Gripping Learner Agency
Grip tape is is an essential part of the skateboard setup, because it provides the traction necessary to keep your foot on the wooden board. It is a resource that allows skaters to more easily navigate their paths. So what happens when we apply the logic of grip tape to students navigating education? To some adults, even those who work with youth, it is radical idea that high school students can be the agents of their own educations. Yet we expect students to be prepared for that independence a few short months after graduation, whether in college or in the workforce. A study from UChicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research designates agency as a key ingredient for young adult’s success and development. If we value traits such as agency, determination, and resilience, how are we giving students opportunities and resources to build these capacities?
We call ourselves the Student Experience Lab (SXL) because here at the Business Innovation Factory we know that true transformation comes from centering and designing with those who are at the heart of our social systems. It is integral that we tap into student experiences and knowledge to lead innovation within the education field. A key part of our mission is to collaborate with others inside and outside of our sectors to move towards transformation. At the close of last year, we had the opportunity to collide and connect with others who value learner agency and student led learning.
SXL paired up with our friends at 360 High School, a completely student designed school, and joined 10 organizations at a Learning Accelerator in New York City with goals to:
- Accelerate the efforts of the members to advance the emergence of learner agency
- Spark new efforts to focus on learner agency outside of the accelerator members
- Develop a shared knowledge base for the conditions needed for the emergence of learner agency
Our host organization, GripTape is leading this effort to boost youth and learner agency. GripTape gives young people the traction they need to take control of their own learning, choose their purposes, and achieve their full potential. They provide resources that enable students to become active participants and leaders of their own learning. This Accelerator brought together youth and adults from organizations across the country including the Boys and Girls Club of America, College Board, and the Future Project. Each organization sent one adult and one youth, allowing for both diverse perspectives and balance of voices.
We explored what agency looked like in our personal lives and in our organizations. One youth participant told a story of speaking in front of a crowd of thousands of people. I spoke about a more internal moment of recognizing what support I needed and being able to articulate it. We struggled through how we enable both “kinds” of agency and discussed if they actually differed. We later split into groups to tackle specific challenges to learner agency including: youth access to resources, measuring agency, and adult behavior.
“We worked backwards from an ideal goal, and in doing so were able to explore ideological and systematic issues which would have been hard to foresee otherwise…I felt that one of our agreements, to “joyfully disagree,” really framed the day for me: it was not about coming to one singular definition or solution, it was about exploring the topic with a diverse group of people.” ~Clara Lew-Smith, youth accelerator member and co-facilitator/teacher at Up for Learning
We brainstormed our ideal solutions to these challenges ranging from schools designs, to phone applications, to workshops. Some solutions were complex, but our process to get to them was not. We asked simple questions, dove into conversations, and stayed true to one of our agreements, youth first. As Clara reflected, we used models such as ‘How do we … ?’ and ‘Help me to … ?’, which reframed an abstract process into one in which answers could be directed to clear and well-framed questions.
“While going through my experience I learned that before it can take a village, it must first start with me.” ~Nigeria Segure-Watson, Youth Leadership Board Member of GripTape
Innovation around improving student agency starts with us. Though I wish that day ended with a magic wand to bring our initiatives to life, I left the gathering energized to work towards or “hack” our big ideas into practices that the SXL can work towards to continue growing and enriching our student-centered framework. Moving forward our teams will be in contact to share our learning from these hacks meaning that even without implementing our big ideas we are all getting smarter around agency. The accelerator group will meet again in the spring to continue our work and conversations.
Before we catch up with the accelerator group again, we want to hear from you: What does agency look like to you? How do you encourage student led learning and youth agency? Leave a comment, or tweet at us @BIFsxl .
