Elevating Student Agency to Promote Equity and Authenticity in Student-Led Projects

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Researchers and educators informed by sociocultural theories continue to pursue pedagogies that re-imagine students as active learners and co-constructors of disciplines of study. Paradigm shifts are seldom simple, and efforts to prioritize student agency may push students and teachers into unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable roles. As educators work to expand powerful, student-centered pedagogies like project-based learning (PjBL) into more classrooms and disciplines, it is critical to understand the challenges these approaches may pose for all learners, but especially those often marginalized or traditionally underserved by schools. The five papers in this symposium address these challenges directly from different angles, together revealing a multi-dimensional picture of the role of student agency in project-based learning in language arts, science, and civics classrooms.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning

Chair

• David Kidd, Harvard University

Papers

• Student-Led and Co-Designed: Shifting the Role of Youth in Project-Based Learning Curriculum - Gavin Tierney, California State University - Fullerton

• The Invisible Hand: Teacher-Led Versus Student-Led Civics Projects - Chaebong Nam, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Lisa Utzinger Shen, N/A

• Supporting Students With Disabilities in Student-Led Projects in Inclusive Classrooms - Alison Gould Boardman, University of Colorado - Boulder; Joseph L. Polman, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Materials From Teachers or From Students' Homes: Engagement and Equity During Projects With Immigrant Students - Emily Adah Miller, University of Georgia; Leema G. Berland, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Enriched Project-Based Learning for Multilingual Classrooms: Students Lead With All Their Languages and Literacies - Benjamin Walsh, University of Colorado - Boulder; Bridget Dalton, University of Colorado - Boulder

Discussant

• Vanessa Svihla, University of New Mexico