Building Student Agency Through AFL - Allan Powell from Evaluation Associates

We began with a provocation from Vivienne Robinson: 
“The culture of an organisation/school/classroom is the sum of every conversation and interaction that happens within it.” What do we hope it would be? 
I had someone observe me last year and they made the comment, "It's like your class are all brothers and sisters. They talk to each other like that and bicker like that!" I took this as a compliment! I liked the idea of my class being like a family. I call them my Room 1 whānau. As a staff we hoped the culture would be children self-managing, positive, fun, learning focussed, supportive, and faith-based.

Next question from Allan: "What do great learners do in this classroom?"
Lots of discussion followed. We thought they took risks, were able to analyse and reflect on their learning to form their next steps, knew where to access 'next step' options and were able to articulate their learning. Through this PD, we learnt it's also a whole lot more! 

We then reviewed the 4th February staff meeting:
Why is this professional learning worthwhile to engage in?   A child who has agency and self direction will achieve better - go to higher heights.  Showed the importance of the learning and steps being clear - how to achieve success.  Put us in the learners seat.  Looked at the variables that contribute to effective learning - working in shared partnership with the students.

A continuum from passive learners to active learners.

A theory for improvement. 
Research found studnets improves when:

• They are active in their learning 
• Motivated to learn
• Manage the amount of new information at any one time
• Practice
• Seek descriptive feedback

Logic for improvement: 

• Student achievement accelerated through effective/improved
• Student learning achieved through effective/improved
• Teacher practice
• School leadership
• PLD

What is desirable?  What is currently happening?  Devising a cunning plan!

What is desirable?  AFL Learning Capability Matrix:  This term focussing on 1.  Building learning focussed relationships and 2. Clarity about what is to be learnt.

We looked at the AFL Student Capability Matrix - the rubric for Building Learning-Focused Relationships (comparing stages 1-4)

Learning Focussed Relationships:
How teachers can relate to their students (or how students perceive the relationship):
Controlling
Caring
Activity focused
Learning focused

What is the culture of your classroom?  Do they understand the reason for being in the class?  They are there to LEARN - we want learning to flourish.  Learning will flourish if if learning is the focus.

What are the key messages you want your kids to have about learning?  What do you want students to understand about learning & how do they see themselves as learners?

• Great learners can talk about their learning with others
• Great learners know when they have achieved the learning
• Great learners can tell me when learning is too easy or too hard

Is this culture actually about learning in our class or is there a mix in of other stuff (control etc.)?


Effective feedback accelerates achievement. Research says that the number one thing that accelerates learning is when learners activate / initiate feedback.  However, they won’t know what to activate feedback on unless they are clear about what & why they are learning.  Without clarity, students can’t self assess, reflect or promote further learning.

Building learning focussed relationship requires: Students to be active and committed participants in creating and maintaining the classroom environment that best promotes learning and meets their learning needs. Students hold the teacher to account for his/her responsibilities in this relationship. The classroom is focussed on learning and students can describe their contribution to the learning process. Greater ownership of the lesson by students as responsibility shifts from teacher to student for learning. Content, process and choice of learning are experienced as co-constructed. Students are independent learners who have a committment to evaluating and adjusting their learning to meet their needs in partnership with the teacher. Students are able to lead conversations about their learning with their parents and describe their learning process.