Agency and a Culture of Learning

A true culture of learning inspires. It inspires teachers as well as students, as both groups are learners. School (and district) leaders need to let go for a culture of learning to develop and take hold. Just as school leaders do, so too do classroom teachers. Authentic agency must be built for all learning to allow a culture of learning to thrive. When all learners have opportunities for autonomy and choice, this required agency is fostered.

An interesting element of building a culture of learning is that learning is social (Sergiovanni, 1994). We all need a sense of belonging, of being connected to others, and ideas and values. One way to do that is to foster learners’ agency. Agency like this means teachers and learners are involved in decision-making at the school and classroom levels. These opportunities help teachers develop their leadership abilities and provide ways for them to support colleagues. For learners, learning to make decisions at the classroom level provides similar opportunities to develop leadership and support peers. Allowing learners to feel seen, heard and valued increases engagement. It helps learners discover what agency is and how to use it to self-direct their learning.

In a culture of learning where agency is developed, all learners tend to feel safe, supported and successful. This happens because learners are taught to be autonomous, to make decisions (good ones) on their own. The skills for making these decisions, for looking from various perspectives and owning the outcomes are taught, not assumed.

The ability to make real choices is fundamental to our sense of agency and autonomy—and agency and autonomy are the bedrock for creative exploration of all kinds. Choice helps unleash motivation and curiosity. If you haven’t tried this already, it may be time to let learners explore the content before you explain it. As this may be a shift for you, consider allowing learners to wrestle with new problems or ideas before providing solutions or facts. Tell learners to bring a question or curiosity to class that they have related to the unit of study. Or use a strategy like a synectic to surface what learners already think about a topic. This shift provides them with opportunities to make choices, learn with and from one another, be creative, demonstrate curiosity, and solve problems.

Learners of all ages thrive in environments where their voice matters, and they have choice in the learning process. While there are many different approaches to offering voice and choice when designing learning experiences, here are six to consider: what, who, where, when, how to learn, and how to demonstrate the learning. It often makes sense to combine more than one approach and use the various strategies each approach offers. If you are new to these ideas, start small, with one or two strategies. Over time, you’ll find yourself adding more and getting ideas from colleagues, and even from the learners themselves.

Both choice and collaboration involve decision-making skills. When students understand themselves as learners, understand how to advocate and seek out what they need, they develop confidence in their own executive function and self-regulation ability (Murray, 2019). This is agency in the making. Teaching learners to make choices (decisions), express themselves (voice) and learn how to work with peers (collaborate) helps grow their sense of self-confidence (self-efficacy) as it relates to their capacity to be self-directed learners or learners with agency within a culture of learning.

What does learner agency look like in your classroom? In your school? In addition to agency, what are other elements of your culture of learning?

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