student voice audit and action cards · student voice audit and action cards activating student...

STUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDSActivating student voice to accelerate learning improvement

‘… the ‘secret ingredient’ that could become the most powerful force of all.’ Michael Fullan, Indelible Leadership

‘It is becoming more and more obvious that students are the world’s most underutilised change agents in education.’ Michael Fullan, Indelible Leadership

Student Voice Audit and Action Cards frame an innovative response to raising achievement, through co-design with students. This resource enables educators and students to consider six key roles in the learning process:

• students as evaluators• students as learning designers• students as decision-makers• students as teachers• students as researchers• students as advocates for 21C learning.

Educators: Consistently capturing your intentional actions and their impact on students’ engagement and achievement can provide rich data for your professional learning portfolio.

Student voice in learning, for learning

Student Voice Audit and Action Cards | How might we use them?This resource outlines 8 processes that, together, support educators and students to:• audit existing strengths• identify areas for development and strategic

sequencing for your context • bring breadth and depth to students and

educators’ understanding about the attributes of student voice.

The processes can be used independently of each other and in any order.

You may want to develop your own process.Consider sharing your process via the TfEL Facebook page at http://facebook.com/groups/tfeltalk.

ContentsStudent Voice Audit and Action Cards | Overview 4

Process 1: Where are we now with student voice in learning? 6

Process 2: Developing common agreement 7

Process 3: Quick wins and long-term goals 9

Process 4: Co-design learning with peers to raise achievement 11

Process 5: Co-design learning with students to raise achievement 12

Process 6: Reflecting with students 13

Process 7: Deprivatising teaching practice 14

Process 8: Establishing student learning forums 15

3

Student Voice Audit and Action Cards | Overview

STUDENTS AS EVALUATORSStudents: • get feedback and use

it to move their learning forward

• give feedback to their peers and teachers

• observe learning and teaching, and their feedback is used

• understand the importance of feedback and seek it in all of their learning.

STUDENTS AS DECISION-MAKERSStudents: • discuss decisions

made by adults in their preschool/school

• share their ideas and opinions for decisions to be made

• work with adults in making decisions for teaching and learning

• provide evidence to show how they achieve stronger outcomes when students and adults make decisions together.

STUDENTS AS LEARNING DESIGNERSStudents: • talk with others about

what they need to learn and why

• share what they already know, can do and understand

• discuss how everyone can challenge themselves in new learning

• negotiate and design learning that stretches their thinking.

4

STUDENTS AS TEACHERSStudents: • see their teacher being

a learner• help someone with their

learning and notice the difference it makes

• plan learning activities and teach others

• teach others because they know it helps their own learning.

STUDENTS AS ADVOCATES FOR 21C LEARNINGStudents: • practise being a confident,

resilient and powerful learner wherever they are

• speak up to represent their own and others’ views

• thoughtfully challenge others’ views around learning

• find ways to influence powerful learning across the community.

STUDENTS AS RESEARCHERSStudents: • reflect on what works

or what doesn’t for their learning

• hypothesise with others on what might improve learning

• collect information and data to find out more and test their hypothesis

• interpret data and present their findings for future action.

5

Students as evaluators

Students understand the

importance of feedback

and seek it in all of

their learning.

STUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDS

Co-designing learning improvement

Adapted and informed by: Fielding M (2001) ‘Students as radical agents of

change’, Journal of Educational Change, Vol 2, 123–141; and Harris Federation, UK

DO WE SEE THIS?

• Not yet

• In individual students

• In individual classrooms/

learning spaces

• Embedded in preschool/

school-wide practices

Students as learning designers

Students negotiate

and design learning that

stretches their thinking.STUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDS




DO WE SEE THIS?• Not yet



learning spaces


school-wide practicesStudents as decision-makers

Students work with adults in making decisions for teaching and learning.

STUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDS Co-designing learning improvement Adapted and informed by: Fielding M (2001) ‘Students as radical agents of change’, Journal of Educational Change, Vol 2, 123–141; and Harris Federation, UK


• In individual students• In individual classrooms/

learning spaces• Embedded in preschool/


Students as researchers

Students collect information and data to find out more and test their hypothesis.






