ABSTRACT
Immersed in the role as fall festival designers, learners were tasked with the objective to consider what attractions and games should be offered to appeal to their peers. Cognitive psychology studies provide clinical evidence that stress, boredom, confusion, low motivation, and anxiety can individually, and more profoundly in combination, interfere with learning. Learner agency is the act of developing the capacity to navigate one’s own learning without relying on constant direction from others, mainly, teachers. Fostering agency within a student-centered environment, rather than teacher centered, communicates that every learner profoundly matters. Empowering learners to develop greater ownership fosters a more cohesive and collaborative classroom community where every learner recognizes themself as a contributor and leader of learning. When the learning environment is flexible, meaning that learners not only design the classroom, but restructure it as needed, educators cultivate greater autonomy as students identify how they learn best and then employ what works.
