. The results from the 3rd round will give more of an indication of real growth or change in student responses and experiences.