Build Skills

Listening to Student Voice (Institute of Educational Sciences and Regional Education Laboratory)

External Resource

This toolkit provides educators a purposeful and systematic means to gather and analyze local data by eliciting and listening to student voice to inform improvement efforts. The toolkit offers three tools:

• Analyzing Surveys with Kids involves students in analyzing and interpreting survey results associated with a school-related topic or problem and then in producing suggestions for improvement.
• Inside-Outside Fishbowl organizes a special kind of focus group in which students and educators trade roles as speakers and listeners during a facilitated discussion of a school-related topic or problem and then jointly develop an action plan.
• Students Studying Students’ Stories guides a digital storytelling process in which students produce and analyze videotaped interviews of other students about a school-related topic or problem and then host forums with educators to suggest improvements.