Our Commitment to Agility
Our Commitment to Agility
Supporting students to understand and grow their thinking is a powerful lever for supporting student agency and learning.
Together, the class collaboratively identified and labelled parts of a caterpillar on a shared diagram using sticky notes. Students also described what they saw in a caterpillar image( See), shared their thoughts( Think), and asked thoughtful questions( Wonder) such as,“ Is the silk for making a chrysalis?” and“ Will the fur come off when they molt?”
WHAT ROLE DO VISIBLE THINKING & DOCUMENTATION PLAY?
The‘ thought-full classroom’ prioritizes visible thinking and documentation, emphasizing process over product. This could include capturing and displaying students’ problem-solving steps and revisions, or simply their quotes, questions and reflections that share their reasoning and how they have collaborated on a topic.
In January’ s Professional Development Day, staff explored and discussed examples of this in their classrooms and spaces, incorporating their knowledge of Ritchhart’ s 8 Cultural Forces in the process— the foundational elements that shape classroom and school culture, fostering environments where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted. Some examples that groups discussed were activities hung up on classroom walls— from reflections around the life cycle of salmon, to notes of encouragement to share ideas and learn from our mistakes in math!
This year, Grade 6 students have been exploring complex questions using a conversation mapping routine in their Humanities classes. When given the question“ What does equality mean?”, students worked in groups, drawing a line between those speaking on a diagram. This created a visible web of how conversation moved and who participated. Beforehand, students were given prompts about how to invite everyone into the conversation, slow down and make space for every voice.
As the discussion unfolded, students took notes on key points, ideas that stood out, and new perspectives they heard from classmates. This process— one they have used in various iterations throughout the year— not only helps them reflect on how they contribute to group thinking, but also informs how they answer deeper questions about their own thinking in later work. Together, they created final group statements defining equality.
“ For the Grade 6 teachers, this type of exercise is a good reminder about not just what is visible to us as teachers, but what is visible to students as learners,” Ms Kempel, Teacher, Grades 6 / 7, said.
In Ms Yorath’ s class, students created diagrams to explore something of interest to them in the natural world.“ From when the work started, some students researched two or three different things before they chose what they were going to be an expert in,” Ms Yorath explained.“ It’ s a way that they have the agency to show their own ways of thinking.”
Based on their own research web, students created posters or booklets with facts and diagrams that showed their learning, including features of non-fiction writing, like adding“ Did You Know?” sections.
HOW DOES METACOGNITION INTERSECT WITH AGENCY?
At its core, the‘ thought-full classroom’ fosters agency by design. Teachers cultivate environments where content isn’ t just taught, but students are equipped to think critically, collaborate authentically, and advocate for their growth in any context.
“ When we think of metacognition supporting agency, it is a powerful lever to get students to feel safe in exploring an idea,” Ms Trolese said.“ Agency is at the intersection of foundational well-being and purposeful learning. When students have a feeling of safety and belonging in their classroom settings, they feel ready to take risks and explore thinking, explore learning, in a much deeper way.”
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