Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat
In Amelia Meertens’ Year 3 and 4 classroom at Mātangi School, agency is not a buzzword, it is at the centre of all learning. Through clear expectations, explicit teaching, and a strong focus on personal growth, she is helping young learners understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters and how they can shape their own success.
“Agency isn’t just about giving students choice,” Amelia says. “It’s about giving them the skills, scaffolds and confidence to make meaningful decisions about their learning. I want them to feel ownership — to know why they’re learning something, and to recognise their successes in ways that matter to them.”
Amelia begins each year with the same commitment: creating clarity. Expectations and routines are explicitly taught, modelled, and reinforced. Visual timetables help students navigate their day relatively independently.
“We have practice runs with students completing a task independently, then working out what to do next. That way students know exactly what’s happening and what’s expected of them to be successful. It removes so much anxiety,” she says. “They can stop focusing on ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ and instead focus on the learning itself.”
Neuroscience educator Kathryn Berkett says this clarity around the ‘how’ will have a positive impact on students’ learning.
“When expectations are clear, the brain feels safe,” Berkett explains. “What Amelia is doing, the explicit routines, the visual supports, it’s building the neurological foundations for agency.”
Amelia is a passionate believer in play-based learning, especially for students transitioning into more formal schooling.
“Play lets them test ideas, collaborate, negotiate, and express themselves,” she says. “It’s agency in action. They choose, they problem-solve, they reflect.”
One example she shares is the prioritising of maths tools such as counters and place value cards, so students can understand the concepts before tasks become more abstract.
“When they get to decide how they learn, they experience success much more personally.”
One of the richest expressions of student agency in Amelia’s teaching comes through her work as the school’s Enviro lead.
“Kids feel such pride when they grow something from seed,” Amelia says. “They’re not just learning about plants. They’re learning responsibility, planning, science, teamwork, all through real, meaningful work.”
Students begin by deciding what they want to plant, taking into account seasons, the school calendar, and upcoming cooking activities.
“Sometimes they have to think months ahead. It’s an authentic way to teach planning and foresight.”
Student Enviro leaders prepare the soil, sow seeds, water the gardens and monitor growth. Some even track rainfall and pest issues.
“You should see their faces when seedlings finally pop through,” she says. “There’s this mix of excitement and ownership - they made that happen.”
When the vegetables are ready, students harvest them and place the produce in the school’s community vege stall.
Students taking part in the Enviroschool’s Mara Kai challenge plan weeks, sometimes months ahead. If they want to make soup in winter, they must plant leeks, onions, or potatoes at the right time. If they’re planning a salad tasting, they need lettuces and herbs ready to pick.
“Students have to ask: ‘Will this be ready in time?’ ‘What grows best in this weather?’ ‘How much do we need?’ Those are sophisticated thinking skills, but they don’t feel like hard work to the kids because it’s real.”
Berkett says this type of learning has huge neurological benefits. “The only way that the brain truly grows, is through repetition of the actual task.
“We don’t learn so well by watching, we learn by doing. The cells in the brain have to be activated together to wire together. Amelia is allowing the young people to engage in activities that will literally wire up the areas of the brain responsible for planning, sequencing, emotional regulation, persistence and much more.”
“Amelia’s programme doesn’t just teach science, stresses Berkett, “it creates essential connections in the brain.”
Writing is another area where Amelia intentionally builds student agency. She breaks the writing process into small, achievable steps and provides time for reflection and self-assessment.
“If they succeed at one step, they feel capable moving into the next,” she says. “They revisit their writing the following day, with a fresh brain and a clearer sense of what they want to improve.”
Every afternoon, Amelia’s students gather for reflection time.
“We talk about our successes of the day,” she says. “Sometimes it’s academic, and sometimes it’s something like, ‘I didn’t give up when the puzzle got tricky.’ Both matter.”
By weaving school values into daily activities, whether in the garden, the classroom, or during play, she helps students see learning as something bigger than tasks or tests.
“It’s so important they see themselves as capable, responsible learners, not just in reading or maths, but in how they treat each other and take care of our environment.”
For Amelia, agency is not an add-on. It is the foundation of a successful learning environment.
“Success isn’t about being the best,” she says. “It’s about growing, reflecting, and believing in yourself as a learner. When students take ownership of their learning, and experience the intrinsic feeling of success, that’s what matters most.”
Written by Penny Hartill.