Educators have the power to either control their students or create an environment where students feel motivated, capable, and self-sufficient. Empowering students can help them feel confident, prepared, and engaged in their educational journey, leading to better learning outcomes.
In today’s classroom, power dynamics often reflect traditional roles, with teachers controlling lesson content and student behavior. However, a shift towards empowering students can foster an environment that encourages personal growth and independence. Here are practical strategies educators can use to help students feel powerful at school.
1. Embrace a Strengths-Based Learning Approach
One of the best ways to help students feel empowered is to focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. When educators concentrate on what students are good at, it nurtures their confidence and engagement in learning. A strengths-based approach helps students feel capable and encourages them to view themselves as potential leaders.
Activities for Strength-Based Learning:
- VIA Survey of Character Strengths: This survey helps students aged 10 and above identify their character strengths like honesty, kindness, and perseverance.
- Use Your Strengths Practice: Ask students to focus on one personal strength each day for a week, applying it in different ways.
- Best Possible Self Practice: Encourage students to imagine and write about their future, considering school, career, and relationships for two weeks.
By helping students recognize and develop their strengths, educators can empower them to take ownership of their learning.
2. Acknowledge and Address Biases
To create an authentic strengths-based environment, educators must be aware of and address their biases. Biases, especially unconscious ones, can lead to uneven power distribution in the classroom, giving certain students more opportunities than others.
Educators can unearth these biases by inviting trusted colleagues to observe their interactions with students. Gathering data such as who gets called on more often, the tone of responses, and the nature of feedback can reveal patterns of bias.
Key Data to Track:
- Who do you call on more frequently (consider gender, ethnicity, etc.)?
- What is the tone of your responses to students (positive vs. negative)?
- Are your comments specific and helpful, or vague and dismissive?
These insights can spark important conversations and lead to personal growth for both the educator and the students.
3. Be a Warm Demander
One of the most effective ways to empower students is to set high expectations for all of them. Research has shown that when teachers believe in their students’ potential for growth, students are more motivated and achieve higher levels of success.
Being a “warm demander” means caring deeply about students’ success and refusing to accept anything less than their best. This approach differs from the more passive forms of care that may lead to neglect. Students respond positively to teachers who believe in them, fostering a growth mindset that can last a lifetime.
4. Create Student-Centered Learning Experiences
Empowering students also requires giving them the space to take charge of their own learning. Student-centered learning environments allow for greater student voice and collaboration, fostering a sense of agency.
Traditional teacher-centered lessons, while effective in meeting learning targets, may not always encourage active participation. In contrast, approaches like project-based learning, cooperative learning, and service learning can create rich learning experiences where students take on meaningful roles and work towards real-world outcomes.
Additionally, encouraging student participation through think-pair-share or fishbowl discussions can foster a more democratic classroom environment where students actively engage with each other’s ideas.
5. Foster Ongoing Reflection and Self-Assessment
Another way to empower students is by encouraging them to reflect on their learning and set personal goals. Self-assessment and reflection allow students to take control of their education and become more engaged in their progress.
Ways to Encourage Student Reflection:
- Portfolios: Students can assemble portfolios showcasing their work, highlighting challenges, and assessing their growth.
- Multiple Intelligences: Educators can work with students to identify their various intelligences and design personalized assessments that reflect their strengths.
- Student-Led Conferences: Students can take the lead in conferences, discussing their learning goals and progress with teachers and family members.
By taking an active role in assessing their learning, students feel more empowered and motivated to succeed.
6. Model and Practice the “Big Five”
Empowerment in the classroom often extends beyond academic success to the social and emotional realm. In his book The Power Paradox, Dacher Keltner highlights five social tendencies that contribute to enduring power: enthusiasm, kindness, focus, calmness, and openness. Teachers can model these behaviors and provide opportunities for students to practice them.
How to Encourage the Big Five:
- Enthusiasm: Develop rituals, like personalized greetings, to energize your students and foster connection.
- Kindness: Use activities like a “shared identity” exercise to help students connect despite their differences.
- Focus: Collaborate with students to define shared values and create a classroom constitution that reflects these principles.
- Calmness: Practice mindfulness in the classroom to reduce stress and promote focus.
- Openness: Implement active listening exercises to encourage students to attune to each other’s thoughts and feelings.
Conclusion
Empowering students in the classroom isn’t just about giving them control over their learning—it’s about creating a space where they feel valued, capable, and confident. Educators can help students thrive by using strengths-based learning, addressing biases, setting high expectations, and fostering an environment where student voices are heard.
When students feel empowered, they are more likely to succeed not just in the classroom, but in life. Empowerment helps students develop critical thinking skills, resilience, and a sense of agency that will serve them well beyond their school years.
