Amplifying Student Voice

Bringing the Back Row to the Front

 Overview
1. What is student voice?
2. Why is student voice critical to my classroom?
3. Student voice in action
4. Amplifying student voice through technology
5. Resources and references
 What is student voice?
Student voice refers to the values, opinions, beliefs,
perspectives, experiences and cultural
backgrounds of individual students and groups of
students in a school.
 Student voice is…
Learning Youth development Bottom line
Students learn better when they are Students become more effective learners Engaging student voice can help schools
engaged partners throughout the when their emotional, intellectual, and save money while meeting the demands
educational process social needs are met facing public education systems

Teaching School culture Integrity

Student involvement in instruction The attitudes, policies, and structures of The ethical imperative of teaching in a
increases teacher efficacy, retention, education may change when students are democratic society demands educators
and self-confidence engaged as partners in schools actively engage students as partners

School improvement Diversity Civic engagement

Involving students in school initiatives Embracing a diversity of perspectives can Engaging students as partners can lead to
can significantly improve the quality of make student voice the most significant increased feelings of belonging and
decisions made by adult leaders tool in the educator’s toolbox purpose in schools

Soundout.org (2015)
Despite the fact that people under 18 constitute

24%
of the population, they are routinely denied
opportunities to participate.
 Student voice can take many forms

Self-expression Feedback Opinion Self-determination

Representation Empowerment Choice Reflection

What forms of student voice have you experienced or

encouraged in your instruction?
The Education Alliance (2004)
Student voice permeates all levels of our work together,
from students participating in small group classroom
conversations to students partnering in curriculum design
or establishing school norms and policy.

Bill Palmer
Science teacher and curriculum coach
Bellevue, WA
 Space for student voice
When educators create space for student voice in the
classroom, “a unique window into what the student
thinks and feels about her learning also opens.”

This information is invaluable when designing

instruction to meet individual student needs.

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012) p. 25

Why is student voice critical?
One of the most powerful and transformative ways to
enhance academic achievement is helping students
believe they have a stake in their learning.
 Students have a lot to say…
“about teaching and learning that can help schools become more
effective educational environments for them, and as such, student
voice can be a powerful tool for improving student performance and
closing the achievement gap.”

The Education Alliance (2004) p. 3

 For starters
Research shows that dropout rates, student achievement,
and workforce readiness will improve by strengthening the
role and value of student voice in the classroom and
throughout society as a whole.

Stuvoice.org
 Students in a traditional lecture course are

1.5x
more likely to fail, compared to students in courses
with active, social learning.
 Student voice enhances
Achievement in marginalized student populations
Classroom participation
School reform efforts
Self-reflection and preparation in struggling students
Student classroom behavior

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012)

 Students as partners
Instruction in the classroom can be more effective when students are
engaged as a partner in the process.

When they are taught and encouraged to engage students in the

classroom, both as learners and partners, pre-service teachers feel
better prepared to teach diverse students.

Adults believe that they are better mentors and coaches to students
when students are partners in, as opposed to recipients of, the process.

Soundout.org (2015)
 Authentic feedback
School activity, course feedback, and teacher evaluations are
more authentic and valuable when student voice is central
to the holistic evaluation process.

Dorman (2008)
 Student voice in action
Students are likely more motivated and engaged in
classroom activities when they believe they have a
voice in how the activity is integrated.
 Shifting roles
“Student voice signals important shifts in both teacher and student
roles. Through creating space for students to be more active
participants in the learning process, we are seeing innovative teaching
practices emerge.”

Palmer (2013)
 Differences are resources
Educators must embrace the varied cultural, social and economic
perspectives of their students and how these differences shape
their classroom.

Moreover, these differences must be perceived and integrated as

a resource, rather than an impediment, to the learning process.

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012)

 Experiences are hooks
Use students’ personal experiences as hooks into the curriculum to
create a student-centered approach.

Using hooks and encouraging student decision-making is especially

important with younger students as they are developing their sense of
identity and their complex thinking skills.

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012) p.

 Student voice continuum

Inclusion Integration Transformation Empowerment

Teachers encourage students to share input and ideas on curriculum

design and classroom culture. Ultimately, teachers make the final
instructional decisions on how to implement these suggestions.

