Student Empowerment

Empowerment is a really important aspect of teaching for educators, parents, and students. Empowerment focuses on allowing people to gain control and become the driver's in their journey of life. As educators, it's important we provide our students with the resources necessary to feel confident, competent, and encouraged in many realms of their life.

The way I can best understand student empowerment is by using the term let. When we let students take control of their learning and decision-making processes, it provides them with an open path to discovering and risk taking. This can allow students to feel heard, engaged in the material, greater autonomy, and a sense of belonging.

 

Some ways in which educators can empower their students is by letting them:

-       Choose and implement the strategies that work best for them

-       Ask questions about what interests them

-       Work at their own pace

-       Explore new topics, themes, and concepts

-       Be creative

 

We should be able to inspire opportunities for our students by giving them choices, resources, positive reinforcement, motivation, encouragement.

The video 'The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners' excellently describes how educators can create a learning environment for children where they want to learn rather than having to learn, producing creative and self-directed learners from empowerment.

 

                                  The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners

                                 

 

Courtesy of Manpreet@NU