As a PK-12 department, we recognized that agency and self-advocacy was an important area in which we could have lasting impact on student self concept and empowerment. As such, we have worked to determine what this means to us, what are goals are, what are our markers and have drafted something to guide our work with students. We borrowed heavily from the International School of Brussels and their example in documentation from Next Frontier Inclusion. We wanted to have one continuum that could potentially be used with students all the way through our program. We highlighted 3 big areas: Understanding yourself as a learner, Identifying Learning Goals, and Communicating your learning needs. We see this continuum as guiding our work to help students develop their agency.
This is the second year I have done this and I love to see their faces light up when I get them right and the power they feel in creating their profile in a style that is meaningful to them. Some choose imovies, some slide shows, some posters. Each of them communicates something about who they are as a person and not just as a student. This is empowering for students and important information for their teachers. It is then shared with the grade 6 team in the transition process so they can be prepared for the students they will have in their classes.
A Final Request:
A new addition to the by blog is the possibility to subscribe. If you are interested in getting email updates when I have a new post, please sign up with your email. I promise that I will not use your email for anything besides the monthly update on a new post and will not clutter your inbox with updates.