Student Voice

Sample Inquiries & Models for Professional Learning
EXAMPLE 1
Introduction
"[Students] express voice in a variety of ways – in writing, art and drama; in gesture, body language and even silence. In this sense, student voice is not something that we grant to students, but rather something we tap into" (Student Voice, 2013).

The bottom-line for everyone is continuously improving students' educational outcomes: the practice of 'tapping into' student voice is central to what Dawes (2018) describes as shifting from an older to a more, recent (and developing) model of service delivery for educational systems. And to increase our precision in determining what this service model entails, Breakspear (2015) encourages us to pursue professional learning that is commensurate with the needs that our students are voicing.
What are our students telling us that we need to learn?
Growing a shared model of leadership "...'requires a transformation of what it means to be a student; what it means to be a teacher. In effect, it requires the intermingling and interdependence of both'". As a response, more and more "educators are fostering reciprocal relationships with their students by including them in co-creating learning opportunities, co-designing the learning space and co-constructing assessment (including assessments of their own learning and the learning of their peers)" (Student Voice, 2013).
​With all of this in mind, how might we begin to create and follow inquiries where students' learning progressions are mirroring our own? In the sections that follow, you'll not only find a sample inquiry model to adapt, but you'll also find an opportunity to communicate with others, through this sample, as a professional learning community.

Before you take on this opportunity, consider where your team is in terms of its collaboration. It is by WE that WE move forward. I would strongly encourage your team to consider both personal and professional values--all of this leading up to co-creating collaborative norms, setting a focus, and developing precision with your learning. You'll find this introductory learning experience (soon to be published) detailed in Flipping the Focus' post, Learning to Belong; Belonging for Learning: Improving Student Learning Through Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy. Click on the link ("Team/Class Activity"; see right) to access the team activity open in a new tab. For your convenience a link has been embedded in the post to help you navigate back to this page.
Systems of Education Shifting to Learning Systems
Shifting from a Transactive to a Transformative Model (Dawes, 2018)
Upon your team's return to the opportunity, described in the following sections, note that a sample polling tool (Section A) is currently active to provide you with a source of data that can help you to start driving educator and student conversations. Be a part of the sample: participate in the poll yourself!

In Section B, your work begins. This is the perfect opportunity to adapt these ideas within your own context.
As you move along, share your own models for cultivating student voice by commenting to the shared document (embedded in section B). And by doing so, learn from the examples shared by a broad and diverse network of professional educators.

Lastly, as you go along, further reading is provided in Section C for generating additional insights to innovation.
​
SO...LET'S GET STARTED!
Learning to Belong; Belonging for Learning: Improving Student Learning Through Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy
A) The Surveys
Survey: Educator Version
Check dynamic results:
Survey: Student Version
​(NOW LIVE! Encourage your students to participate)
Check dynamic results:
B) Shared Examples - Your Adaptations
As you work through your improvement planning processes, consider how your monitoring practices might be impacted--not only by the asking yourself/your team the suggested prompts (form, below) but by having a student improvement plan that mirrors your own.
What better way to model your commitment to students then by sharing how your learning needs are directly related to their own!
By interacting with the form embedded below, please take some time to share examples of your monitoring. 
  • 1-Edit Form
    • Click on the "Edit Form" button (see right). As you enter details, the form will auto-save and its updates published back to this website!
  • 2-Enter Details
    • Enter your prompts, results, interpretation, and next steps, accordingly
  • 3-Comment for/with Others
    • Take some time to comment (or ask questions) of the entries provided by others. Again, edit the form to add your comment(s). As a protocol, you might choose to describe what you like and what might push the work further 'up the mountain-top'
  • 4-Further Reflection
    • What insights are surfacing for you? What ideas might you consider putting into action? Contribute them to the form. A "Comments" section has been provided for this
  • 5-Building Your Professional Communities of Practice
    • Lastly, are there contributions being made by others whom you'd like to reach out to? To extend and deepen your professional educator network? Use the Virtual Communities of Practice-Builder buttons (see right) to start making contact for your next (and ongoing) collaboration(s). Step 1 facilitates your request; Step 2, to see whom you can connect with.
VCP-Builder
C) Further Reading
The monograph is filled with inquiry questions that you can consider for your/your team's professional learning regarding culturally-responsive pedagogy in teaching and learning.
D) References
Breakspear, S. (2015). Overview of Learning Sprints [Video blog post]. Retrieved October, 2018, from https://vimeo.com/282261789

Dawes, P. (2018, April 2). Moving from Professional Development to Professional Learning [Web log post]. Retrieved October, 2018, from https://www.edushift.ca/articles/moving-from-professional-development-to-professional-learning

​Ontario Ministry of Education, Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat. (2013). Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy(35th ed., Capacity Building Series, pp. 1-8). Retrieved October, 2018, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/cbs_responsivepedagogy.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education, Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat. (2013). Student Voice: Transforming Relationships(34th ed., Capacity Building Series, pp. 1-8). Retrieved October, 2018, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_StudentVoice.pdf
EXAMPLE 2
WHEN IT COMES TO LEARNING, WHAT DOES SUCCESS MEAN?
A) Introduction
In recent years, we’ve been hearing about and espousing the importance of having and enacting a growth mindset. A growth mindset, according to Dweck (2006) is based on the belief that intelligence is not fixed...that each person can move beyond their current level of skill through hard work and determination. Developing this mindset goes beyond belief: it manifests in how we respond to challenges and setbacks.

Generally, those with a growth mindset are curious to stretch themselves by learning something new: success is borne of their efforts to confronting challenges and making progress. Feelings of success are drawn just as much--if not more--from the process of learning than its results.
Getting ‘there’...towards success...requires that students have a clear understanding of the criteria for success; contribute to their construction; and have opportunities to putting them into action. Equally- important and coincident with their use is the opportunity to receive descriptive feedback from teachers and peers and to engage in self-assessment against these criteria. With ongoing, descriptive feedback, students are better able to monitor their progress towards learning goals--making adjustments, accordingly, and subsequently, are positioning themselves to setting new goals (Growing Success, 2010).
The very nature of “Getting ‘there’” is derived from Formative Assessment and ”...requires a culture in which student and teacher learn together in a collaborative relationship” (Growing Success, p30). The reciprocal relationship, as described through the example of co-constructing criteria (above) can also be grown, in part, by encouraging students to persevere through their own learning processes (some of these, experimental) and talking about challenges as they arise (Student Voice, 2013).
[CONTINUE READING]