This document discusses student voice and why it should be embedded in classrooms and schools. It provides examples of how student voice has been incorporated in various areas, including the learning environment, school culture, policy, leadership, and student-centered learning. It also discusses how collaborative inquiry can support professional learning on student voice and lists top technology tools that can help document the process, such as images, video, mind mapping, note capture, and presentation platforms. The overall document makes the case for giving students more autonomy and engagement in their education.

2. Welcome!
Orientation
What is student voice and why should we embed student
voice in our classrooms and schools?

3. Why should we embed student
voice in our classrooms and
schools?

4. “Control & Autonomy” over learning
“Control & Autonomy” over learning is
one of four key dimensions of student
motivation, the single biggest
determiner of academic success
Students ability to feel “secure, content,
and in control” of their learning was
most affected by levels of choice and
authenticity of their learning activities
Sources: Center on Education Policy, 2012, LD Online, 2012, Sloan Study of Youth & Social Development

5. What did you do in school today?
Canadian Education Association Research May 2011

6. “There is a disconnect
between what is happening in
the classroom and what
happens outside the school
walls”
This is attributed to:
Rise in Global Challenges
Rapid Pace in Technological Change
Changing Nature of Labour
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/documents/uk-us/pdf/professional-
development/education-fast-forward/learner-voice-whitepaper.pdf

7. Three Dimensions of Student Engagement

8. Instructional Challenge

9. When students were asked to Speak Up
in Ontario, here’s what they said:
A school that engages students and ensures all voices are heard would...
1. Have activities outside the classroom
2. Help students learn life skills
3. Offer a socially inclusive environment
4. Be academically inclusive environment
5. Empower students to speak their mind
6. Allow students to give feedback on learning experiences
7. Keep students informed
8. Give high-quality education
9. Encourage eco-friendly practices
Source:http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/speakup/9IndicatorsEn.pdf

10. WGSI
Equinox
Learning2030

11. Perspectives on Student Voice
What would happen if we
listened to our students?
How might student voice
foster a culture of
leadership?
What would happen if
every student could
have their say?

12. Hart’s Ladder of
Participation (UNICEF)
Children’s Participation:
From Tokenism to Citizenship (1992)
"Children need to be involved in meaningful projects with adults. It is
unrealistic to expect them suddenly to become responsible,
participating adult citizens at the age of 16, 18, or 21 without prior
exposure to the skills and responsibilities involved. An understanding
of democratic participation and the confidence and competence to
participate can only be acquired gradually through practice; it cannot
be taught as an abstraction. Many western nations think of
themselves as having achieved democracy fully, though they teach
the principles of democracy in a pedantic way in classrooms which
are themselves models of autocracy. This is not acceptable."
Source: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/childrens_participation.pdf

13. What is the current climate of
student voice in your classroom?
In your school?
8. Child-initiated, shared decisions with adults
7. Child-initiated and directed
6. Adult-initiated, shared decisions with children
5. Consulted and informed
4. Assigned but Informed
3. Tokenism
2. Decoration
1. Manipulation
Source: http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/childrens_participation.pdf

15. Examples of Student Voice Projects
What is the current climate of student voice in classrooms and
schools across Canada, and beyond?

16. 5 Areas of Student Voice
- Learning environments
- School culture
- Policy (school, provincial, national,
international)
- Student leadership
- Student-centred learning (curriculum
& pedagogy)

17. Learning Environment
Co-construct physical classroom layout
● Grade 3 teacher Dierdre Bailey involves students in a
redesign of the classroom to become cafe style with
various options of spaces for reflection and individual
work
● “It was the physical manifestation of a different kind of teacher-student
relationship. One in which people could walk in right away and not know where
the teacher was because we had become so much a part of the learning that
we were also cross-legged on the floor listening to the students justify their
thinking”
Source: http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/deirdre-bailey/2013/11/1/my-story-change-education

18. Learning Environment
Assistive technology to support
student voice
● Beverly School in Toronto using iPads and educational
apps to engage students with special needs (non-
verbal students can express what they want and what
they like with touching a button)
● “With more children being diagnosed with autism,
Ontario schools face the arduous task of figuring out
how best to reach them. For teachers working with
non-verbal students, the new generation of computer
technology can be used to improve learning, while
also giving children a voice with applications that “talk”
for them”
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2012/11/12/the_autism_project_ipads_speak_for_nonverbal_autistic_kids.html

19. Learning Environment
Multiple Intelligences Survey
● Flemington Public School-wide survey
● Pictures with primary, words for Gr 3-5
● What students wanted most was nature
● teachers are taking recommendations seriously
● (Teacher: Christine d’Avernas)

20. Learning Environment
Classrooms that reflect collaborative,
fluid, and interactive styles of learning
● In a survey of students from over 50 countries, one of
the top four recommendations students wanted to make
to their teachers was how the environment affects their
learning
● “We would like to contribute to the design of these
learning spaces. Giving us a chance to impact the
spaces in which we learn gives us an added sense of
responsibility, passion, and connection.”
Source: http://www.tigurl.org/images/resources/tool/docs/1887.pdf
TakingITGlobal and ISTE

21. School Culture
School cultures that respect the rights
and responsibilities of students
● The Government of Saskatchewan brought together
150 students from across the province to find possible
solutions to address cyber bullying and to encourage
student responsibility in schools, communities and
online.
● “The #1 thing I’ve learned is that is to definitely never
be shy about how you feel. If you want to change
something, go out and do it.”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KSlb0xyj8w

