The Network for Educational Development (NED) provides educational development opportunities that are designed by Minnesota State faculty and staff for Minnesota State faculty and staff. These opportunities help build awareness, develop knowledge, skills, and abilities, and provide space for reflecting and revising.
Spring 2026 | Summer 2026 | NED Course Catalog | NED Resource Site
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Agency in Action: Inside and Outside the Classroom: Session One
Agency in Action:
Inside and Outside the Classroom
Facilitated by
Adam Marcotte
Central Lakes College
2016 Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence Educator of the Year
This NED Excellence in Teaching Series installment will investigate the core elements of agency for us and for our students, and it will look for ways to bring capacity-building into our spaces more often. The first session will focus on defining and identifying the various elements of agency, and the second session will be about brainstorming and refining practical ideas for educators, administrators, and staff. Participants will want to attend both days.
Workshop experiences will be participatory and rely on our collective experiences and knowledge. Additionally, we’ll use writing, art, show and share exercises, and breakout rooms to ensure everyone gets a voice and we can—together—develop activities and actions to take home with us. All educators are invited.
Outcomes
By the end of the two 90-minute sessions participants will be able to:
- Define “agency” and discuss its various components
- Share examples from personal and professional experiences that grow agency
- Identify methods to assess agency for ourselves and our students
- Share and identify the principles of agency in the contemporary classroom
- Discuss how agency can be used to meet course objectives, certifications, licensures, etc.
- Invent new lessons, initiatives, and conversations for future activities
Agency in Action: Inside and Outside the Classroom
Session One
February 11, 2025 @ 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
During the first session we will begin by exploring the concepts behind “agency” and craft a working definition together for this workshop. Of course, we could always look up the word in our favorite dictionaries (which we may do), but fully understanding a term requires more than that. For example, how is “agency” different from the other educational concepts we know, such as “voice,” “empowerment,” and even “capacity building.”
For these 90 minutes, we will lean on each other, our personal and professional experiences, and our observations of how humans grow best to dig into the role “agency” has played in our lives. For both days, participants will need a working microphone and camera, paper, writing utensils, and a sense of humor as we will use various methods to think, reflect, and share. There will also be a small assignment for the following session.
RSVP Required
Use the RSVP tool below to register. In addition to Minnesota State faculty and staff, Concurrent Enrollment instructors are also welcome to join.
After registering, a calendar invite with details on how to join will be sent to you, please add this event to your calendar.
Accommodations: If you require accommodations (live captioning, etc.) to participate in this event, please send an email to the person at the bottom of this page.
Questions?
Contact facilitator Adam Marcotte.
