Agency by Design
How Strategic Structures and Tiny Shifts Can Build Learner Ownership
with Tonya Gilchrist and Tania Lattanzio
October 10-11, 2026 | International School of Schaffhausen
Most educators don't need to be convinced that learner agency matters. You already know. The harder question is: Why does it feel so difficult to actually make it happen?
The answer might surprise you. Agency isn't something you instill in learners. It's something you design for. And the design moves that make the biggest difference are often smaller than you'd expect.
We tend to treat agency like a massive, overwhelming destination—or worse, a "people problem" that requires fixing student motivation. But true ownership doesn't happen by chance, and it doesn't require a total overhaul of everything you do. When we shift our focus from trying to change student behavior to intentionally designing classroom conditions, fostering agency becomes far more approachable, manageable, and sustainable than we think. It's about small, deliberate moves that yield significant impact.
In this highly practical 1.5-day workshop, we'll look past abstract theories and unpack what agency actually looks like when it's built into the fabric of everyday school life. Together, we'll explore the conditions that allow ownership to flourish and identify the tiny but powerful shifts that can transform classroom dynamics—and school culture—from the inside out.
Through collaborative discussions, reflection, and hands-on design opportunities, we'll explore agency through four essential lenses:
Culture and Relationships: Fostering environments where learners feel trusted, valued, and empowered to take ownership
Learning Design: Creating meaningful, intentional opportunities for voice, choice, and real ownership of the learning process
Assessment: Developing practices that build independence, reflection, and self-regulation—cultivating truly "assessment-capable" students
Agency and Contribution: Supporting learners to apply their understanding, take initiative, and contribute meaningfully to their community
You'll leave with a deeper understanding of agency and a clear, actionable toolkit of design moves you can implement immediately—concrete shifts that move your classroom and school culture from compliance to ownership.
This workshop is designed for teachers, instructional coaches, curriculum leaders, and school teams (Kindergarten to Year 10) who are ready to stop waiting for agency to happen and start designing for it.
Reserve Your Spot
Your Investment:
Early Bird: $380.00 USD (Use the code EARLYBIRD26 by September 4)
Standard Registration: $440.00 USD (After September 4)
What’s Included:
We want this weekend to be as seamless and nourishing as possible. Your registration includes:
Two Core Texts: A copy of The Little Book of Agency: Tiny Shifts That Transform How We Learn, Lead, and Grow by Tonya Gilchrist and Leveraging Deep Learning: Strategies and Tools for Assessment of Conceptual Understanding by Tania Lattanzio and Andrea Muller to ground our design work.
Food and Connection: Catered lunch and snacks throughout the workshop so you can focus on collaborating.
Professional Recognition: A certificate of completion for your professional learning portfolio.
Space is limited. First come, first served.
Join Tonya and Tania in beautiful Schaffhausen!
International School of Schaffhausen is only a 45-minute drive or 60-minute train ride from Zurich Airport.
Nestled along the scenic Rhine River, Schaffhausen is famed as the gateway to the Rhine Falls—Europe's largest waterfall! Between sessions, feel free to explore a traffic-free, medieval Old Town celebrated for its 171 ornate oriel windows, frescoed Renaissance architecture, and the iconic Munot Fortress.