Empowering Student Agency: The Transformative Impact of Student Choice in Education

Education in the 21st century is undergoing a paradigm shift, with increasing emphasis on student agency—the ability of students to make choices about their learning experiences. In education, we often hear the phrase “developing 21st century skills” as it applies to our current students. However, the reality is that we are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century. We now have to focus on developing skills that will carry our students and their families into the rest of the century. Educators face the daunting task of preparing students for jobs that have not yet been invented.

The Role of Student Agency and Inquiry-Based Learning

In the evolving landscape of education, empowering students with agency in their learning journeys has become a pivotal concept. Student agency further refers to the capacity of students to act independently and make choices about their learning processes. When students have the power to choose topics and themes that interest them, they are more engaged, motivated, and likely to achieve better educational outcomes. Student agency fosters engagement and cultivates essential life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-directed learning—skills that are crucial for navigating an ever-changing world.

Inquiry-based learning, a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the student's active role in the learning process, aligns seamlessly with the concept of student agency. It encourages students to explore, ask questions, and engage in hands-on experiences, promoting deeper understanding and retention of knowledge.

The Terminators: A Case Study of Student Agency in Action

The World Educational Robot Contest (WER) is an international competition for participants from elementary through high school. The 2016 WER Junior National Team from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), offers a vivid example of the transformative power of student agency. The team’s journey from an afterschool robotics club to a national team participating in the WER World Championship demonstrates the impact of a school allowing students to pursue their interests.

In 2016, a group of middle school students approached me, then the director for teaching and learning at Sharjah American International School - Dubai, with a request to start a robotics club. Despite lacking expertise in robotics, I agreed, inspired by their passion and curiosity. The students' enthusiasm for engineering and technology drove them to research robotics competitions, ultimately choosing to participate in WER.

As the team, dubbed "The Terminators," delved into the complexities of robotics, the students demonstrated the core principles of inquiry-based learning. They divided roles and responsibilities among themselves, enhancing their problem-solving and collaboration skills. Their dedication culminated in winning second place at the WER World Championship in Shanghai, China—an extraordinary achievement for a team that had started from scratch.

The members of “The Terminators” National UAE Junior 2016 WER Robotics Team from left to right: Mazen Gabr, Coach Chassie Selouane, Nour Shaikh, Ahmad Farran, Mohammed Ali, Mahmoud Gabr (in loving memory, January 18, 2003 – July 30, 2020), Uzman Mirza.

The Power of Inquiry-Based Learning: Another Success Story

Another compelling example of student agency and inquiry-based learning comes from a high school environmental science class in Morocco and its International Baccalaureate (IB) CAS (creativity, action, and service) project. Students were tasked with identifying a local environmental issue and developing a project to address it. A group of students chose to focus on reducing plastic waste in the community. The students conducted research, interviewed local businesses, and collaborated with environmental organizations. They determined that a lack of trash receptacles could be causing a littering problem in local neighborhoods and beaches and then used their research to develop a series of creative action service projects that included a family fun fair to raise funds to purchase waste receptacles for community common areas. After the students purchased the receptacles, they organized local clean-up days in parks and beaches and created signage in Arabic, French, and English, encouraging the use of the bins.

The project not only raised awareness about littering and pollution but also made a greater impact on the community by promoting environmental education and ownership in shared community spaces. The success of the community clean-up projects also led to the implementation of a recycling program at the school. The students' initiative and inquiry-driven approach resulted in tangible change, demonstrating the power of student agency in real-world contexts to solve real-world problems.

Reflections on the Impact of Student Agency

These two success stories highlight the benefits of student agency and inquiry-based learning:

1. Increased Engagement and Motivation: When students are genuinely interested in what they are learning, they are more engaged and motivated. The Terminators and the environmental science students both exhibited a high level of commitment to their projects.
2. Development of Critical Skills: Inquiry-based learning fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. Both groups of students had to analyze complex problems, develop strategies, and work together to achieve their goals.
3. Empowerment and Confidence: The journey from novice learners to accomplished individuals instilled a sense of empowerment and confidence in the students. They learned that, with determination and effort, they could overcome challenges and achieve great things.
4. Real-World Application: Student-driven projects often lead to practical applications, preparing students for future careers. The Terminators' robotics skills and the environmental science students' project management experiences are valuable in various fields.
5. Lifelong Learning: Encouraging student agency fosters a love of learning and a curiosity-driven mindset, essential for navigating an ever-changing world.

