How to Foster Student Agency in Education

This semester, I've been conducting a quiet experiment: deliberately transferring the authority to define learning outcomes to my students. The results have been revelatory. While many educators see AI as a threat to academic integrity, I've witnessed something more significant: when students define their own learning pathways, their relationship with AI transforms from potential shortcut to powerful collaborator. Take Maya*, one of my most engaged students. She's researching luxury consumption in fashion markets and developing a market study for a sustainable denim brand she's conceptualizing. Most importantly, she crafted her own project outcomes and assessment criteria. What's fascinating is how this transfer of authority changed her relationship with AI: Before: AI was primarily a way to generate content that matched teacher expectations After: AI became a thought partner helping her explore possibilities she defined I observed her use BoodleBox to explore market positioning strategies, critically evaluate each response, and synthesize her own approach that differed from any AI suggestion. The AI didn't replace her thinking – it amplified it by expanding the possibility space. This pattern has repeated across my classrooms: when students own the definition of quality, their use of AI shifts from outsourcing to augmentation. They develop what I call "outcome ownership" – the ability to define meaningful endpoints and assess their own progress. For educators concerned about AI's impact, I suggest this counterintuitive approach: transfer more authority to students, not less. Let them define project outcomes within meaningful guardrails. The resulting ownership transforms AI from threat to asset. Perhaps the most powerful question isn't "How do we prevent AI misuse?" but "How might AI help us create space for authentic student agency?" What small experiments in authority transfer might you try in your classroom? *Name changed for privacy #StudentAgency #AILiteracy #AuthenticLearning #EducationalInnovation Mike Kentz Vriti Saraf Amanda Bickerstaff Dr. Lance Cummings Armand Ruci M.A, M.Ed Alfonso Mendoza Jr., M.Ed. Aman Kumar Scott Sommers, PhD Nigel P. Daly, PhD 戴 禮 Phillip Alcock Jessica Maddry, M.EdLT

On giving students autonomy and choice in classes. As I sat preparing my classes for the Spring, I found this article in The New York Times helpful. (more here: https://lnkd.in/eUY8qSDj) The authors argue that students have been trained to live in a world of control but respond well to greater autonomy if the course is structured properly and the instructor demonstrates empathy. To do so, they suggest seven action items ... * Create Opportunities for Student Agency - Design assignments that let students choose their focus areas or methods. For example, allow them to select research topics or project formats aligned with their interests. * Integrate Goal-Setting and Reflection - Start the semester by having students set personal and academic goals. Provide regular checkpoints for them to reflect on their progress and adjust strategies. * Facilitate Real-World Problem Solving - Use scenarios that require students to analyze and solve practical problems. These activities build initiative and resilience, mimicking workplace challenges. * Encourage Autonomy in Learning - Offer choices in assignments or project approaches to promote ownership. For example, let students design their action plans to achieve course objectives. * Normalize Setbacks with Constructive Feedback - Frame feedback as developmental rather than judgmental. Teach students to view setbacks as learning opportunities and adapt their strategies. * Promote Teamwork and Collaboration - Use group projects to enhance communication and teamwork. Rotate roles within teams to ensure students develop diverse collaboration skills. * Model Empathy and Support - Maintain a supportive and understanding approach in student interactions. Encourage open dialogue and help students explore different pathways to success. Most of these, good faculty know - but what jumps out for me - is the final point, it's how we behave as role models and mentors, that engages students in the other action items. If we demonstrate a legitimate concern for student learning, and caring for the students, they excel. This, is exactly what, Pamela Perrewe told me as I was leaving Florida State University for Clemson University two dozen years ago. It was nice to see my mentor's wisdom affirmed by recent research. So what to do? Be kind, be developmental, and don't be afraid to have standards - when students know you care - they rise to the challenge! #academicteaching

My students often suffer from “freedom paralysis.” Here’s what that is and how I’m addressing it. ————————— THE BURDEN OF AGENCY I sincerely believe that in the Age of AI, it’s becoming more important to give students agency over their work. Yesterday, I posted about Open Assignments that I’m adding to my online courses. Basically, students get to do a deep dive on whatever they want. They get to structure their response however they want. (Text, Images, Handwritten Notes, Videos…) Almost immediately, I started getting two questions. 1️⃣ How do you help students decide what they care about? 2️⃣ What about the grading? I’m particularly interested in #1. Students often feel paralyzed by too much freedom. So, we have a choice… ————————— THE CHOICE We can either: 1️⃣ Go back to fully scaffolding the activity. 2️⃣ Address the root causes of why students feel Freedom Paralysis. At the moment, I’m digging into #2. I’m providing support for my students as they address their paralysis. After all, it’s largely a product of the education system. Many of my students are so used to testing and being told exactly what to do that it’s hard to figure out what to do when someone says “do what you want.” And yet… I want my students to lean into exploratory learning as much as they can. ————————— HOW I’M ADDRESING IT (I reserve the right to change this) Right now, I’m addressing this by: 1️⃣ Talking to students about it. We talk about why it’s important to lean into the difficulty here. 2️⃣ I’ll offer optional support. If students need me, I’m here. I have online office hours every day. ————————— It’s easy to say “just give students agency over their own learning.” But it’s far more complicated than that. Sometimes, because of the system they’re used to, students will have trouble when they’re finally given agency. But rather than backing down, we need to lean into this work. Because in an age of automation, it is THE work.