What does student voice mean to you?

As an educator, it is important to reflect on what student voice means to you when taking that first step to empower student voice in education. At TakingITGlobal, we recently asked educators that exact question. One educator readily noted that “student voice means students have a say in things that matter to them - education is something they participate in - not something that happens to them”. In response, another educator suggested that “we need to step backwards a little... a voice worth listening to is born from good thinking...to develop voice as a teacher is to teach kids to think.”

This open and fruitful dialogue took place during a recent webinar for our Student Voice e-Course, where educators embarked on a 5-week online journey to explore the value of cultivating and engaging student voice both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to designing a student voice project, one educator noted that this course will “help me develop the skills needed to incorporate the student voice effectively in my teaching practice. I would like to learn how I could design lessons or projects that can empower the pupils to voice their opinion in a constructive way and become independent learners”.

Unique to this course is the opportunity to converse with educators from around the world, allowing you to experience the diversity of understandings and applications of student voice. More so, building on the experiences of others and learning together develops a community of educators; a powerful professional learning community whose insights and wisdom can be drawn upon as you begin to implement your projects.

Since 2012, Microsoft Partners in Learning UK has been providing scholarships to the e-Course for all qualified applicants. The next cycle will begin on May 22nd, 2013, and by answering a few short questions, you can qualify for a scholarship to the course, and start your journey to help amplify student voice in education. Apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/stuvoice.