“When we truly listen to students, we do more than hear their words—we see learning through their eyes. In that moment, teaching shifts from delivering content to building understanding, and classrooms become places where every learner belongs.”
— Inspired by research on student voice and learning
A particular strategy that is often misunderstood, but can deliver powerful outcomes when implemented, is Regard for Student Perspectives. Regard for Student Perspectives (RSP) is defined as:
“The degree to which the teacher's interactions with students and classroom activities place an emphasis on students' interests, motivations, and points of view and encourage student responsibility and autonomy.”
In simpler terms? Regard means being comfortable letting go of a strict step-by-step curriculum and instead leaving room for incorporating ideas offered by students throughout the day.
But understanding how to effectively use Regard for Student Perspectives while managing everything else as a teacher (like a constructive learning environment) can be challenging.
Children want to know how the world works, how it fits together, and how that affects their perception of things. They’re curious! In order for them to make sense of the big world around them, the things they’re learning need to connect to things they already know, and what they’re interested in.
That’s where Regard comes into play. When teachers purposefully make room for student’s ideas in activities and lessons throughout the day, they create an intentional learning environment. This connects learning more to what they know and are interested in, allowing children to feel like they have a welcomed place in the classroom.
Flexibility and Student Focus.
Simply put, this means ensuring the student plays a role in developing the day! Whether that’s incorporating the student's ideas into the planned lesson, or going along with student interest when it doesn’t disrupt the lesson plan.
Student Expression.
This is about showing genuine interest in how each the students sees and interprets the world, and subsequently encouraging them to express these thoughts.
Support for Autonomy and Leadership.
Here, it’s about allowing students to be as independent and autonomous as possible, in order to give them more responsibility during an activity. What may begin as a specific teacher-directed activity can transform into a student-led activity.
The 4MAT instructional model shows strong regard for student perspective in several key ways:
Honors different learning preferences
4MAT is built around four learner orientations—Why? What? How? If?—so students with different preferences (reflective, analytical, practical, and creative) all have entry points into learning.
Starts with students’ experiences
Instruction begins with personal connection and meaning (“Why?”), valuing students’ prior knowledge, feelings, and real-life experiences rather than starting only with abstract content.
Balances emotion and cognition
The model integrates feeling, thinking, doing, and creating, recognizing that students learn not just intellectually but also emotionally and physically.
Provides multiple ways to engage and demonstrate learning
Students are not limited to one mode of instruction or assessment; instead, they encounter content through discussion, direct instruction, practice, and creative application.
Encourages choice and ownership
Especially in the “If?” phase, students are invited to extend learning, experiment, and apply ideas in personally meaningful ways, giving them agency.
Uses Right-mode teaching strategies
Right mode teaching strategies emphasize imagery, emotion, intuition, and creativity—help tap into student perspective in several powerful ways: They give voice to ideas that are hard to verbalize They honor individual meaning-making
When students represent ideas visually or creatively, they must interpret content personally. This reveals how they understand and value the concept, rather than how well they can repeat the teacher’s explanation. This shifts the focus from “What does the teacher want?” to “What do I think this means?”
In short: 4MAT shows regard for student perspective by designing instruction around how students actually experience, process, and apply learning, rather than expecting all students to learn in the same way.
