Exploring student agency and motivation in personalized learning environments

Increasing opportunities for student agency helps to improve students' ownership of their learning, ability to advocate for themselves, engagement, and application of real-world concepts. Many factors influence students' motivation to learn-including opportunities to experience agency and teachers' backgrounds in utilizing student agency. When students have agency and are interested in what they are learning, their learning accelerates. It is necessary to provide explicit instruction on how to learn and create authentic learning opportunities for students in this paradigm shift. This study required an understanding of teachers' shared lived experiences and the opportunities provided for students to act as agents of their learning, as well as teachers' perceptions of the value of student agency within their classrooms. This phenomenological study explored eight teachers' shared lived experiences with student agency in their classrooms at a democratic school. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, the researcher's field notes, and an artifact review. The data was analyzed using Descriptive and In Vivo coding. The findings of this phenomenological study resulted in three themes: (a) Student Voice, (b) Freedoms and Responsibilities, and (c) Teacher Engagement. Three results emerged from the data: (a) shared vision and philosophy are essential to establish a culture that values student agency; (b) schools must intentionally dedicate time and opportunities for students to practice using their agency, and (c) teachers must model expectations while providing explicit instruction in student agency for students to be successful agents of their own learning. Recommendations for increasing the use of student agency developed from the results of this qualitative study: (a) teachers require professional learning opportunities for how to engage students in using agency; (b) schools must model intrinsically motivating behaviors for teachers by teaching them to be agents of their learning; (c) schools must build explicit agentic learning experiences into the curriculum, and (d) teachers must provide intentional time and opportunities for students to use their agency. The results of this study can further the discussion of increasing students' ability to act as agents of their learning.