Custom Made

After diving into a book study over the summer on Student Voice: The Instrument of Change by Russell Quaglia, I reflected on where I excel and where I fall short when including student voice in our classroom. Quaglia's words inspired me to make changes to increase student voice and create a custom made classroom. "The real challenge lies in listening carefully to what they are telling us, reflecting upon it, learning from it, and leading change with students by our sides. Listen, learn, and lead."

My personal teacher goal this year is to increase student voice in both process and product. I started by asking: what does this look like, Where do I begin? What will I do to learn more about increasing student voice? I quickly realized that I don't know all the answers right now. I don't know what opportunities will present themselves in and out of the class room. I don't know who I will interact with that will feed my goal. The one thing I do know is that students thrive when they feel heard and valued. Any step I can take to create the environment where student voice and choice are present and active is a step in the right direction.

All three of my reading blocks filled out a Google Form that asked 3 simple questions to get feedback on the first 6 weeks of school. You see I began the year telling students what reading stations they had to complete, the time they had to complete it, and when to switch to the next station. I realized very quickly that I was dictating way too much of what happened in OUR classroom. 

I immediately reevaluated and made changes to our process. For the past couple of weeks, students have been given a menu on Google Classroom that offers required, optional, and extension opportunities/stations. Students get to complete them in their desired order and have all week to complete the required stations. Some students have needed a little more guidance on what order they should complete their stations and other students were able to better manage their time. My hope is that over time all students will be able to monitor their learning, know when more time is needed on certain stations, and when to push themselves to the next learning opportunity. I am looking forward to watching them take ownership of their learning all with a little guidance.

The results of the first "feedback form" left me feeling excited about our partnership in their learning. Some students offered suggestions, some offered what they loved, some offered areas to improve, and some offered no comment at this time. 

The form gives students a chance to voice their opinion without having to say it out loud. I have many students that may not feel comfortable sharing their spoken voice, but through this avenue they are given an opportunity that works for them. All comments are taken, read, and processed. All students are heard. All students are shaping our classroom.

This is just one way I am adapting and changing our environment to best meet the needs of the students. Student voice in both process and product is our goal. We will work as a team this year to increase their voice and choice.

We are a team, we are working together, we are building voice. We are a custom made classroom thanks to my students.

-LL