Students as advocates for 21C learning

Students speak up

to represent their own

and others’ views.





DO WE SEE THIS?

• Not yet



learning spaces



Students as evaluatorsStudents observe learning and teaching, and their feedback is used.


Co-designing learning improvement Adapted and informed by: Fielding M (2001) ‘Students as radical agents of


DO WE SEE THIS?• Not yet• In individual students• In individual classrooms/ learning spaces• Embedded in preschool/school-wide practices


Students share what

they already know, can

do and understand.



Adapted and informed by: Fielding M (2001) ‘S

tudents as radical agents of

change’, Journal of Educational Change, Vol 2, 123–141; and Harris

Federation, UK

DO WE SEE THIS?

• Not yet



learning spaces



Students as teachers

Students teach others because they know it helps their own learning.






Where are we now with student voice in learning?1 Randomly spread the 24 cards out on the floor.

2 Have students and/or teachers choose one card each from the floor – have them explain where they have seen this action in their classroom, someone else’s classroom or anywhere else around the school.

3 Ask them to finish this sentence, “This action would be even better in our school if…”

PROCESS 1

6

Where are we now?


This is a STRENGTH

in our preschool/school


Students get feedback and use it to move their learning forward.






Where are we now?


This is DEVELOPING



Students talk with others about what they need to learn and why.






Where are we now?


This is NOT YET EVIDENT



Students reflect on what works and doesn’t work for their learning.






Where are we now?


This is something WORTH EXPLORING


Students as decision-makers

Students share their ideas and opinions for decisions to be made.





















Students help someone with their learning and notice the difference it makes.






Developing common agreementIN SMALL GROUPS

1 Discuss each coloured card and place them with the evaluation card (strength, developing, not yet evident) that best describes this attribute of student voice at your site.

2 Identify four cards that you believe are worth exploring, to ensure they are evident in teaching and learning practices in every classroom. These cards can be selected from any column.

Continued on page 8

PROCESS 2

7

TOGETHER

3 Have each group place their chosen four cards on a common table/wall space.

4 What do we notice? What are the common cards that are surfacing?

5 Can we reach agreement on a common aspect to explore as a whole school? (If this process involves only educators, then provide time for students to contribute to this thinking before reaching common agreement.)

6 Are there one or two other aspects that smaller interest groups are willing to explore together?

PROCESS 2 CONTINUED

8





































Students find ways to influence powerful learning across the community.














Students discuss how everyone can challenge themselves in new learning.














Students share what they already know, can do and understand.














Students negotiate and design learning that stretches their thinking.






Most easy to

develop/ implement

Most challenging to develop/ implement

Quick wins and long-term goalsSome attributes of student voice will seem easier to develop than others. Surfacing each others’ perspectives on this could help you to identify:

• possible ‘quick wins’ (attributes that could most easily become whole school practice)

• longer term goals (attributes that will require a sequence of smaller steps over time)

• each others’ strengths and challenges.

1 Arrange cards in their colour groups (6 groups of 4).

2 Arrange in a linear sequence from actions that might be most easy to develop/implement through to actions that might be most challenging to develop/implement.

Continued on page 10

PROCESS 3

9

Activating student voice to accelerate learning improvementSTUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDS

Activating student voice to accelerate learning improvementSTUDENT VOICE AUDIT AND ACTION CARDS

3 Focussing on one colour set at a time, turn over cards when this action is not yet evident in your context. Pose these questions:

• What do you notice?

• What does it make you think?

• Can we see strengths that we could build on in the short-term?

• Can we see new areas of exploration for our site?

• What might we pay attention to in the long-term?

4 What would your students say? Consider running this process with them.

PROCESS 3 CONTINUED

10















Co-design learning with peers to raise achievementStretching all learners to improve their grade in the next learning unit.

ASK YOURSELF

1 Which student voice actions might best support my students to show higher levels of engagement, intellectual stretch and achievement?

