Student Connections

Every person on this planet has an opinion, but I’d like to focus on the opinions located in the classroom — specifically those of the students. An opinion that the student voices is just as important as the teachers, believe it or not.

As an educator, it is important to let everyone in your classroom have a voice — to let their ideas and thoughts out into the open. Hearing what a student has to say can help other students connect over similar ideas and experiences. It will also allow for the teacher to create a better learning experience for the students by using their thoughts in their planned lessons.

At the 9th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies in Barcelona (Spain), it was discussed that “it is necessary to know the opinion of the students to improve and boost the active learning and improve the relationship between lecturers and students” (Lejardi, Muñoz and Zuza).

These connections will allow the teacher to help the student apply their individual opinions into life in school and outside of the classroom walls. It is also important that the teacher has created a healthy and safe environment for the students to share their opinion. They should never feel that they cannot share their thoughts over any topic.

Ways to Encourage Student Voice

Encouraging Student Voice with Technology

There are many outlets that students can use to share their voice. One of my favorites that I have seen used in a local high school was Padlet. It is a “wall” used to post discussions, website links, images, videos, and feedback for both students and teachers. The website has a lot of features that help student personalize the information they have posted to make it more individualized. Other students can comment with their own opinions and even offer feedback on the positives of the student’s post. It can be used as an individual or even as a collaborative piece.

2. Great Schools Partnership. Glossary of Education Reform. 20 December 2013. 5 April 2020. <https://www.edglossary.org/student-voice/>.

3. A. Lejardi, J. Muñoz, E. Zuza (2017) THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING STUDENT’S OPINIONS TO IMRPOVE LECTURING METHODOLOGIES, EDULEARN17 Proceedings, pp. 162–167. <https://library.iated.org/view/LEJARDI2017IMP>.

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