Agency

Agency (Definition):

Agency, in this context, refers to the power to control a particular variable or conduct a specific action. If we want students to read more in a given class, for example, we need to make sure that they have the resources to do so, including time, appropriate reading materials, and a work environment conducive to learning.  If they do not have access to those resources, they have limited agency over their ability to read more. For some students, there could be other issues that affect their agency (e.g., learning difficulties related to accessibility).  

Agency & Actionability:

Idenitfying who has agency in a given situation is critical to identifying actionable insights in our data. In other words, a good insight, given to someone who has no power to control the variables in question, will not be actionable. 

Agency Questions for Dashboard Design:

1. Who is your audience? (student, teacher, parent, administrator, or other stakeholder)?

2. What construct(s) are you going to display? What actions would be associated with improving those constructs?

3. Are the associated actions suggested by the dashboard something that could be done by your target audience (student or otherwise)? If you’re are displaying a student-controlled factor to a non-student audience, what can the audience do to support the affected student(s)?

4. Is the student and/or your audience capable of improving that construct? (and/or is the cost of improving worth the effort?)

5. What motivations/incentives does the student and/or your audience have to make improvements (or to not make improvements)?

6. Does the student and/or your audience have the necessary resources to do it?

7. Does the student and/or your audience have an adequate support team?

You might also consider Wise's (2014) discussion of Agency as a guiding principle.