Tying into the UAE School Inspection Framework Guidelines

The UAE School Inspection Framework places a strong emphasis on the development of critical competencies, student-centered learning, and the promotion of innovation. It highlights the importance of creating learning environments that encourage student participation, critical thinking, and problem-solving—core elements of both student agency and inquiry-based learning.

1. Alignment with National Priorities: The success stories of the Terminators and the environmental science students align with the UAE's national priorities, particularly in fostering a culture of innovation and lifelong learning. By promoting student agency, educators help meet the framework's goal of developing creative and independent thinkers who are prepared for the future.
2. Encouraging Innovation and Creativity: The framework advocates for teaching methods that inspire creativity and innovation. The projects undertaken by the students in these stories exemplify how inquiry-based learning can lead to innovative solutions to real-world problems, aligning with the UAE's vision for education.
3. Emphasis on Student-Centered Learning: The framework encourages a shift toward student-centered learning, where students take an active role in their education. The cases of the Terminators and the environmental science students demonstrate how giving students autonomy over their learning journeys can lead to more meaningful and impactful educational experiences.
4. Focus on Personal and Social Development: The framework also stresses the importance of students' personal and social development. The initiatives led by students in both success stories not only enhanced their academic skills but also fostered a sense of responsibility, community engagement, and social awareness.

The Role of Educators

Educators play a crucial role in fostering student agency by creating a school environment that supports choice and autonomy. Strategies to promote student agency include encouraging exploration, facilitating self-directed learning, supporting risk-taking, providing choice, fostering a growth mindset, and offering individualized learning pathways.

1. Encourage Exploration: Allow students to explore a variety of topics and find what interests them. Provide opportunities for independent research and project-based learning.
2. Facilitate Self-Directed Learning: Teach students how to set goals, manage their time, and assess their progress. Provide guidance and resources, but let students take the lead. It is important to give students a chance to grow and develop with individualized support programs. Educators should work to empower students through personalized learning that is meaningful and relevant to their growth needs.
3. Support Risk-Taking: Create a safe environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes. Encourage experimentation, and view failures as learning opportunities. Students who have strong relationships with their teachers are willing to take bigger risks. Urge students to use inquiry-based strategies through positive reinforcement, and foster trial and error through “mistakes.”
4. Provide Choice: Whenever possible, give students choices in their assignments, projects, and activities. This could include selecting topics, choosing project formats, or deciding ways to demonstrate their learning. A great strategy is preparing several options or versions of assignments and expecting students to complete one of the options but challenge them to complete more of the options for a chance of a reward. You will be surprised what the students choose.
5. Foster a Growth Mindset: Emphasize the importance of effort and perseverance. Inspire students to view challenges as opportunities for growth and believe in their ability to improve. All students have a wide variety of diverse talents. Give students a chance to participate in activities where they can utilize their strengths and work on their growth areas.
6. Give Students Tools for Individual Learning Pathways: Students often need individualized interventions that can pinpoint discrete skill gaps. Individualization has become a necessity in our pandemic-affected learning world. Using data-driven benchmark and diagnostic tools (such as Exact Path) can empower educators to reach all students through personalized, differentiated direct instruction and meet the needs of every student’s learning moment.

The success of the Terminators and the IB CAS and environmental science students serves as a beacon of what is possible when students are given the freedom to explore their interests and the support to pursue their dreams. It is a call to action for educators, administrators, and policymakers to prioritize student agency in the design and implementation of educational programs. In doing so, we can create a more dynamic, inclusive, and empowering learning environment that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

About the Author

Chassie Selouane, the vice chairperson of the board of governors of Copperstone Education, is an Indigenous American educational disruptor from North Carolina. She has been an educator for 23 years throughout the U.S. and the MENA region. Chassie is the founder/CEO of Appalachian American Academy Morocco, a virtual American curriculum school in Morocco, and principal at MLS Riyadh. She is the chairperson of the steering committee of the GCC ASCD Connected Community and the chairperson of the steering committee of the Education Experts conference series. She is also an advisory council member of AIELOC and a mentor for GLEAC.