22. School Culture
Fostering a school-wide philosophy of
global citizenship
● Wilmington Elementary School in Toronto, Ontario
hosted a Water Day, raising awareness among
students K-4 on the issue of water inequality, the
importance of water conservation and ultimately
creating a school-wide global citizenship ethos.
● “We are learning that some people, in poor countries,
don’t have water to drink”
Source: http://vimeo.com/95916824

23. School Policy
Student voice in education policy
decision-making
● The Ontario Ministry of Education has 3 related
student voice initiatives: SpeakUP grants for school
related projects, regional student forums and the
Minister's Advisory Council (MSAC) where 60 students
grades 7-12 share ideas and perspectives with the
Ontario Minister of Education.
● Student Voice Initiative advocates for establishing a
student trustee position at the school board level. There
are currently trustees in every school board in Ontario,
2 trustees in BC, 1 in Quebec and 1 in Alberta.
Source:s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWbfCKc896s; http://studentvoicei.org/

24. School Policy
Student voice in teacher hiring
● A few secondary schools in Victoria, Australia
incorporate a student selection panel as part of the
teacher hiring process.
● "You can give kids a tokenistic voice, you put them into
a room and get them to choose when they have a
uniform-free day, but if you are going to give students a
real voice you have to give them genuine
opportunities."
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/students-used-to-interview-and-hire-teachers-at-victorian-schools-20150216-13fa0r.html

25. School Policy
Student voice in national dialogues
● Students from 5 schools in Alberta came together,
through the use of technology, in a Virtual Town Hall to
discuss youths’ vision for Reconciliation.
● "We, the youth of Alberta, are a tremendous resource.
We know how to use social media and organize in this
political era. We can help you and we will be a powerful
ally. We only have one request: we want to be an active
part of the conversation, a part of the solution."
Source: https://www.tigweb.org/resources/toolkits/

26. Student Leadership
Student Vote
● Student Vote is a parallel election for students under
the voting age, coinciding with official election periods.
The program combines in-class learning, family
dialogue, media consumption and an authentic voting
experience.
● Since 2003, 24 parallel elections have been
successfully designed and coordinated. These
programs have reached over 9,000 schools and more
than 3,000,000 students across Canada.
Source: http://www.studentvote.ca/

27. Student Leadership
Student leadership teams
● Students at Glen Park Public School in Toronto
developed the “Stand/Speak Up” (SUP) Club to
encourage other students to “Stand/Speak Up” for
things that are happening around them that are wrong
or unjust.
● The students decided to learn more about and help the
children of the Attawapiskat First Nations reserve in
Northern Ontario.
● “If you don’t think something is right, then do something
about it”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li0zotu5-44

28. Student-Centred Learning
Focus on real-world experience
● The MET school in Seven Oaks School Division,
Manitoba focuses on inquiry-based learning, cross
curricular projects and community involvement through
internships.
● “It’s not a career-path experience we are looking
for...it’s really is students having multiple ways to think
about how their learning connects to what's happening
in the real world…”
Source: cea-ace.s3.amazonaws.com/media/CEA-2011-KS-Met-School.pdf

29. Student-Centred Learning
Inquiry-based global problem
solving
● Grade 5 and 6 students at Joyce Public school
learned about the Millenium Development Goals
and identified education as an issue to collectively
address.
● In groups, students researched charities, designed
action projects to fundraise for the charities, and
hosted a Dragons Den session where they pitched
their action projects to industry professionals for
seed funding.
● The winning project: Feed the World Cookbook
with sales donated to UNICEF.

30. Student-Centred Learning
Inquiry-based global problem
solving
● Students from John Wanless Junior Public School
were challenged to design a prototype solution to
address a natural disaster or alleviate poverty.
● Industry experts were invited to provide feedback
on student projects.

31. Other examples?

32. Collaborative Inquiry
How can collaborative inquiry support
professional learning on student voice?

33. Collaborative Inquiry for
Professional Learning
Through collaborative inquiry:
● …”educators work together to improve their
understanding of what learning is (or could be),
generate evidence of what’s working (and what’s
not), make decisions about next steps and take
action to introduce improvements and
innovations”
Source:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_CollaborativeInquiry.pdf

34. Tech Tools for Pedagogical
Documentation

35. Top 10 Tech Tools for
Pedagogical Documentation
Digital
Images
Video &
Animation
Mind
Mapping
Note
Capture
Audio
Recording
Blogging
Social
Media
Comic Strip
Wiki
Presentation
& Polling
…”documenting the process and the learning – what was done along the journey – is a critical component of collaborative inquiry. Documenting
the process captures the work and articulates findings, illustrating how and why the learning was generated so that colleagues can learn from what
was done” (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_CollaborativeInquiry.pdf)

36. Top 10 Tech Tools for
Pedagogical Documentation
Digital
Images
Video &
Animation
Mind
Mapping
Note
Capture
Audio
Recording
Blogging
Social Media
Comic Strip
Wiki &
Online Docs
Presentation
& Polling
Flickr
Global Gallery
YouTube
Vimeo
AdobeVoice
Evernote
Padlet
Blogger
Tumblr
TIGweb
BitStrips
Comic Life
Prezi
SlideShare
ActivInspire
Popplet
MindMeister
SMART Ideas
VoiceThread
Audacity
Twitter
Facebook
Wikispaces
Google Docs
Writeboard

37. TIGed.org Virtual Classrom
& Live Sessions with Adobe Connect

38. Live Sessions: Webex

39. Thank you for your participation!