First: Build those relationships.

Have you always wanted an easy way to build a successful Student-led classroom but you didn’t know where to start? Creating this type of environment for your students doesn’t have to be stressful. The key to success here is to create as many chances as possible for your students to experience independence. While still giving them a sense of structure and routine. Often when we let go of the reins the show falls apart, ha! Or so we think.

That isn’t true once you have your basic routines established and your students know you are consistent and mean what you say. This of course needs to be your first steps. Once they are listening to you 97% of the time (no one’s perfect) you can start slowly introducing these learning skills. You will definitely need to practice with them, on repeat for the first little while, so they understand that there are still rules but they will slowly start to blossom and return the favour ten fold.

Second: Start by Choosing the Best Independent Learning Activities.

The basic building blocks to a Successful Student-led classroom begins with Grade appropriate activities. For example: in Primary I would begin by allowing my students their choice of topic for Writer’s Workshop. I don’t over correct or micro manage. My expectations are clear but simple and they feel in control of their own content. Do I have some students fixated on things that are not age appropriate and does it comes out in their writing? Yep. Do I make a big deal about it? Nope. Do I encourage nicer topics? Sure do.

Over time what I see are my students wanting to make choices that I encourage because they don’t feel like I am trying to control or sensor them. So there is always a gradual shift in content that comes along with my daily praise. That might be: sentence structure, neat printing, finger spaces, there’s always something good to say. For more ideas on creating a great daily Writer’s Workshop, click here.

Other great ideas are: more sharing time among peers, allowing students to read your read aloud to the class with a microphone and a friend, giving the microphone over to a student with a great idea and letting them share it, classroom helpers and jobs, letting the students suggest games for the transition times and letting them teach them to their peers. The possibilities are endless really. Many of these ideas you may already be doing with your students and you can just add more over time.

Next: Trust. The most Important of the Five Easy Ways to Build a Successful Student-Led Classroom.

Deep Belly Breath (that was for you, not them). Remember that being in control is just an illusion. Children preform intrinsically based on how we make them feel. Putting your faith, in all that love, respect, encouragement and support that you pour into your student’s, daily, matters. It matters to the outcome of their productivity and it matters in creating tiny humans that excel on creative and critical thinking.

This of course cycles back to having a solid foundation with your students first and then allowing many opportunities for your students to gain critical leadership and thinking skills. We do this by giving high expectations and then slowly allowing opportunities for our students to be responsible for the majority of their tasks throughout the day. These opportunities should be created with a safe space in mind. One that allows for mistakes to occur, because they will. Following our own guidance when we say to our students: mistakes can’t be bad, it’s how we learn and grow.

Then: Sit back and watch it unfold.

Be consistent and set boundaries, natural consequences for anyone not managing well and also for successful students. So for example: maybe two of my students are getting excited, being silly, maybe they are shouting out and interrupting because they are used to regular verbal prompting to manage their behaviour. In this senecio, I would simply tell them they owe me time and we would sit together to self-regulate. A sand timer would be set for five minutes and during this time we do not talk but rather observe the rest of the class being successful. I keep myself very quiet and let them go try again A.S.A.P. They get the point very quickly and the “no talking” really helps with self-regulation.

For my students that are succeeding, lots of positive praise, stars in our jar, high fives. It takes such a little amount of time for students to feel you being authentic and from there only good things happen. The key to it all is calm and consistent. To read more on behaviour strategies and self-regulation tips click here.

And Finally: Why is Student-Led Learning Important?

You may have discovered that the Five Easy Ways to Build a Successful Student-Led Classroom, might not be that easy after all, but it is worth it. It does become more natural as you practice it. My time in Special Education taught me this best. I don’t look at teaching as my day to day responsibility. It is my long term responsibility. My every day decisions are the ones that set my students up for long term success straight into adulthood.

I need to think about my students success, confidence and thinking skills, not just as children in a school but as thriving teenagers and eventually happy, productive adults. My first question usually is how can I foster them to soar through tough obstacles over time? Followed immediately by, how can I get them there? Conformity and compliance have never been successful at anything other than dimming our inner light. Definitely not why I signed up for the job. The world is tough, we need to keep that light close, to light us up along the way.

With Love, C.

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