How do we keep students’ voices in the center of our instruction? Even when educators know how to, they often operate in environments discouraging this practice. I had the opportunity to chat with Ann Marie Baines about her book, Amplify Student Voices: Equitable Practices to Build Confidence in the Classroom. Join us as we discuss what it means to deliver engaging instruction while affirming identity.
AnnMarie Baines, Founder and Executive Director of The Practice Space, blends twenty years of public speaking and coaching expertise with a rich teaching background. Starting as a special education teacher, she later co-authored Amplify Student Voices: Equitable Practices to Build Confidence in the Classroom. Rooted in West Contra Costa, her impact resonates across communities.
Key Takeaways
- Debate is a powerful tool for amplifying student voices and achieving educational equity. It helps students explore different perspectives, develop communication and critical thinking skills, and understand the impact of their opinions.
- Storytelling, poetry, and other forms of expression can enhance learning and engage students, even in subjects where they may not be a natural fit. Educators can get creative in how they incorporate these into their curriculum.
- Equitable instruction should focus on creating an environment that reduces predictability, disrupts power dynamics, promotes shared power, maximizes opportunities for students to showcase their strengths and interests, and minimizes the impact of oppression.
- There is a deep overlap between social-emotional learning, academic learning, and identity-responsive learning. Helping students develop self-awareness and understand their identities is critical to engaging them and enabling knowledge transfer across contexts.
Resources
- Instructional Tool: HyperWrite’s Debate Assistant
- Book: Poetry Pauses: Teaching With Poems to Elevate Student Writing in All Genres
- TedxTalk: Speak for Yourself | AnnMarie Baines | TEDxMaplesMetSchool
- Instructional Tool: Including Voice in Education: Addressing Equity Through Student and Family Voice in Classroom Learning by the Regional Educational Laboratory
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