“Let’s Talk About Learning”-Vancouver’s Student Voice Forum Final Report
On January 31, 2012 over 230 secondary students and sponsor administrators attended a student forum organized by students for students with support from the Vancouver School District.
The purpose of the forum was focused on the following goals:
1) foster learning options that best support student success
2) advocate and support relevant and applied learning opportunities
3) support student leaders to facilitate school and community based forums
4) validate student voice throughout schools
5) expand opportunities for dialogue with learning partners
6) build capacity among learning partners to act on forum results
Participants were asked the following four questions:
1) What opportunities in Vancouver schools have allowed you to learn the best?
2) What opportunities could be created to improve student learning in Vancouver School Board schools? In your opinion, what do students need ‘more of’ in order to be successful learners?
3) What supports are necessary to ensure student voice is heard in school and district structures and systems?
4) What student actions are necessary to expand on relevant personalized learning opportunities in VSB schools?
The answers contained a great deal of overlap across the 4 areas, and fell into three areas: structures, strategies, and relationships.
STRUCTURES
It was very clear from the number of responses in the first category that students have had successful learning experiences within some of the structures that currently exist in our schools and they would like to see these extended and amplified. Their responses underline the importance of some things that may be seen as more peripheral to the central activity of a school day; for example, how long libraries are open after or before the school day, opportunities for involvement in student government, places to do homework after school and opportunities to become involved in community volunteerism.
There was a very substantial response in the general category of ‘extra help’ and support from teachers outside of the classroom hours. Sometimes this was described as ‘one on one’ help, which highlights the importance to students of having opportunities for individual learning experiences where they can be responded to in terms of where they are personally in their learning of a given material. They cited as well that smaller class sizes were important, again, because there would be a greater possibility of individual attention. There were responses as well that suggested more peer to peer support, student help with courses and programs run by students for students.
There were many students who spoke of great learning experiences in specialized courses; mini schools, IB, alternative programs, arts programs and so on, that, again, underlines the desire for learning experiences that are more personal to them, and are more individualized.
Students cite the stresses of school and a desire for study blocks to reduce the stress, and more relaxed settings as well as the opportunity to study in semester systems where they would be taking 4 courses at a time instead of 8. They also cited the importance of being able to really choose electives, and within courses, to have more choice about what is learned.
There was a substantial response in the category of ‘student voice’ calling for student forums and opportunities to be heard with regard to the organizational aspects of their school lives and at the District and Union level.
Finally, clubs and sports and other extra-curricular activities, came in for a great deal of support as an avenue for personal challenge and expression.
If you look at the over-all theme, it is clear that students do crave experiences, both within the classroom and within their school day, that meet them personally, touch them in areas of personal interest, and respond specifically to their particular learning strengths and needs.
There is a suggestion from the responses that this very important area of personal support and expression can be a bit hit and miss for our students, and depends very much on the availability of these things within their schools and classrooms. The message would appear to be that these opportunities for a very personalized approach need to be more central to our students lives, and more predictably available to them. As well, our students are craving opportunities to lead and be heard in real ways, around things that are meaningful. For example, having a student voice conduit to administration in a school, the district, and to teachers and the Union in order to provide feed back about the impact of existing structures on their lives and their learning.
STRATEGIES
A second category encompassed feedback about actual strategies that led to successful learning experiences. In general students cited experiences that were more active and required more engagement from them. Field trips were a popular learning venue for students, as well as the use of technologies; moodle, videos etc., and a whole plethora of feedback about hands-on learning, real applications, learning from engagement in real activities, workshops, projects, learning how to apply lessons, self-directed work and more opportunities for critical thinking.
Students talked about the importance of self-paced learning and extra time for tests in order to show knowledge.
There was, however, support for some of the traditional mainstays of the classroom; group work, labs, tests that are paced well in relation to chapters or units, silent reading, learning with new people, good notes, interesting lectures and review sessions.
Over-all, we see the continuing desire for learning that responds to their individual needs and interests, but the themes that were most strongly reflected in this section was the desire for active, hands on, and applied learning experiences as being the most engaging, and a sense that the activities clearly are designed to support their learning.
RELATIONSHIPS
Students value their relationships with their teachers very highly, and see them as central to successful and meaningful learning experiences. They cited the successes they had experienced in learning when teachers care about them personally and about their success, where they were able to talk to teachers about issues they were having. They spoke of the importance of teachers who are positive and patient and have more personal relationships with their students. They expressed their desire for a more ‘equal’ relationship with teachers, and a desire for the ability to talk to teachers about their learning and the class. They value open-mindedness, flexibility and ‘fun’ in teachers and administrators.
CONCLUSIONS
Students have felt their very best learning experiences have been those that are personal to them; their learning needs and interests, within the context of positive, personal and supportive relationships with their teachers. While they do not reject some of the more traditional activities of classrooms, they want them to be meaningful and to support their learning. There was a marked preference shown for any kind of ‘active’ learning that was applicable to their world and lives.
Finally, students do desire to be partners in the design of personalized learning options and pathways. Their voice is insightful and is a valuable resource to future innovation in the district.