Daily Routines to Nurture Student Voice

Imagine if even the littlest students felt like they were such an important part of the class that there was no way they could be absent from school. Their class needs them and their voice matters! Join Molly, Dr. Eve, and guest Meredith Noce, Principal at Verrado Heritage Elementary School in Arizona, as they explore the intentional things teachers can do to build that kind of connection.

Transcript

Molly: [00:00:00] From Leader in Me Studios, I'm Molly Garcia. This is The Empowering Teacher for Early Learning. 

Molly: When I think back to my favorite teacher, I immediately think about the way I felt. Like I was an important part of our class, and there was no way I could be absent from school because the class needed me. My voice mattered. Looking back now as an educator myself, I realized this experience was by design, not by accident.

Molly: I didn't realize all the intentional things a teacher did to make this happen, and get this, it was my Kindergarten teacher. I was five years old and felt like I was large and in charge! I promise this trip down memory lane is for a reason. Today, our focus is on empowering student voice in early-learning classrooms. I'm connecting with Meredith Noche, principal at Verrado Heritage School in Arizona, who has experience with early learners to talk about the power of fostering student voice and the results it's having on the campus.

Molly: Before I chat with Meredith, Eve, as our FranklinCovey Director of Research, give us the [00:01:00] lowdown on the research that supports empowering student voice in early-learning classrooms.

Eve: Certainly, Molly. The concept of student voice goes beyond just allowing students to speak up in the class. It's about recognizing and nurturing each student's unique perspective as a valuable contribution to the collective learning experience. So recent research points to an idea of dialogic spaces in classroom.

Eve: And these are environments where students' thoughts and questions have to co-construct knowledge rather than simply receiving it from the teacher. This approach fosters deeper cognitive skills like metacognition and critical thinking, which as we know, they're foundational for lifelong learning

Molly: So, how can educators create these dialogic spaces?

Eve: It starts with adopting a listening culture. And what I mean by this is not just what students say as the extent of listening, but how they think, how they feel.[00:02:00] 

Eve: Educators can facilitate this simply by using open-ended questions that invite diverse viewpoints and encouraging peer to peer dialogue. It's also about creating classroom ethos where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning, which helps students to feel safe in expressing their thoughts in this listening ethos. Right?

Molly: So it sounds like this approach could significantly impact how students are actually engaging in the classroom 

Eve: When students feel that their voices are heard and valued, it boosts their confidence and engagement; they become more intrinsically motivated to learn and explore.

Eve:This empowerment, it, it has a ripple effect, right? Fostering a sense of community and empathy within the classroom as students learn to appreciate and learn from diverse perspectives of their peers.

Molly: Eve this hits home and so many connections are happening for me, and I know the listeners as well. [00:03:00] I'm excited to jump in a conversation with Meredith Noce around practical ways to bring this research to life. 

Molly: Meredith, welcome to The Empowering Teacher Podcast for Early Learning.

Meredith: Thank you so much for having me.

Molly: Well, I know our listeners can't see me, but I am smiling from ear to ear because I'm so excited about the wisdom and practicality that you're gonna bring into our conversation today. So let's just start by painting a picture for our listeners. What does student voice look and sound like in preschool and Kindergarten classrooms at Verrado Heritage Elementary School?

Meredith: Awesome question. So the first and most important is that the students are feeling comfortable expressing themselves. So in order to even get at that foundational level We need to make sure those relationships are impeccably strong from anyone who enters in that classroom. And I think that happens here in every single space in place.

Meredith: You feel it. You see it. Kids are connected. They feel [00:04:00] safe. They feel loved.

Meredith: And then, also making sure that we're giving them choices. The younger you start with that and empowering them at those young ages pays off in dividends, 

Meredith: For example, I just had, uh, done a observation in one of my younger classrooms and the teacher gave the choice to the students: what do we want Principal Noche to come in and see? What do we feel like we are just really excelling at at this moment to have her come in and see? And honestly, they chose a a Leader in Me lesson.

Molly: Wait, I just wanna make sure I heard that right, and I'm gonna clarify for our listeners. Are you saying that the teacher asked the students, trusted the students, and said, what do we want Principal Noche to watch us in action do? And that's what the teacher chose as their observation?

Meredith: Absolutely. So the entire class weighed in and they just really wanted to show off what they've been doing within the Leader in Me Curriculum 

Molly: You can just feel the trust and relationship building [00:05:00] and choice. All those things that you mentioned are beautifully represented in that example. So, that sounds fantastic.

Molly: So what do you think when we're in that space where we might feel like this is too far away, like, what keeps us or holds us back from engaging in student voice and such, you know, on our early learning classrooms.

