Support for Young Writer's Agency

 

Young writers can experience a great sense of agency surrounding their writing ideas and processes, but this does not guarantee they will derive a sense of pleasure from their writing.

Young writers need support in the form of mindful instruction so they learn how to best  apply that growing sense of  agency. Agency needs the company of intention for the writer to prosper.

Without that explicit instruction, writing will not thrive. Knowing they can write is important, but knowing how to proceed with that writing is just as important. 

Agency needs the solid support of self-efficacy and self-regulation. When coupled with these components, agency becomes a vital motivating force, leading to increased engagment and performance.


So, when teachers inquire into writing processes and demonstrate how to set process goals, the agentic writer has an all-important writing roadmap to follow. A roadmap highlighted by a more proficient writer.  The influence of a teacher/writer is  used to positive effect. 

Teachers can provide the mindful instruction into the topic harvesting strategies writers use to generate ideas for potential writing projects. Alerting young writers to the myriad sources for ideas is vitally important. The teacher heightens possibility and alerts the writer to new areas worth exploring for potential writing treasure.

Following this, time needs to be set aside for young writers to engage in generating writing ideas individually and in groups. This time is critically important to future writing success. This is where a writer’s notebook can prove invaluable. The writer uses the notebook as a collection zone for lists, possible topics and some rudimentary planning. This further enhances the young writer's sense of agency. This is agency in action.

The young writer needs time to identify for themselves, topic, genre ,purpose and audience. They can also be nudged to set their intended process goals and deadlines for project completion.

 The writer is now well placed to enact their individual agency to choose the writing project that best suits their needs. This way agency, self-efficacy and self-regulation are working in concert. The relationship between these elements is therefore strengthened. 

Agency is thus harnessed in order to teach the young writer how to manage their individual writing lives. They begin to see what a writing project requires and the actual process they must embark upon to successfully complete said project in a meaningful way. The power of agency is fully realized through such mindful actions.


Alan j Wright

Twitter (X) @alwriting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livinglifetwice




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