STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS

Richard LynchGraduate School of Education

Assumption University

• Thought for the day –

Setting an example is not the main means

of influencing another, it is the only means.

-Albert Einstein

Today’s Agenda• Learning Theories Overview - 2 fundamental questions2 fundamental questions

1. What is learning?

2. How do people learn?

• Teacher-centered vs. Student-centered Education

• Learner-centered instructional Strategies/Activities

It’s Easy

Activity 1: Pair/Group Discussion -Learning Theory - Two Fundmental Questions

Directions: Discuss the following 2 questions with one or two people sitting

next to you. Try to develop a definition of learning as well as a description

of the process of learning.

1. What is learning ?

2. How do people learn?

Q1 - What is learning?Some definitions . . .

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience - an

external change that we can observe. (Behaviourism)

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in the knowledge stored in

memory due to experience - an internal (mental) change that we cannot

observe. (Cognitivism)

• Learning happens when there is a change in meaning, new ideas, or

concepts constructed from prior knowledge and experience. Individuals

construct knowledge (learn) as they solve problems, usually through

collaborating with other people. (Constructivism)

• Learning is the discovery of new facts and relating them to those already known. (Cognitive constructivism)

Some Principles of Learning

• Persons at all ages have the potential to learn.

• Individuals vary in the ways they like to learn – learning styles/preferences

• We learn to do by doing - learning improves when the learner is an active participant in the educational process.

• We learn to do what we do and not something else.

• Without readiness, learning is inefficient and may be harmful.

• Without motivation there can be no learning at all.

• For effective learning, responses must be immediately reinforced.

• Meaningful content is better learned and longer retained than less meaningful content.

• For the greatest amount of transfer, responses should be learned in the way they are going to be used.

• Learning is more comfortable and effective when the environmental conditions support open exchange, sharing of opinions, and problem-solving strategies.

• The depth of learning increases when new concepts and skills are useful in meeting current needs or problems.

Q2 - How do people learn?Behaviorism – Learner is passive, a receiver of stimuli & feedback

(rewards & punishments), teacher transmits knowledge to student –

The Transmission Model of Teaching/Learning.

Cognitivism - Learner participates by selecting information from sensory

memory, processing it in STM (working memory) and storing it in LTM (long

term memory), and retrieving information in order to apply it (IPMM –

Information Processing Model of Memory). Constructivism - Learner is active in creating knowledge and meaning

from experience and in connecting new knowledge with prior knowledge.

How do People Learn - IPMM

Information Processing Model of Human Memory

How do People Learn - IPMM

Bloom’s Cognitive Domain Taxonomy

Bloom’s Cognitive Domain Taxonomy

Teach Bottom - Up

Two Types of Knowledge

• DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE Facts - who, what, when, where

• PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGEHow

Both types of knowledge complement and support each other. But which comes first? Which should

you teach first?

Learning StylesPresent material via multiple modes of instruction

- Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic – VAK– Students should be able to

» hear you state important concepts

» read important concepts

» write important concepts

» work with materials (models, text passages, experiments, etc.)

I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. - Chinese Proverb

Activity 2: Pair/Group Discussion -Learner-Centered vs Teacher-Centered Education

Directions: With one or two of the people sitting next to you discuss the

concept of learner-centered education. Focus on the following areas:

• List some important ways that it differs from teacher-centered education

in terms of roles of learners and teachers, teaching/learning activities,

assessment methods.

• Think of the 3 learning theories we have discussed – where does

learner-centered education fit in those theories?

• Which approach is the most effective – learner-centered or teacher-centered?

Comparison of Teacher-centered and Learner-centered Approaches

Teacher-Centered• Knowledge transmitted professor-students

• Students passively receive information

• Emphasis is on acquisition of knowledge

outside the context in which it will be used

• Professor’s role is to be primary

information giver and primary evaluator

• Teaching and assessing are separate

Learner-Centered • Students construct knowledge through

gathering and synthesizing information

and integrating it with the general skills of inquiry, communication, critical thinking,

problem solving . . .

• Students are actively involved

• Emphasis is on using and communicating knowledge effectively to address

issues and problems in real-life,

authentic contexts

• Professor’s role is to coach and facilitate

• Teaching and assessing are intertwined

Comparison of Teacher-centered and Learner-centered Approaches

Teacher-Centered• Assessment is used to monitor learning

• Emphasis is on right answers

• Desired learning is assessed indirectly

through the use of objectively scored tests

• Learning culture is competitive &

individualistic

• Only students are viewed as learners

Learner-Centered • Assessment is used to promote and

diagnose learning

• Emphasis is on generating better questions and learning from errors

• Desired learning is assessed directly

through papers, projects,

performances, portfolios, etc.

