Team Student Agency

Apply the principles of collaborative design to positive action for students who have incurred in transgressions at school.

Target Audience: Students who have incurred in transgressions within the school environment.


Objectives: To ensure that students´ voice is present in determining positive action stemming from student transgressions.


Value proposition.

Provide a unique protocol for students to apply collaborative design principles to designing positive action following transgressions within the school environment so that they become learning expriences for all involved.

In the past educators used physical punishment like the cane or a ruler to discipline students. This was stopped due to misuse of power. It was replaced by taking away the student’s lunch time and stern talks from teachers. In Japan they have a “shouting room”, where a student will sit alone and be sternly reminded of the rules by a teacher (Ashton’s observation).

Recently in Australia, the concept of restorative practices has been introduced, however we remain skeptical about this new version of the old idea.

Surely we are missing an opportunity here?


Detailed Description

Students will have the chance to design positive actions following incidents that constitite breaking of school rules.

General Feedback on the project Great idea! It allows students to participate in decisions usually made by authorities. Giving them this opportunity will certainly make them think about the consequences of their actions and evaluate how serious the incident was and what should be the penalty for it. Behaviour is an area that is not frequently address in projects.

Innovation I think it is innovative since schools normally apply the concepts of sanctions, warnings, detention and expulsions without the student’s participation in the process of designing a positive action instead of a penalty. The presence of students ‘voice to identify , determine and suggest different ways to deal with transgression is really empowering students.

Personalization It could be personalized since the positive action would be designed with the student who broke the rule. As there will not be a set of rules and a set of established consequences …. this is a highly personalized approach.

Global citizenship Reflecting , thinking about what to do , suggesting different ways to deal with a situation is developing tools of reflection, responsibility, empathy…

Holistic learning Learning is not just a group of subjects. Learning is also social emotional learning.

The Growth mindset and how the brain learns from mistakes When the student has to design his own sanction as a positive action they are learning from their mistakes. The project moves from set rules to designing the best opportunity to learn from a situation.

Modeling and celebrating mistakes Turning mistakes into a positive action rather than punishing. New people and new experiences

Self-evaluation The student has a chance to evaluate the extent of the mistake made and what would compensate for the damage. It could also include an evaluation of the results of the positive action carried out.

Students explaining and honoring their opinions There will be lots of opportunities to explain and honor different opinions.

Experiencing and being in nature
Recycling, growing vegetables, animals
Embedding indigenous knowledge


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