Growing up, I was usually one of only a few Black students in my class. That meant every group activity took place in a setting where I didn’t look like anyone else in my group, and I didn’t feel confident sharing my perspective or shaping our progress. Instead, I just waited for a teacher or a fellow student to give me a task – and 99% of the time, it wasn’t something that played to my strengths or something I was excited to take charge of. Because learning didn’t feel like a collaborative experience, I didn’t feel safe taking risks in front of my peers, and that made it harder for me to invest in my own growth. As a teacher, I’ve always centered student voice and identity in my practice: Because I know firsthand that if we want to get the most from our students, we have to give them the most.

In my classroom, that means giving kids a seat at the table and a place on the team – and I believe that’s especially vital to supporting success for Black students, and for any students who might feel like their identity or experience makes them different from many of their classmates. The more I empower my students to shape our learning, the more I see them investing in our learning – and making significant academic progress. That’s why I want to share these two strategies at the heart of my practice:

1) Bringing students’ identities, abilities and voices to the table

Here’s one way I bring students to the table, week-by-week: Throughout the year, I make it a practice to ask them what skills, subjects and hobbies they’re feeling good about – because as we encourage kids to grow and experiment, those answers change. When I’m planning new lessons, I reflect on how I can create classroom roles to support evolving student identities. 

Maybe one student was always a great group leader, but lately they’ve gotten into reading for the first time – so when I plan group activities, I’ll ask that student to take charge of analyzing text. Maybe another student used to avoid speaking up in class, but they’re feeling stronger in their communication skills – so I’ll invite them to present the group’s conclusions. If students don’t feel excited about their roles, I’ll encourage them to share ideas about the ways they want to explore the material, and we’ll design a better lesson plan together. As I keep centering my students’ growing identities in our classroom culture, I love seeing kids break out of their comfort zones, create space for one another’s voices and lead our learning.

2) Setting team goals and celebrating team growth

I set a lot of goals, both big and small, with students to get them invested in supporting shared risk-taking and mistake-making. Those goals create a lot of opportunities for us to work as a team and celebrate as a team. 

Our “small” goals keep students connected to our supportive team culture and our shared progress. Maybe it’s a shared goal for everyone in the class to discover one book they really love, or to push through one discouraging moment with a growth mindset – and every time someone gets there, we celebrate. By creating that sense of ongoing momentum and affirmation, I can make students feel encouraged about working toward the big goals that can feel intimidating, like progressing to a new level with their reading skills – because they know we’re going to tackle it as a team. When students hit a big learning goal, that’s my chance to bring in balloons. When students model a growth mindset, that’s my cue to put on music and start a celebratory dance right in the middle of our classroom. Every time our students level up – in their risk-taking, resilience, confidence, curiosity, and of course, in their mastery – that’s an opportunity for us teachers to celebrate. By keeping that encouraging culture going, we can keep our students’ motivation for growth going.

When we bring students to the table and empower them to shape their learning, we can create an experience of education that they’ll want to invest in. And when we give students a place on the team and encourage them to take risks together, we can create a sense of community that they’ll want to support. I love recommending my strategies because they make a difference to my students through all the ups and downs of our school year: creating fall connections, sustaining energies through winter, promoting motivation during spring assessments – and closing the year with a sense of shared success.