Palmer (2013)
 Student voice continuum

Inclusion Integration Transformation Empowerment

Teachers incorporate a variety of methods for students to make

contributions throughout the curriculum. Students, in turn, realize their
prior knowledge and experiences are a source of expertise in classroom
decision-making.
Palmer (2013)
 Student voice continuum

Inclusion Integration Transformation Empowerment

Teachers actively build upon student leadership to advance the goals of the
classroom. Students take responsibility for their learning and are perceived
as experts within the classroom on issues of curriculum design, change,
implementation and assessment.
Palmer (2013)
 Student voice continuum

Inclusion Integration Transformation Empowerment

Teachers facilitate student navigation of school and community resources

to affect the trajectory of their own learning within courses and the school.
Students become responsible for learning within their community, and
build peer-to-peer assistance outside of the classroom.
Palmer (2013)
 The to amplifying student voice is embracing

active, social learning

at critical points in your instruction and throughout
your school community.
 Spectrum of student voice activities
Students articulating Students directing
their perspectives Student involved as stakeholders collective activities

Students as data Students as leaders

sources Student as collaborators of change

Expression Consultation Participation Partnership Activism Leadership

Volunteering Being asked for their Attending meetings Formalized role in Identifying problems, (Co-)planning,
opinions, creating opinion, providing or events in which decision making, generating solutions, making decisions and
art, celebrating, feedback, serving decisions are made, standard operations organizing responses, accepting significant
complaining, on a focus group, frequent inclusion require (not just invite) agitating and/or responsibility for
praising, objecting completing a survey when issues are student involvement, educating for change outcomes, (co-)
framed and actions adults are trained in both in and outside guiding group
planned how to work of school contexts processes, (co-)
collaboratively with conducting activities
youth partners

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012)

 Spectrum of student voice activities
Students articulating Students directing
their perspectives Student involved as stakeholders collective activities

Students as data Students as leaders

sources Student as collaborators of change

Expression Consultation Participation Partnership Activism Leadership

Volunteering Being asked for their Attending meetings Formalized role in Identifying problems, (Co-)planning,
opinions, creating opinion, providing or events in which decision making, generating solutions, making decisions and
art, celebrating, feedback, serving decisions are made, standard operations organizing responses, accepting significant
complaining, on a focus group, frequent inclusion require (not just invite) agitating and/or responsibility for
praising, objecting completing a survey when issues are student involvement, educating for change outcomes, (co-)
framed and actions adults are trained in both in and outside guiding group
planned how to work of school contexts processes, (co-)
collaboratively with conducting activities
youth partners

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012)

Amplifying through technology
Use technology to have students represent their own and
acknowledge each other’s values, opinions, beliefs,
perspectives, stories and cultural backgrounds.
Technology gives the quietest student a voice.

Jerry Blumengarten
Author, Educator, Speaker, Researcher
Skype in the Classroom is an online community that enables teachers to inspire
the next generation of global citizens through transformative learning over Skype.
Flipgrid empowers student voice for peer-to-peer engagement in classrooms
through stimulus-driven video discussions.
Sway helps you and your students create interactive class materials, presentations,
projects and more from your images, text, videos and other media.
Celebrate student voice
in your classroom, school and community.
 References

Dorman, J. (2008). Using student perceptions to compare actual and preferred classroom environment in Queensland schools.
Educational Studies, 34(4), 299-308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03055690802034484

Freeman S., Eddy S., McDonough M., Smith M., Okoroafor N., Jordt H., Wenderoth M. (2014) Active learning increases student
performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2014;111:8410-8415.

Palmer, B. (2013) Including Student Voice. Edutopia. Retrived from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/sammamish-2-including-student-

voice-bill-palmer

The Education Alliance. (2004). A Summary of Research on Using Student Voice in School Improvement Planning. Charleston, WV:
Author.

Toshalis, E., & Nakkula, M. J. (2012, December). Motivation, engagement, student voice. Paper presented by Rep. Students at the
Center. Retrieved from http://www.studentsatthecenter.org/papers/motivation-engagement-and-student-voice

Why student voice? A research summary. (2015, February 2). Retrieved from https://soundout.org/why-student-voice-a-research-
summary/