Amplifying Student Agency
January 11 (Saturday), 2025 | 12:00 - 4:30 PM
Nanjing International
Hosted by Andrew Friedle & Scott Corbett
This participant-driven gathering is an opportunity to connect in-person, share practices, and explore common professional inquiries.
Join our “Amplifying Student Agency” event to explore ways to empower students. Dive into sessions on creating inclusive classrooms with Universal Design, encouraging young learners, motivating students, and building equity with JEDI principles. Share ideas and strategies to help students take charge of their learning in supportive, engaging environments.
Peer Sharing and Learning Topics:
- Universal Design and Student Agency
- Student Agency & Choice in Primary
- Agency and Motivation
- Nurturing Equitable Spaces and Practices Through Identity-Conscious Teaching: JEDI & Agency
Hosts
Scott Corbett
Scott Corbett is the Deputy Secondary Principal with a passion for wellbeing and a commitment to empowering both staff and students to thrive. With a background as a theatre director turned teacher, Scott brings a creative and dynamic approach to education, while embracing opportunities to meet new people, learn about different cultures, and explore the world.
Andrew Friedle
Andrew serves the NIS community with a focus on IBDP Economics/Business Management and MYP Humanities. Andrew is an aspiring education leader who is keen to take on any task that helps him contribute to the community and learn more about leadership in international schools.
Agenda
12:00 – 12:30 – Registration and Connecting
12:30 – 12:45 – Welcome address
13:00 – 14:15 – Break-out sessions (Participants will choose one of the topics below)
Room #1: Universal Design and Student Agency
Room #2: Student Agency in Primary
Room #3: Agency and Motivation
Room #4: Nurturing Equitable Spaces and Practices Through Identity-Conscious Teaching: JEDI & Agency
14:15 – 14:45 – Break
14:45 – 15:30 – Demo Slam/Market Place: Brief presentations of tools, tips, and tricks gleaned from the breakout sessions, shared with the larger group.
15:30 – 16:15 – Panel Discussion – Student Voices Around Agency
16:15 – 16:30 – Closing Address
Breakout Rooms
Universal Design & Student Agency
This session invites educators to discuss the transformative approach of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to create more inclusive and effective classrooms. This session may explore how setting clear, firm goals while offering flexible means of achieving them can significantly enhance student choice and agency, leading to deeper engagement and personalized learning experiences. Through the sharing of resources and ideas, participants will grow their student agency tool kit in meaningful ways.
Essential Questions:
- How might we leverage the notion of “firm goals, flexible means” to unlock meaningful student choice?
Host: Tanya Farrol
Tanya serves the NIS community as a Secondary Learning Support Teacher. Tanya serves the international schools community as a founding member and Board President of SENIA. She is a China veteran with 20 years in the PRC.
Agency and Motivation
This session will focus on empowering one another with strategies to uplift students facing challenges in taking ownership of their learning journey. Recognizing that fostering agency is crucial for intrinsic motivation and sustained engagement, this session offers a platform for educators to share insights, strategies, and real-life experiences in nurturing student independence and self-directed learning. We’ll discuss the barriers to agency some students encounter, and how to effectively address these challenges to inspire confidence and resilience in learners.
Essential Questions:
- How might we support students who struggle with authentic learning?
- How do we support and foster authentic intrinsic agency?
Host: Quiying (Hannah) Xie
Hannah serves the NIS community as the Pedagogista and Atelierista in the Early Years Centre. When not teaching, learning, or presenting Hannah loves gardening, which she says is “food for the soul.” Hannah lives the notion that "teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.
Student Agency in Primary
In this session, participants will unpack the concept of student agency in the primary classroom. In this interactive session, we will discuss the essential elements of agency, explore and share effective practices that empower young learners, and collaboratively tackle the challenges we encounter when fostering agency in the primary years. Together, we will aim to harness our collective knowledge to create actionable solutions that amplify student agency and inspire our students to take charge of their learning journey.
Essential Questions:
- How might we provide young learners with meaningful choices while ensuring they have developmentally appropriate support to succeed?
- How might we integrate student voice and choice in the primary classroom while overcoming common challenges?
Host: Emmanouil Zerai
Emmanouil serves as a Grade 5 teacher at NIS. Usually, you will find Emmanouil facilitating (various sorts of) learning, while he appreciates exploring folk culture, especially in terms of music and dances. He also loves playing board games, which he believes are one of the most enjoyable ways to learn.
Host: Tristan Meagher
Tristan Meagher is the PYP Coordinator at NIS. He loves staying active and spending some quality time with his family.
Nurturing Equitable Spaces and Practices Through Identity-Conscious Teaching: JEDI & Agency
This session is designed to empower educators through Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles. Explore the transformative intersection of JEDI and student agency as we share strategies for creating equitable learning environments where all students feel empowered to guide their own learning journey. Through collaborative dialogues, discover how to dismantle systemic barriers that impede student agency, particularly among marginalized groups, and co-create inclusive practices that honor each student’s unique voice and experiences. This panel session will invite participants to discuss actionable insights on how to integrate JEDI principles and student agency development into your teaching practices, ensuring that every learner is equipped to thrive in a student-centered, inclusive classroom. Let’s come together to cultivate a culture of equity, justice, and inclusion in education.
Essential Questions
- How might we integrate JEDI principles to create equitable spaces that empower all students to take ownership of their learning?
- How might we dismantle systemic barriers to student agency, particularly for marginalized groups, and foster truly inclusive learning environments?
Host: Tríona Ryan
Tríona Ryan is Language Arts and TOK Teacher at Nanjing International School, and a member of The JEDI Change Taskforce which works to advance the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at NIS and beyond. With a passion for fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments, Tríona's interests include cultural responsiveness in education, identity conscious practice and nurturing belonging in multicultural and multilingual spaces. With her collaborative spirit and commitment to transformative education, Tríona is dedicated to empowering both students and teachers to thrive in an ever-evolving global landscape.
Panel Discussion
Student Voices Around Agency
In this dynamic panel session, students will take center stage to share their perspectives on agency and how it shapes their learning experiences. Facilitated by an educator, the conversation will explore students’ understanding of agency, the challenges they face in taking ownership of their learning, and the support they need from teachers to succeed. Through open dialogue, students will provide valuable insights into how agency can be fostered within the classroom, offering authentic reflections on the impact of choice, voice, and autonomy on their motivation and engagement. This session will provide educators with a deeper understanding of student agency from the learners’ point of view and inspire actionable ideas for promoting student-led learning.
Host: Danny Griffith
Danny Griffith teaches MYP Design and DP Film at Nanjing International School. Over the past 5 years he has taught Design classes that aim to amplify student choice and student voice through project-based learning. In his spare time Danny is a sound artist and dominates the competition in his local fantasy football league.
Venue
Nanjing
International School
Xue Heng Lu 8, Xian Lin University City
Qi Xia District, Nanjing PRC 210023
中国南京市栖霞区仙林大学城学衡路8号, 邮编:210023
+86-25-8589-9111 | [email protected]
Free for PeerSphere Members Subscribers
RMB300.00 for non-Members
Refund Policy
- 30+ days pre-event: 80% of fee is refundable
- 15-29 days pre-event: 40% of fee is refundable
- Less than 15 days pre-event: no refund
Refund due to PD Event Cancellation
In the event of cancellation of a conference, workshop or online PD program, we will fully refund the registration or sponsorship fee(s) paid. However, we will be unable to refund any travel, visa or accommodation expenses incurred or course material fees where access has been granted.
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