5 Learner Agency and UDL

The concept of learner agency lies at the heart of UDL efforts. Take a moment and think about this phrase.

One way to think about this more concretely is as follows: If you were asked to write a letter of reference for a student, and the guidelines specifically asked you to comment on how the student demonstrated agency in their learning, what would you point to as evidence of this? Just for yourself, try writing a few sentences about this in the box below as you would in a reference letter, keeping one or more of your past students in mind.

What sorts of things did you mention? Perhaps your student demonstrated evidence of what we call metacognition, or the ability and willingness to think about the act of thinking itself – recognizing, for example, where they might need to shore up specific skills to be successful on a project or re-plan out their work in a different way when they encounter an unexpected obstacle. Maybe they chose an essay or presentation topic that would allow them to explore an aspect of their own identity or culture, integrating their own lived experience with their more-abstract learning. Perhaps they made use of specific institutional resources, like consulting librarians or exploring archives, that were not required by the assignment and yet enhanced their overall work. Maybe they offered support to their peers in the course without specific prompting, recognizing that fostering others’ success is a worthy goal for both their own and others’ learning.

There are many different ways that a student can demonstrate agency, and, as in these examples, the result is usually a superior learning experience and a more positive orientation toward the subject matter. Perhaps your own love for the subject that you study or teach was sparked similarly? Was there a specific course, project, or teacher who helped you to claim agency over your own learning and set you on the path that brought you to where you are now?

UDL seeks to foster the design of learning environments in which learning is purposeful, reflective, resourceful, authentic, strategic, and action-oriented – and all of these are linked with learner agency. At its foundation, the UDL framework is a significant movement away from what famed Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire derisively termed “the banking model of education”.

“Depositing” information into students as if they were passive containers and towards a more liberatory approach to education, which recognizes students as creative meaning-makers who have the potential to change themselves and the world around them. Facilitating ownership over learning increases engagement and commitment, fosters a desire for further learning beyond the course, and can even reduce some of the problems and stresses involved in teaching – more engaged and agentive learners are less likely to involve themselves in academic misconduct or turn in last-minute, carelessly produced work, for example.