5 Ways to Boost Learner Agency in Your Classroom Today
Learner agency refers to the power students have to shape their own learning experience. In simple terms, it’s about giving students a sense of ownership and control over their learning. When students have agency, they become more motivated and engaged – in fact, inviting students to take more control of their learning can make engagement soar and even speed up learning. The great news is that you don’t need a complete classroom overhaul to foster learner agency. Below are five practical strategies you can start using right away – whether you teach in-person, online, or hybrid – to empower your learners. Each tip is paired with an example from the Explore in English course (a travel-themed English course) to show how it works in action.
1. Offer Students Choices in Learning Activities
One of the easiest ways to boost agency is to give students meaningful decisions inside a structured unit. In Explore in English, unit topics are fixed and completed in sequence—everyone studies the same theme at the same time. For example, during the unit on transportation, all learners explore the same theme, but each student chooses the city they’ll research (e.g., Seoul, Mexico City, Nairobi). From there, they make further choices about what aspects to investigate—such as service frequency, accessibility, rider experience, cost, sustainability, equity, or infrastructure upgrades—and which sources to prioritize (official transit sites, maps, news articles, rider forums, etc.).
This keeps goals consistent while letting students personalize their path: same topic, different city and research angles. It works in any mode—students can compare findings in small groups in class or in breakout rooms online, maintain individual research logs, and share interim insights on a shared board.
My challenge to you: Teachers who want to go further can experiment with topic choice later. Let students choose the city AND the topic or theme. Everyone can be researching a different topic in a different place mastering different language skills at the SAME time. How cool would the presentation day be in that room?!
2. Encourage Student Voice and Decision-Making
Learner agency flourishes when students know their voice is heard and valued. This means creating opportunities for students to express opinions, make decisions, and contribute ideas to the class. For instance, you might involve students in setting class norms, or invite their input on how to tackle a project. When teachers give students a voice in what and how they learn, students gain confidence and feel like partners in the learning process. Research has noted that when students feel confident and have a say, they become more active participants in their learning – which in turn can lead to higher achievement. In practice, encouraging student voice can be as simple as having regular class check-ins where students share feedback (“What helped you learn today? What could we do differently?”) or letting the class vote on which discussion question to explore first. In an online setting, this might involve using polls or letting students take turns leading parts of a synchronous session. The goal is to show that student input matters.
In Explore in English, students write a reflection at the end of every unit. After finishing a unit on cultural customs, students discuss which country or theme they found most intriguing and suggest what they want to learn more about next. The teacher listens and, if possible, incorporates their interests into the next activity. Another simple idea is to let students make decisions about group work or individual work, and they types of work they do. You may have a student who would prefer to work alone on a particular task and others that want to work in groups. In our courses, we also provide options for students to demonstrate understanding of a language point. They choose activity A, B, C, or any combination of the three.
3. Use Real-World Projects to Make Learning Authentic
Nothing empowers students quite like tackling real-world tasks where they can apply their learning in a meaningful context. Adopting elements of project-based learning (PBL) is a great way to do this. In PBL, students work on projects that solve real problems or answer complex questions, often producing something to share or present. These authentic projects naturally encourage agency: students must make decisions, collaborate, and sometimes navigate bumps in the road just like in real life. They’re no longer just “doing schoolwork” – they’re doing work that matters. Educators have found that authentic experiences and student voice and choice go hand-in-hand with honoring learner agency in project-based learning. Even if you’re not doing a full-scale PBL unit, you can introduce smaller real-world assignments. For example, in a science class, have students create a public service poster about recycling for the school; in a literature class, let them produce a short podcast reviewing a novel. Online or in-person, students light up when learning feels relevant to the world outside the classroom.
