Fostering Student Agency: Activities That Empower Learning II

PYPX Notebook. Doga´s Central idea. ILG School, Prishtina, Kosovo.

Thank you to those of you who read my posts and also sent me supportive comments and feedback. Happy New Year to everyone!

Today, I'm going to continue with the second part of my last post, which was about activities that can be done in the classroom to promote student agency. These activities or ways of developing them are directly related to learning experiences.

Understanding the Lines of Inquiry.

I carry out this activity at the start of each unit for two reasons: first, so that students understand the unit before we begin, and second, to get to know their ideas better, learn from them, and alongside them.

The first part involves finding volunteers willing to make a poster with the unit's lines of inquiry. My good old friends Aarnav, AJ, and Amaya were always happy to help.

I like doing this activity gradually because not all students who come to my classroom know the IB curriculum or concepts.

• During the first unit, students choose one line of inquiry and suggest an activity that connects to it.
• The difficulty increases in the second and third units, and I ask them to propose ideas for all three lines of inquiry, which may include field trips or guest speakers. It’s amazing to see how, with guidance and feedback, the activities become more complex and connected as we move from one unit to another.
• In the fourth and fifth units, the activity reaches its maximum complexity: in addition to describing activities for each line of inquiry, students must include the following information:
• Which ATL (Approaches to Learning) will you be working on in this activity? How will you work on this ATL?
• Which Learner Profile attribute will you focus on? How will you develop it?
• Which Key Concept will you use and how will you apply it?

By the time we reach Unit 5, the results are incredible, and this activity, along with the PYP Board activity I explained in my previous post, are fundamental tools to prepare them for the PYPX. These are two simple activities at the beginning of each unit, but they have a tremendous impact on their development as IB students.

Last year, I came up with the idea of using this model for students to inquire into their PYPX. Once they had defined their lines of inquiry, I asked them to apply this process, describing the activities they wanted to carry out and how they connected to IB concepts. In the end, I suggested they do those activities, and they were thrilled! The projects they created were completely genuine, born from their ideas and processes, and the most valuable part was that they learned how to learn.

Here are some examples of the work done by my students Doga, Vesa, Amaya, AJ, and Aya. Every time I read through their PYPX notebooks, I feel immense pride in their effort and growth.

I think it would be very interesting to implement these activities, as well as the PYP Board, in fourth grade, so that students can start getting used to this type of work. It would be fascinating to observe their growth from fourth to fifth grade by following these practices.

The "Menu".

This is, without a doubt, one of my students' favorite practices. I want to thank Amanda Turici for inspiring me with this idea.

To implement this practice, I design a wide range of 8-10 learning experiences that cover different subjects, lines of inquiry, text types, and projects. In addition to the 3-4 core experiences I believe are necessary to cover the unit, I present these activities in the form of a "Menu." Some activities are worth 1 point (the simplest), others 2 points (intermediate level), and the most complex ones are worth 3 points. I ask them to accumulate at least 6 points throughout the unit, giving them class time to work on the menu, but also allowing them to work on it during free time.

This approach not only fosters agency but also differentiation in the classroom: lower-level students choose the simpler activities, while those seeking more challenges opt for the harder ones. This balance in differentiation occurs naturally, through their decisions and their agency.

Interestingly, although the goal was to reach 6 points, most students surpassed that, and many even took the activities home voluntarily. I believe this says a lot about the impact of this practice in the classroom.

Letting the Class Flow

Sometimes, as teachers, we focus too much on following our plans to the letter and finishing activities on time. However, I’ve learned that the best things happen when we let the class flow when we allow the students to talk and propose their ideas.

I remember one day when the students were preparing for a Role Play. Each had chosen a type of government and was preparing their speeches and counterarguments. I noticed that some had created posters with the names of their countries, and others were secretly making hats or decorations. In the end, I decided to dedicate two classes to letting them create posters, flags, and write laws for their invented countries. Maybe we “lost” those hours, but the final result and how much fun we had in the Role Play is something I’ll never forget.

These small activities show us how we can transform learning into a pleasant and meaningful space for children.

In the third post, which will be the final part of this series on promoting agency, I’ll talk about how to implement it in the classroom through actions, reflections, field trips, privileges, and responsibilities.

Once again, I want to express my gratitude to ILG School for allowing me to put these ideas into practice and for giving me the freedom to teach in my way, without judgment. In a context where many schools limit education with rigid schedules, homework, and exams, they allowed me to fully enjoy the experience with the students. Thanks to Amanda for always trusting my ideas and for sharing so many of her own with me.