Using Agendas in Class: a Way to Empower Students

Many times while teaching, we are in total control of the class and forget about students responsibility for their own learning. I don’t want to be misunderstood with this phrase; what I mean is that while control in class is necessary, our job as teachers is to provide the right tasks for students to construct learning while being empowered to take responsibility and make their own decisions.

In the past I used to come to class and start the process I had planned but it was quite a mystery for my pupils. They had no idea of what was next in class, and even worse: they were not clear of the learning that was expected from them.

This year I started to use agendas. Now, as soon as I get into my classroom I write a five-bullet agenda on the corner of the board and make sure to read it aloud for my students to be aware of what is going to happen in class.

Yes, I know this might, sometimes, become a double-edge sword since I feel the pressure to complete every activity and students will be monitoring my work (which, in fact, they always do). However, it really helps me remember my lesson plan better and I have improved on planning my time so that I suggest the right number of tasks for my 40 or 80-minute classes.

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In a nutshell, I have found four main benefits of writing those agendas:

1. Students take responsibility of their own learning, they know what I expect from them and it is amazing to see their hard work so that we can accomplish the goals for the class.

2. Students feel encouraged to complete the tasks that the teacher has planned. They feel successful when they finish and see that all the points in the agenda were covered.

3. Students are empowered, they feel they have some control over the class and they become aware of what is going to happen in class for the day.

4. Students start making their contributions in terms of the activities they want to try out in class. One example of this is my students in fourth grade asking me to please add a video they love at the end of the class "if we have time".

You might be wondering wether this strategy works only for small children or also on high school groups. Well, that was a friends' concern, so I have just tried it with both a group of teenagers and one of adults I teach in an academy on Saturday, and I got the same results as the ones I get with 1st and 4th graders.

I have to admit that my students have responded in a way I did not imagine. They even ask for the agenda in case I forget to write it. They want to know what is going to happen and they put some peer pressure on their classmates because they want to achieve what is proposed.

My only recommendation when using agendas in class is to make sure you do not write more than 5 points so that students are not overwhelmed and always leave a part for “optional practice” in case they finish first and you need to give them an extra task.

I really hope using agendas in class be as helpful to you as it has been for me.

#Ideas #activities