For example, Explore in English is built around real-world projects. Students don’t just read about travel in a textbook – they use English to explore the world. A teacher might have learners plan a dream trip using real travel websites: finding flights, researching local customs, and reading actual traveler reviews. By doing this authentic online research in English, students gain much more than language practice. They interact with real-world sources (like blogs, maps, and videos) and build valuable digital literacy skills and confidence in problem-solving. One unit could task students with creating a travel itinerary or an “international culture fair” presentation. In a hybrid or online classroom, students could collaborate using shared documents or present their findings via a video call to simulate a travel seminar. Authentic projects give students a meaningful mission – they see the purpose in what they’re learning, take initiative, and feel proud sharing their work with others. This sense of real accomplishment hugely boosts their agency and engagement.
4. Build in Reflection and Goal-Setting
Learner agency isn’t just about big projects and choices – it’s also cultivated in quieter moments when students reflect on their learning and set their own goals. Incorporating reflection activities (like learning journals, exit tickets, or class discussions about what was learned) helps students develop metacognition – an awareness of how they learn and how they can improve. Research shows that metacognitive skills such as monitoring one’s understanding, setting goals, and adjusting approaches are a crucial aspect of learner agency. In practice, this could look like ending each week with a quick self-assessment: “What’s one thing I feel I mastered this week? What’s one thing I want to work on next week?” or having students write a short reflection after completing a project describing what they learned and what they’d do differently next time. Goal-setting is the flip side of this coin – encourage students to set a personal learning goal for a unit or semester. In an online class, you might use a shared document or form where students periodically log their goals and reflections. By routinely pausing to reflect, students learn to take charge of their own growth. They start to see themselves not just as doing tasks, but as learners building skills over time.
For example, Explore in English weaves reflective practice into its lessons. A teacher using this course might start each unit by asking students to set a goal, such as “I want to improve my listening comprehension when hearing accents from different countries,” or “I want to confidently give a presentation by the end of this unit.” Throughout the unit, students might keep a travel journal in English – writing brief entries about what they found interesting or challenging in their research that week. At the end of the unit, time is set aside for reflection: students revisit their goals and write or discuss whether they achieved them, what helped, and what they’ll focus on next. In any mode (in-person or virtual), this could be done through a simple Google Form, a discussion thread, or one-on-one check-ins. By guiding students to reflect and self-assess, Explore in English helps them develop the mindset of active, self-directed learners. They learn to recognize their own progress and take responsibility for reaching their goals – exactly the habits we want for empowered, agentive learners.
5. Let Students Lead the Way
Empower your students by occasionally turning the reins over to them. Invite them to take on leadership roles or teach each other in appropriate ways. When students get to lead, whether it’s a small group activity or a whole-class presentation, they experience a big boost in agency. They’re no longer just receiving knowledge – they’re in charge of sharing knowledge or guiding an activity. This can be as simple as having a “student expert” of the week who leads the warm-up or tech setup, or as structured as student-led discussions where each student formulates a question for the group. Another powerful approach is peer teaching: for example, students might each research a different subtopic and then teach it to their classmates in jigsaw groups. When students step into these leadership or teaching roles, they practice independence, improve their communication skills, and realize their contributions are valuable. One school even replaced traditional parent-teacher meetings with student-led conferences, giving kids the floor to present their progress – a strong signal that student voice matters. In a remote learning scenario, student leadership could mean having a student facilitate a breakout room discussion or present a mini lesson via screen share. The idea is to show that learning is not always top-down; students can learn a ton from guiding others.
Sources: The strategies above are supported by educational research and examples. For instance, offering student choice satisfies their need for autonomy and increases engagement rti.org, and project-based learning with authentic tasks honors student voice and agency nextgenlearning.org. Encouraging student voice and leadership builds their confidence and active involvement in learning newleaders.orgnewleaders.org. Finally, helping students reflect and set goals develops their metacognitive skills, a key component of agency novakeducation.com. The Explore in English course examples illustrate how these approaches can play out in practice, integrating cultural projects, digital literacy, and reflection to empower learners edulab.pub. By blending research-backed strategies with real classroom examples, you can confidently boost learner agency in your own teaching. Enjoy watching your students take the driver’s seat in their learning!