Title: “Learner agency and how it fits in with active learning”

Presenter: Adrian Leis Ph.D. (Educational Informatics) Associate Professor 

Title: Learner agency and how it fits in with active learning

Abstract: Whether it be in a company, a school, or at home, having others feel a strong sense of human agency is essential in a leadership role. In the classroom, when our students feel that their agency is at stake (i.e., they have had the freedom to make decisions taken away from them, or have little control over the outcomes of their actions), their willingness to participate actively in class will often decline. In this presentation, I will discuss the concept of agency and changes in approaches towards building students’ sense of agency according to recent research in positive psychology. I will also suggest various practical ideas for the language classroom based on the concept of active learning.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 26 at 13:00 (Akita time!)

Venue: ZOOM
・ the meeting link will be sent to all Akita Chapter members approximately 3 days before the presentation.
・ JALT members (not in the Akita Chapter) and non-JALT members may request the meeting link by filling out this form

Format: approximately 50 minutes of the speaker’s presentation followed by 20 minutes of Q&A/ Discussion

Bio: Adrian Leis is an Associate Professor at Miyagi University of Education with over 20 years’ experience teaching English in Japan. His main fields of research are English education, language learning motivation, and computer-assisted language learning.