Teachers reflect on student, EdTech, and teacher agency levels when selecting classroom EdTech¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (2 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review recommends that teachers, facing varied and uneven-quality EdTech, deliberately evaluate the agency configuration of tools before classroom use. The article states: "We suggest that teachers reflect on students', EdTech's, and their own levels of agency in an activity and apply our guiding principles for selecting appropriate EdTech products." Because more agency does not always enhance learning and optimal levels differ between and within learners over time, the extent of agency should be adapted to the specific learner systematically.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Access to the review's guiding questions and Table 2 examples to structure the reflection

Constraints¶

• Given the uneven quality of EdTech solutions on the market, careful selection is needed; controlling children's choices too much can hamper motivation and self-regulated learning development

Target Learners¶

• children in classrooms using EdTech

Target Learning Goals¶

• selecting EdTech that balances learning effectiveness and learner engagement

Claims¶

• Shared control over task or problem selection between learner and system yields better learning outcomes than full system control [+W]
• The learning benefit of control over studying emerges around age six and increases across the elementary-school years [+W]
• Perceived control and choice benefit motivation and simple-fact learning, but most students do not manage their learning effectively when given choice [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Empower student autonomy by making supports student-facing and increasing default access, which can raise engagement and reduce barriers

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Garvin Brod, Natalia Kucirkova, Joshua Shepherd, Dietsje Jolles, Inge Molenaar. (2023). Agency in Educational Technology: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Implications for Learning Design. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09749-x