Student Agency - Why bother
Why do we bother? It is far easier for a teacher to stand at the front of a class and teach everyone the same lesson. Many countries overseas do this, you might remember this from your schooling or from TV programmes. However, this doesn’t happen in NZ. Teachers are experts at differentiating, giving all children the right opportunities and access at just the right level and right type of learning. They are also great at building trusting learning relationships so our students believe and show confidence that they are capable learners. In most NZ classes teachers are covering between 2 to 3 curriculum levels, sometimes more. In their book, Putting Students First, Jones, Avery, and DiMartino (2020) note that “Students taking ownership of and responsibility for their own learning is nearly universally accepted as a desirable and positive trait. When students have a say in what and how they engage with content, learning deepens and carries over into new...