ABSTRACT
Reports and papers on school-based learner engagement often return to concepts around agency and autonomy, collaboration and belonging, motivation and relevance, authenticity and meaning, high expectations and relational connection, self-regulation and self-efficacy. These concepts live at the intersection of social and cognitive psychology and have been instrumental in shaping how WonderLab has constructed learning encounters. There is the social dimension of a student asking themselves if they belong at this university, or in this majority white class, or in this predominantly male program. The social, convivial tools of design, the embodied, performative moves and the potential to translate lived experiences into shared stories are just some of the ways that design can support the critical work of promoting a felt sense of belonging. More familiar to design literature is the concept of agency.