2 What makes me think that?

3 How might I design the learning to achieve this?

ASK A PEER

4 Share your thinking with a peer and ask them to:

– challenge your thinking – support you to explore ways

to achieve your aims.

5 Reflect with your peer on your intentional focus – What impact did your focus have on students’ engagement and achievement? What makes you think that? What would you do differently next time?

PROCESS 4


Students plan learning activities and teach others.





















Students understand the importance of feedback and seek it in all of their learning.












Students practise being a confident, resilient and powerful learner wherever they are.







Students provide evidence to show how they achieve stronger outcomes when students and adults make decisions together.Students as teachers

Students see their teacher being a learner.













11






























Students thoughtfully challenge others’ views around learning.












Students provide evidence to show how they achieve stronger outcomes when students and adults make decisions together.Students as teachers














PROCESS 5

12

Co-design learning with students to raise achievementWITH STUDENTS:

1 Use the Achievement Standards and General Capabilities to unpack what students need to do to achieve high standards, ie an A or B grade in their learning on the next unit of work.

2 Use the cards to explore actions that will support them to attain higher levels of engagement, intellectual stretch and achievement in their learning.

3 Discuss how the learning could be designed to enable these actions to be incorporated.

4 Use the cards again at the end of the unit as a reflection. See Process 6.



































Students practise being a confident, resilient and powerful learner wherever they are.


Students discuss decisions made by adults in their preschool/school.




















Reflecting with studentsAt the end of a learning unit have students:

1 Use the cards to explore what role the learning enabled them to take (ie evaluators, researchers, learning designers, advocates, decision-makers, teachers).

2 Explore and capture if/how these actions supported them to achieve higher levels of engagement, intellectual stretch and/or achievement (referenced against the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard).

3 Explore and capture if/how these actions enabled them to develop or show evidence of the General Capabilities and personal development goals.

4 Consider how these actions could be designed into future units of work.

PROCESS 6

13

Deprivatising teaching practice1 Select a key set of action cards, eg Students as researchers.

Copy these cards onto A4 size paper and display on a wall space in your staffroom.

2 Begin the discussion by asking where we see these actions currently happening. Invite teachers to write specific examples on sticky notes and post below each card. Leave these displayed for a week and ask teachers to explore new ideas, or borrow from the list generated.

3 Throughout the week, invite teachers to post new ideas, or examples they’ve adapted to their context. Collate all responses and distribute these to staff.

4 As a staff, walk through the school to find examples of these actions in practice. Give positive feedback to colleagues.

5 At the next staff meeting, have teachers reflect on and share one student voice process they successfully actioned in their classroom. What did they notice? What did it enable?









Students hypothesise with others on what might improve learning.














Students interpret data and present their findings for future action.






PROCESS 7

14

Establishing student learning forumsStudent Learning Commissions (SLCs) are a powerful way to bring student voice into site improvement processes in learning engagement and achievement. Through SLCs students can contribute as:

• evaluators

• learning designers

• decision-makers

• teachers

• researchers

• advocates for 21C learning.

As a school community consider:• How will our SLC be different

to a ‘traditional SRC’?• What will be the role and

purpose of our SLC?• How might our SLC contribute

its thinking to the development of our quality learning community. Could they inform our:

– Assessment of teaching effectiveness through feedback? – Numeracy and Literacy Agreements to include what works for them as learners? – Newsletters for parents to develop shared understanding of 21C learning?

PROCESS 8

15


Students give feedback to their peers and teachers.







Students share what they already know, can do and understand.





















Students find ways to influence powerful learning across the community.







Student voice is intentionalTeachers, leaders and students deliberately share teaching and learning power as a fundamental condition for activating student thinking and learning achievement. (TfEL, Domain 2)

‘How can we communicate with all schools so they get this learning?… There should be student voice audits in every school everywhere in the world!’Feedback from students (Years 3–9), TfEL PILOT Local Partnership

student voice audit and action cards · student voice audit and action cards activating student...

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