Empowering Agency for Growth→

Tyler Rablin, writing for Edutopia:

“People learn best when they have the autonomy to pursue their interests and focus deeply on topics that are directly relevant to their needs and challenges.”

I’d argue that this principle applies to everyone in our educational community—teachers, administrators, and students. When individuals are empowered to explore their interests and address their specific needs, engagement and motivation soar, leading to deeper understanding and lasting growth. By fostering an environment that values autonomy and relevance, we can enhance learning outcomes and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement across our schools.

It Is Rocket Science→

New theories about the science of learning from the Deans for Impact. Interesting findings include:

• The idea that we each have different learning styles? Unsupported by research.
• "Research shows that taking a quiz or forcing oneself to recall information is a better practice" than, say, rereading a book chapter or completing a study guide.
• Peer tutoring? "When we want a student to learn something, have the learners recall what they know and teach someone else instead of sitting with a few peer who already gets it."
• "Teachers [should] alternate practice with different kinds of content rather than practicing one type of problem several times before moving on."

My sense of this: The better able students are at being agents of their own learning, and the better teachers are at supporting that type of learning, the more students learn.

‘Student Agency’ Is Not Something You Give or Take→

Andrew Rikard, Junior at Davidson College in North Carolina:

When educators say that I am an equal, even when I clearly am not intellectually, everything changes ... I feel both a sharp fear and an intense freedom. Suddenly, my voice is valuable ... my thoughts can change the mind of the other collaborators. This is empowering. It is the exclamation that we all are learning together.