Meredith: I think sometimes where we get caught up on as adults is that we wanted to look and sound a certain way or we had these expectations of what should be in a classroom, but not taking into consideration that what that should be needs to be part of the developmental considerations of, just because they are 3, 4, 5, and 6 does not mean that they do not have a voice that needs to be used, and for us to guide how to use it appropriately. So I think it's just that knowing the developmental pieces and being comfortable with what in that age range could be appropriate for student voice and empowerment. 

Meredith: Also time constraints and being able to realize that even though [00:06:00] that we have to get so many things done, the beauty of getting it done with students being a part of that is the whole process 

Molly: Yeah, so let's bring it down to that practical level. How can teachers build student voice in the daily practices or routines within the day?

Meredith: Well, it's gonna take intentional planning, Molly. It's gonna take commitment to creating an environment that students do feel heard and valued.

Meredith: With anything good, It takes time, right? It just takes time. So I think it, just, you know, some strategies is just that basic morning meeting. Most of our educators, regardless of the age, do start off with a morning check-in, morning meeting.

Meredith: And I think it's just providing that time to let students share their thoughts, feelings, and that sets that positive tone, that student voice matters just from the very beginning of the day. And then throughout the day, infusing choice and activities. We've got 5 minutes before lunch. We finished early. What do we wanna do with this time?

Meredith: I think it's just again [00:07:00] that intentional planning and working with your colleagues to say what are you doing that might be working in your classroom to really build some of these practices and routines that I can try and infuse. And especially the ones that are new to our campuses. Right? 

Meredith: That you would not even believe that some of these teachers that have never had Leader In Me training before or the 13 Trust Behaviors what they're coming in and being able to, like, watch, see, learn, and do, it's incredible.

Molly: I love that watch, see, learn, and do. That's also the same recipe for students, right, students?

Meredith: Yes. Yes.

Molly: Alright. So you lead a preschool through eighth grade campus and you see student voice at all levels. So with that, could you share what results we gain when we empower students at such an early age.

Meredith: Sure. First and foremost, increased engagement. When you start them at a young age of creating an environment where they feel trusted and where they feel that they matter and that their voice matters, uh, you're gonna see that increased engagement throughout [00:08:00] the entire Kindergarten through eighth grade experience. This is our first promoting Kindergarten through eighth grade class this year because we've been open nine years. This is my first, and you can tell a marked difference with this group of eighth graders and what they are capable of doing and advocating for themselves because the majority of them have been here since Kindergarten.

Meredith: They will email me directly and say, hey, Noce, we've got an idea for this. Or, hey, can I get an appointment with you for this? Or have you thought this? The motivation and ownership.

Meredith: This school is theirs and they are protective of it. And they love it. And you can tell because, again, when you're empowering student voice, that is now empowering their ownership of their learning and of their home. Their home is here when they're not at their physical home. 

Meredith: And so I think, the confidence building of what I have seen some of the students, for example, I've got some that just reach out to me. I wanna be part of the assembly. I see what you do. I wanna be a part of it.

Meredith: [00:09:00] And it may not be the most dynamic speaker, but my goodness, with just a little bit of, uh, love training, validating their desire to do this, That's been an incredible transformational journey with some of my students there as well. 

Meredith: When you give these kids that sense of empowerment and that you belong here and we are not anything without you, you'll see it and you'll feel it. But then even like the data is there, like when we do our student engagement surveys district-wide. Some of our highest rating items are “School is a place where I feel like I belong.” Let that one sink in. 

Meredith: All of our kids know they belong here. It is a true testament because we start at such a young age with this program. 

Molly: You can feel, Meredith, your commitment and your love for the work that you do with our littlest leaders all the way up to your staff and to your oldest students on campus. What advice would you give someone who's listening, and maybe they're like, uh, I just don't know that three and four year olds.

Molly: Like, I get that, but there must be [00:10:00] something really magical at our school. Maybe that's why they're able to do it. Like, what would you say to that?

Meredith: I would say give it a try. We had our seventh graders go into preschool and run a whole holiday party for them this past fall.

Meredith: And I walked in and All the adults in the room are just standing there smiling and maybe doing a quick encouragement here and there. The, the kids planned it, executed it. That's why I say give it a try. Start with something small, and then you will see the spark, the light, the magic, so much so that you want it to be bigger and better and just keep going and going with it.

Molly: You heard that, give it a try. Meredith, thank you for reminding us of the power of student voice, and, of course, a big thank you to our listeners. Keep shining. You've got this.