Encouraging Student Agency with Immersive Technology

New Ways of Learning with Immersive VR and AR Technology in the Classroom

Supporting the adults of tomorrow means supporting the young people of today, equipping them with the skills they’ll need to thrive and benefit the society of the future. This is where student agency comes in, along with the immersive technologies that are fostering new ways of learning.

What Is Student Agency?

Student agency means giving learners active control over their own academic direction. It is essentially an antidote to outdated lecture-style teaching, in which students passively absorb information. When student agency becomes the focus, young learners make decisions, explore topics in ways that suit them, and take an active role in the learning process.

There is still structure, and there are still learning outcomes that must be met, but meaningful student participation is greatly increased.

Why Is Student Agency So Important?

Education is all about empowering students to progress along their journey through life, so how does student agency accomplish this? Let’s take a look at a few advantages of this approach:

Increased Motivation

Students lose motivation when they feel they are not actively participating — when they feel they are being talked at rather than to. Student agency increases engagement and enjoyment during the class, facilitating feelings of independence and discovery that drive motivation.

Enhanced Levels of Creativity

The idea of applied knowledge is important in modern education. Students need to do more than simply know something. They need to be able to apply this knowledge to their environment, and this requires creativity and inquiry. Student agency helps to foster this.

A More Adaptable Learning Process

Students have differing abilities and passions. They learn at their own pace, exploring topics in unique ways to achieve the right outcome for them. Student agency achieves an adaptable learning process in which no one is left behind.

How Immersive Technology Enables Student Agency

We are firm believers in the power of immersive technology, and we’ve seen firsthand how AR and VR are transforming education. Here’s how this immersive tech can drive student agency in a big way:

Introducing New Ways of Thinking

When students are given agency, they need to think differently about the topics presented to them. In our work with virtual and augmented reality technology in education, we focus on introducing these new ways of thinking to students. At Lumination, we apply a six-step process of empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, and implementing in our design thinking problem-solving framework. We also seek to encourage innovation by examining the challenges and opportunities of the future. All this is powered by immersive technology.

Exploring Topics with Station-Based Learning

Student agency is about exploring topics and concepts from within. The Lumination Learning Lab suite of solutions utilises a station-based approach, allowing students to move through the learning process in a progressive and structured way, immersing themselves in every step.

Offering Personalised Perspectives and Responses

Immersion basically means experiencing. With immersive technology such as AR and VR, students come face-to-face with the concepts they are studying, navigating perspectives and responses that are personal to them. This is a formative part of student agency and independent learning.

Lesson Plan Examples

We’ve explored some of the theory behind student agency and its relationship with immersive learning and AR and VR technology in the classroom, but how can this be achieved in practice? We want to provide the resources teachers need to realise the full benefits of student agency, so we deliver lesson plans they can use straight away with the Lumination Learning Lab technology. Take a look:

• The Future of Food
• Operation: Safe Planet

Lumination Learning Labs: Supporting Real Student Agency

Our Lumination Learning Labs support real student agency, bringing immersive technology like AR and VR into the classroom in a meaningful way. To learn more about what this suite of solutions can do for you and your students, use the form below and request a demo of the Lab.