Making your students agents of knowledge: Building student agency in 2026

Information is everywhere. Your students can look up facts, summaries or in-depth explanations in seconds. But knowing something isn’t the same as understanding it. One of the modern-day challenges for teachers is to move beyond merely delivering content and instead help students think critically and connect ideas for themselves. 

This is where student agency comes in: the shift from students being passive recipients of knowledge to active constructors of it. It may sound ambitious, but like anything new, with practical strategies and the right digital tools, it’s more achievable than ever — even for teachers juggling tight schedules.

What is student agency, really?

Student agency is about giving learners control over their own learning journey. Instead of just completing worksheets or memorising facts, students ask questions, explore ideas, and make their own choices about how to tackle a topic.

For teachers, fostering agency or self-directed learning doesn’t mean stepping back entirely. Instead, it’s about guiding students to discover solutions themselves while providing the support and scaffolds they need. In other words, the teacher becomes a facilitator and mentor, while the student becomes the driver.

Why student agency matters in 2026

With AI and the internet, students can instantly access a wealth of information. That makes the traditional “teacher as knowledge holder” model (also known as the banking method) increasingly outdated. Delivering facts alone no longer equips students for the real world.

Instead, skills like critical thinking, enquiry, problem-solving, and independent learning are now the markers of success. And when students develop agency, they not only engage more deeply with content but also build confidence and lifelong learning skills.

So how can you take steps to help your students become agents of knowledge? Check out these four strategies and pick what works best for you and your classroom. 

Strategy A: Start with student-led questions

One of the simplest ways to encourage agency is to put the student in control of the learning agenda by leading with questions. Research shows that presenting students with questions — rather than only stating answers — encourages students to engage more deeply with course content.

Here are a few ways to bring questions into your classroom:

• Minute 0–5 of the lesson: Pose a question you don’t yet have the answer to and let students brainstorm hypotheses.
• ‍Before handing out an assignment: Give students 5 minutes to write their own inquiry question. Then let them compare and select one to pursue.
• ‍Use agency prompt cards: Examples include “What’s one more question I have?” or “How might I test my idea?”

You don’t need to overhaul your entire unit. Pick one lesson next week, let students draft their own questions, and guide them as they explore. Over time, small experiments like this can scale into a culture of student-led learning.

Running low on time? Download Atomi’s questioning cheatsheet.

Strategy B: Flipped learning and enquiry time

Flipped learning may be a model you’ve already heard of, but if not, here’s a quick refresher. Flipped learning reverses the traditional classroom model, meaning that students consume content at home, freeing up classroom time for more active learning and guided enquiry.

Here’s how it supports agency:

• Pre-class videos: Assign short Atomi videos so students can grasp the basics independently.
• ‍Classroom exploration: Use the face-to-face time for discussion, experimentation, and answering student-generated questions.
• ‍Real-time guidance: Teachers can monitor who’s struggling and intervene as needed, helping students exercise agency without feeling lost.

Be sure to consider the academic ability of your students and their capacity to work independently. With Atomi integration, teachers can view dashboards that show where individual students are stuck and how they are progressing. 

Meanwhile, Atomi’s AI‑powered marking and feedback gives students instant, personalised responses to their answers and suggests revision based on their strengths and gaps — helping make flipped‑learning models smoother and more effective.

Strategy C: Supporting collaboration with scaffolds

Student agency doesn’t have to be a solo effort. Teachers can support collaborative learning while helping students develop independence and critical thinking skills. The key to getting group active learning right? It all comes down to structure and support.

Consider these practical classroom applications:

• Peer reflection: Students work in pairs or small groups to solve problems together, sharing strategies and resources. Try activities like carousel brainstorming, where groups rotate and build on each other’s thoughts. 
• ‍Collaborative scaffolds: Provide guiding questions such as, “What’s one step we might try next?” or “How can we check our idea?” to keep students on track while exploring independently.
• ‍Teacher guidance: Step in with targeted support when needed, but allow students to lead the discussion and exploration wherever possible.

When it comes to group learning, the potential is huge. It helps students develop independence while learning how to learn and work with others, which is an essential life skill.

Strategy D: E-pedagogy and digital tools

In today’s classrooms, digital tools and emerging tech are becoming increasingly common. And 74% of educators already believe that technology enhances the learning experience for students. Digital learning platforms like Atomi can enhance student agency by giving learners control over pace, practice, and exploration.

Key benefits for teachers and students: 

• Content at students’ fingertips: Students can watch bite-sized videos and test their understanding on demand.
• ‍AI feedback and analytics: Teachers identify which topics require extra attention, and students receive guidance tailored to their individual progress.
• ‍Time-saving scaffolds for teachers: Assignments, worksheets, and discussion prompts can be embedded in the platform, so teachers don’t have to create everything from scratch.

E-pedagogy supports autonomy without removing the teacher from the learning process. It’s about guiding students to extract knowledge themselves, while using tech to enhance rather than replace human facilitation.

Getting started: a simple plan

You don’t need to implement all strategies at once. Start small:

1. Pick a topic coming up next week.
2. Assign a short Atomi video to introduce it.
3. Ask students to write two questions they’re curious about after watching.
4. Use those questions to guide class discussion.
5. Reflect together on what worked.

That’s it. One lesson, one small step — and you’re on your way to building a classroom where students feel empowered, curious, and capable of guiding their own learning.

Small experiments like this build confidence for both students and teachers, and can be scaled gradually across your classes.

Students appreciate the ability to self-guide and have autonomy over the cadence and delivery method of content.
– Landsdale School

Get started with teacher support tools 

Being a passive recipient of knowledge isn’t the end of the world, but developing student agency equips learners for a rapidly changing world.

With strategies like student-led questions, flipped learning, relational agency and digital tools like Atomi, teachers can:

• Save time on content creation.
• Support students’ enquiry and critical thinking.
• Create classrooms where learning is collaborative and self-directed.

By focusing less on delivering facts and more on helping students learn how to learn, you’re giving them the most valuable skill of all: the ability to educate themselves.

Explore how Atomi can help you create more space for student agency in your classroom. Get started now for free!