A key goal of tertiary teaching and learning must be to develop independence in our students through encouraging them to take charge of their learning. As teachers we foster a sense of agency and autonomy while acknowledging individual strengths, challenges, and aspirations. A considered approach is especially crucial in the tutorial context, where time is limited and the demands on students high. By focusing on two key principles of agentic engagement and autonomy support, we can not only enhance the quality of education but ensure we continue to foster genuine learning experiences for our students.
Agentic engagement refers to the ways in which students actively and intentionally contribute to their learning process, proactively working to create, enhance, and personalise their learning conditions (Reeve, 2012). Per Reeve (2020), this requires both motivation (agency) and action (agentic engagement). In essence, agentic engagement is about what students do and say to make their learning environment more supportive and motivating.
Autonomy support in teaching refers to an instructional style that respects, encourages, and supports students to take an active role in their learning. Autonomy is the feeling of having freedom and choice which, when fulfilled, enables individuals to feel both authenticity and a sense of control over their thoughts, emotions, and actions (Reeve, 2016; Reeve et al., 2004). This approach involves understanding students’ needs, providing explanatory rationales, accepting their expressions of negative emotions, and using inviting language, ultimately leading to increased motivation, engagement, and academic achievement.
Knowing your students
Check the ‘knowing your students’ report before each semester
Supporting students can start before the semester even begins, getting to know them in order to anticipate the type of support they may need. The ‘Knowing Your Students’ report can help teachers understand the diversity of the students enrolled in their units of study. I use this data to learn about my students’ backgrounds including their home languages and places of birth to consider potential cultural differences that may be present in the classroom. I also take into account whether I have any repeating students, the percentage of first in family students, and the number of students who live with disability. Knowing about co-enrolled units can also help me make connections between the unit I teach and their other units of study in class, to provide them with a more integrated learning experience. A former student of mine shared that our “tutorials have changed my perspective on how different subjects/courses are somewhat relevant to my units of study”
Relating to your students
Learn your students’ names
Research consistently shows that students experience a range of positive outcomes when teachers provide autonomy support. These include increased engagement in class, improved understanding of concepts, enhanced skill development, better academic performance, positive behaviour towards others, a stronger sense of self-confidence, and improved emotional well-being (Cheon et al., 2019; Jang et al., 2016). The first step towards this can begin with two seemingly simple tasks for teachers, knowing students’ names and being human. Learning all of our students’ names can be a challenge but it is an integral part of understanding their identity, seeing particularly for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as more than just a name on a roster. The “Say My Name” campaign, initiated by the Sydney Mosaic network, advocates for equality for individuals with non-English names. ‘Being human’ creates a sense of relatedness; in sharing personal experiences and emotions teachers can demonstrate authenticity and foster a deeper connection with their students, ultimately contributing to a more supportive learning environment.
Providing voice and choice
Have a flexible lesson plan
In my home discipline of Sociology many of our tutorials are discussion-based, and both class and group discussions are two popular ways of conducting classes. I believeit’s important to regularly ask students which class activity they would prefer, as this can change topic-to-topic and class-to-class. To facilitate this I prepare for each option in my lesson plan. This flexibility is a small step in developing both a positive class culture and students’ agentic engagement, helping them understand that they are not sitting there to simply take in what the teacher tells them. “Thanks for a great semester of tutorials and all your encouragement, I really enjoyed and appreciated the freedom and creativity that I don’t get often in my other classes and found it rewarding.”
Setting small goals for students in every session is another strategy to enhance learning. For example, encouraging them to write down their ideas during group discussions, where each student plays a role and collectively noting the main arguments of the topic at the end, leading to a collective knowledge base students can use for their assignments. This also promotes teamwork and writing practice. Padlet is a tool that can help with this, and I often ask if students would like to create a PowerPoint slide to present their discussion to the class — a topic that needs its own blog post to explain. My students feel that “the constructive discussions with other students about the subject matter were great!”
Activating strengths and prior knowledge
Learn from students
A key principle of autonomy support is to provide students with relevant choices. Tutorial teachers can facilitate this in the classroom environment by drawing on valuable knowledge and life experiences students bring to the classroom. Each of my tutorials starts with finding out what students know about the week’s topic, which can be what they learned from the lecture, personal experiences, or anything that comes to mind. For example, when studying multiculturalism in an upper-level sociology unit I invite students to share their own experiences as well as sharing my own as an immigrant. Knowing about my students, as outlined above, supports this. Another example would be a first tutorial where we begin by acknowledging the Aboriginal land that we are on. I give an acknowledgement before opening up a discussion to gather perspectives on this practice; what students think about it, if there is something they would like to add, if the practice is new to any students, and so on. This approach allows participants to contribute valuable insights, and fosters a supportive environment where we can learn from each other. Domestic students are often able to offer helpful insights to international students, and I also invite those with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage to share if they wish, enhancing the significance of the acknowledgment for the entire class.
Within tutorial settings, we have the opportunity to create a space that both values and recognises students’ feelings and perspectives, transforms learning into a joyful experience, and helps students envision their lives and futures based on what they learn: “…As you know, Sociology is not my major, but I developed a keen interest in sociology after taking your class, and I wish to explore it further along with my social life in the near future. I’m naturally a shy, introverted person, but your support has encouraged me to become more engaged in this and other classes…”
Motivating your students
Ask open-ended questions
A key responsibility of a supportive teacher is to nurture motivation in students, understanding that students may respond in unique ways. This motivation can involve encouraging students to attend lectures, to engage in class discussions, to study more, assist each other, and take leadership responsibility in group or class discussions. Students may engage in various ways; behaviourally, emotionally, cognitively, or in an agentic manner (Christenson, et al., 2012). An agentically-engaged student may bring up an idea that contradicts the argument presented in the readings or lecture. Teachers can promote this by practicing and modelling active listening and by inviting various perspectives on topics. Instead of providing a definitive answer to questions or provocations I encourage dialogue by posing more open-ended questions, building a teaching and learning environment in which students feel empowered to share their thoughts. I have found that this teaching approach has led to rewarding and appreciative feedback from students: “It has been nearly a week since I finished semester 1. This has prompted me to reflect on how much I appreciated your tutorials, as sociology is my passion, and you have enabled this passion to thrive within your tutorials. I appreciate how you have taught me to both listen and talk, and I will apply your feedback from my assignments for the betterment of my studies and, in the long run, for personal growth.”
Explain everything
When planning classes we can further support the development of student autonomy by clearly explaining the rationale for and goals of activities. Students may not implicitly recognise this, so I share the “behind-the-scenes” with students, explaining why I have made certain choices and asking for their suggestions on how to achieve these goals. This creates a supportive atmosphere where students recognise that classes have been thoughtfully planned, but also that they must be a part of crafting the teaching and learning environment. Sharing, for example, how we as teachers integrate our research and expertise on topics can be an exemplar for how students may apply what they learn in their own futures.
Building a classroom that facilitates agentic engagement and autonomy support
Agentic engagement, where students are active participants in the teaching and learning environment, leads to a fresh and upbeat class atmosphere. It is good practice to regularly self-assess whether our lesson plans and delivery provides this opportunity for students. I hope that the teaching tips above will assist you in demonstrating your own agentic engagement as both an individual and teacher in order to help your students develop theirs.
References
Christenson, S. L., Reschly, A. L., & Wy, C. (2012). Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Reeve, J., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Self-determination theory: A dialectical framework for understanding sociocultural influences on student motivation. In D. McInerney & S. Van Etten (Eds.), Big Theories Revisited (pp. 31–60). Greenwich, CT: IAP.
