Year 9 Builds Agency in Learning… One Jenga Block at a Time
Step into the Futures Hub, where creativity sparks, collaboration thrives, and the learners of tomorrow are shaping the world today. At The Knox School, this purpose-built space brings innovation to life, giving students the freedom to explore, experiment, and tackle real-world challenges through hands-on, project-based learning.
Recently, our Year 9 cohort took their first steps into the Hub as they began their CUBE journey, an elective designed around meaningful skill development. Rather than diving straight into content, their opening lesson focused on how students learn, with a fun twist on a familiar game: Jenga.
The activity introduced students to the Agency in Learning competency from the Melbourne Metrics framework. Scattered throughout the Jenga tower were blocks labelled with different elements of agency. As students carefully removed each block, they explored what these elements look like in practice and how they already show up in their own learning. The aim was for students to identify and reflect on their personal learning strengths while discovering new ways to take ownership of their growth.
CUBE has been running successfully at The Knox School for five years, helping students develop important skills like collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking while developing products, solutions or processes for real world clients. As the program has evolved, and in partnership with the University of Melbourne, it now uses the Melbourne Metrics framework.
This approach goes beyond traditional academic assessments, looking at how students take agency in their learning, think critically, work with others, communicate effectively, act ethically, and engage as responsible citizens. To support students on this journey, they receive a reflection fan report twice a year, giving them a chance to see their growth across these assessed competencies and plan how to continue developing their skills throughout the CUBE electives.
What better way to start this journey than by exploring the building blocks of agency itself?
The Jenga activity brought these concepts to life in a playful, hands-on way. Students were highly engaged, discussing how they already demonstrate agency and discovering new ways to strengthen it. Throughout this engaging experience, students began to build a shared language around the elements of agency, helping them articulate how they can apply agency in their own learning. One memorable moment came when a student struggled to remove a block labelled Acting with Courage. With encouragement and support from her peers, she persisted, demonstrating the very element she was holding. The tower may have collapsed, but the lesson was clear: learning grows strongest through challenge, collaboration, and resilience.
The Futures Hub and the CUBE elective offer students more than a classroom experience, they provide a launchpad for real-world learning, self-discovery, and the skills needed to thrive in a complex, rapidly changing world.