• Culture is cooperative, collaborative, and

supportive

• Professors and students learn together

A Few More Principles of Learner-centered Education

• Professor:– Ask don’t tell

– Focus on students’ experience and interests

– Give students choices

– Focus on confidence building for real-world skills

– Make tasks open-ended, i.e., there is more than one possible answer

• Students– Use prior knowledge and integrate new knowledge

– Make choices based upon interests

– Develop confidence in their growing knowledge & skills

– Learn by doing

Activity 3: Pair/Group Discussion –Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

Directions: With one or two of the people sitting next to you make a list of

specific teaching/learning activities you can use to make your classes more

learner-centered.

Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

• Know your students – names, interests• Be active – move around the classroom• Be interactive – engage the students, have students engage each other• Be relevant – connect material to the world, to the students, use anecdotes• Use active learning – have students solve problems, answer questions,

formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, brainstorm • Use cooperative learning – have students work in teams on problems and • projects under conditions that assure both positive interdependence and

individual accountability• Use inductive teaching and learning – present students with challenges

(questions or problems) and have them discover answers and solutions. Inductive methods include inquiry-based learning, case-based instruction, problem-based learning, project-based learning, discovery learning

"When you make the finding yourself - even if you’re the last person on Earth to see the light - you’ll never forget it." – (Carl Sagan)

Instructional Strategies

• Direct Instruction– Explicit teaching– Lecture– Drill & Practice– Didactic Questions– Demonstrations

• Indirect Instruction– Case study– Problem solving– Discovery learning– Inquiry learning– Discussion

• Interactive Instruction– Role play– Debate– Problem solving– Brainstorming– Discussion

• Experiential Learning– Field trips– Conducting experiments– Role playing– Simulations– Surveys– Model building

• Independent Learning– Essays– Research papers– Projects– Computer-assisted learning– Homework assignments

Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

Interactive Learner-centered Lectures

• Outside the lecture– Independent projects

– Group discussion

– Peer monitoring of other

students

– Field trips

– Reflective diaries, learning

journals

– Computer-assisted learning

– Choice in subjects for

study/projects/papers

– Portfolio development

• In the lecture– Pair/group discussion– Brainstorming– Problem-solving– Predicting– Quizzes– Minute papers– Role plays– Debates– Think/Pair/Share– Presentations/reports

Learner-centered Instructional Strategies

Make, and have students make, explicit connections withMake, and have students make, explicit connections with• earlier lecture content

• later lecture content

• assigned reading material

• students’ own experiences

• the real world

• students’ pre-existing knowledge

“The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows.  Ascertain this and teach accordingly.” (David Ausubel)

Strategies for Understanding your Students

1. What are some non-verbal behaviors that can indicate if your students are having difficulty understanding you?

2. Can you fill in the blanks in these teaching imperatives? (synonyms in parentheses)

Know your students’ levels of English _____________. (knowledge)

Understand the various learning ____________. (methods)

Appreciate various modes of processing ____________. (data)

A Learner-centered teacher has Awareness & Connections with Students

Rely on & react to your students’ non-verbal behaviors: puzzled expressions, shifting in seats, hurried note-taking, lack of note-taking, other signs of frustration or confusion.

• Know your students’ levels of English proficiency.

• Understand the various learning styles.

• Appreciate various modes of processing information.

Strategies for developing connections with yourStudents

• Check/clarify comprehension – ask both general & directed questions – employ “wait time”

• Speak at a moderate rate of speech and use effective pausing

• Speak slowly when defining terms• Speak with enough volume so that students in the back

of the classroom can hear you – but do move to them occasionally

• Use E-mail frequently

Strategies for developing connections with your

MATERIAL– Ensure that your lectures are well-organized

• Present your agenda (topics/objectives) for the class – on the first PP slide, written on the board, in a handout, or on the class website prior to the class

• Emphasize key points – use repetition, paraphrase, summary, and pauses

• Reinforce new terminology & ideas visually – write new words on the board, use carefully labeled charts, graphs, pictures

Learner-Centered Assessment

• The professor’s role is to coach and facilitate.

• The professor and the students evaluate learning together.

• Teaching and assessing are intertwined.

• Assessment is used to promote and diagnose learning.

• Emphasis is on generating better questions and learning from errors.

• Learning is assessed directly through papers, projects, performances,

portfolios, etc.

• Professors and students learn together.

Summary• Learning Theory Overview: 2 fundamental questions

– What is learning?• a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience – Behaviorism• a relatively permanent change in the knowledge stored in memory due to experience –

Cognitivism• Learning happens when there is a change in meaning, new ideas, or concepts constructed from

prior knowledge and experience – Constructivism– How do people learn?

• Information Processing Model of Human Memory

• Teacher-centered vs. Learner-centered Education

• Learner-centered Instructional Strategies

Professors known as outstanding lecturers do two things; they use a simple plan and many examples. – W. McKeachie

EXAMPLES!!

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HAPPY TEACHING