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Education Dive
3 ways educators can give weight to student voice
Including students in classroom decisions and hearing their concerns
when choices affect them can boost engagement at all grade levels,
experts say.
Lauren Barack
Sept. 18, 2019
When she taught kindergarten, Guadalupe Chavez was assigned a classroom
where children were bilingual in English and Spanish, but some only
spoke one language or the other. Her instructions were to assign
different classroom work to different children based on language needs.
The students, she said, rebelled — vocally.
Chavez heard them, began to translate class assignments, and also
bought books in both languages — including science texts. And then she
included the children in the decisions she made in the class when those
choices affected them. Quickly, she saw a shift in their reactions to
assignments.
“I did a lot of translating, but it was so worth it,” said Chavez, who
now teaches 1st grade at Cedar Creek Elementary School in Texas. “Not
to brag, but my class became the chosen class. Parents wanted their
children in my class because the students were excited to go to school.”
Teachers listen to students all day long. But hearing what children
have to say and then folding those ideas into curriculum requires a
different skill set. And experts say empowering students to have a say
in their own learning, and in how the curriculum and educational system
is structured, does more than give them an opportunity to be heard — it
empowers them for their futures.
For educators looking to put this practice into play, experts recommend a handful of strategies.
Set expectations and be clear
Chavez explained to students when they would be able to influence
change in the classroom and when things were "non negotiable." Always,
though, she challenged them to ask questions and then reflect on their
options and decisions.
She said the children were great at expressing themselves, calling them
“honesty gauges” who were always vocal about when they didn’t like
something.
Though some may wonder if kindergartners are too young to understand
this process, Chavez noticed that the students immediately responded to
her as she adopted this line of communication. And she has continued to
put the same practice into play with her 1st graders.
“Once they believed and trusted that their voices mattered, their
opinions and ideas flowed,” Chavez said. “It was a tangible change too,
not just academically. Teachers noticed the confidence in my students,
the happy parents, the positive behavior.”
Involve struggling students
Dana Mitra, a professor of education policy studies at Pennsylvania
State University’s College of Education suggests that the most
effective educators make curriculum changes that come from students and
that they must involve and prioritize students who are struggling.
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