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Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of
teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...
that shift the focus of instruction from the
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students by imparting to them skills, and the basis on how to learn a specific subject and schemata required to measure up to the specific performance requirement.Hannafin, M. J., & Hannafin, K. M. (2010)
Cognition and student-centered, web-based learning: Issues and implications for research and theory
In Learning and instruction in the digital age (pp. 11-23). Springer US.
Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience. Student-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central to the learning experience. In a student-centered
learning space Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom," but it may also refer to a ...
, students choose what they will learn, how they will pace their learning, and how they will assess their own learning by playing the role of the facilitator of the classroom. This is in contrast to
traditional education Traditional education, also known as back-to-basics, conventional education or customary education, refers to long-established customs that society has traditionally used in schools. Some forms of education reform promote the adoption of progressiv ...
, also dubbed "teacher-centered learning", which situates the teacher as the primarily "active" role while students take a more "passive", receptive role. In a teacher-centered classroom, teachers choose what the students will learn, how the students will learn, and how the students will be assessed on their learning. In contrast, student-centered learning requires students to be active, responsible participants in their own learning and with their own pace of learning. Usage of the term "student-centered learning" may also simply refer to educational mindsets or instructional methods that recognize individual differences in learners. In this sense, student-centered learning emphasizes each student's interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the teacher as a facilitator of learning for individuals rather than for the class as a whole.


Background

Theorists like John Dewey,
Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...
and
Lev Vygotsky Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (russian: Лев Семёнович Выго́тский, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; be, Леў Сямёнавіч Выго́цкі, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; – June 11, 1934) was a Soviet psychologist, known for his work on ps ...
, whose collective work focused on how students learn, have informed the move to student-centered learning. Dewey was an advocate for progressive education, and he believed that learning is a social and experiential process by making learning an active process as children learn by doing. He believed that a classroom environment in which students could learn to think critically and solve real world problems was the best way to prepare learners for the future.
Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of ps ...
's ideas about the formation of the individual also contributed to student-centered learning. Rogers wrote that "the only learning which significantly influences behavior nd educationis self discovered".Kraft, R. G. (1994). Bike riding and the art of learning. In L. B. Barnes, C. Roland Christensen, & A. J. Hansen (Eds.), Teaching and the case method. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, Pg. 41
Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...
was also a forerunner of student-centered learning, where preschool children learn through independent self-directed interaction with previously presented activities.
Self-determination theory Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...
focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behavior is self-motivated and 'self-determined'. When students are allowed to gauge their learning, learning becomes an incentive, thus more meaningful. Placing students at the center of the classroom allows them to gauge their own self-worth which creates a higher degree of intrinsic motivation. Student-centered learning means inverting the traditional teacher-centered understanding of the learning process and putting students at the center of the learning process. In the ''teacher-centered'' classroom, teachers are the primary source for knowledge. On the other hand, in ''student-centered'' classrooms,
active learning Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." states that "students partici ...
is strongly encouraged. Armstrong (2012) claimed that "traditional education ignores or suppresses learner responsibility". A further distinction from a teacher-centered classroom to that of a student-centered classroom is when the teacher acts as a
facilitator A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning t ...
, as opposed to an instructor. In essence, the teacher’s goal in the learning process is to guide students into making new interpretations of the learning material, thereby 'experiencing' content, reaffirming Rogers' notion that "significant learning is acquired through doing". Through peer-to-peer interaction, collaborative thinking can lead to an abundance of knowledge. In placing a teacher closer to a peer level, knowledge and learning is enhanced, benefitting the student and classroom overall. According to
Lev Vygotsky Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (russian: Лев Семёнович Выго́тский, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; be, Леў Сямёнавіч Выго́цкі, p=vɨˈɡotskʲɪj; – June 11, 1934) was a Soviet psychologist, known for his work on ps ...
's theory of the
zone of proximal development The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a concept in educational psychology. It represents the distance between what a learner is capable of doing unsupported, and what they can only do supported. It is the range where they are capable only with ...
(ZPD), students typically learn vicariously through one another.
Scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
is important when fostering independent thinking skills. Vygotsky proclaims, "Learning which is oriented toward developmental levels that have already been reached is ineffective from the viewpoint of the child's overall development. It does not aim for a new stage of the developmental process but rather lags behind this process."


Student-centered assessment

One of the most critical differences between student-centered learning and teacher-centered learning is in assessment. Student-centered learning typically involves more formative assessment and less
summative assessment Summative assessment, summative evaluation, or assessment of learning is the assessment of participants in an educational program. Summative assessments are designed to both assess the effectiveness of the program and the learning of the particip ...
than teacher-centered learning. In student-centered learning, students participate in the evaluation of their learning. This means that students are involved in deciding how to demonstrate their learning. Developing assessment that supports learning and motivation is essential to the success of student-centered approaches.


Application to Elementary and Secondary Education

In the U.S. the principles of student-centered instruction have been promoted as a way to improve engagement and boost achievement through their inclusion in the
Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...
. Student-centered instruction has been shown to be related to increased mathematics engagement, but the relationship might be different for each race. Additionally there is evidence that using student-centered instruction raises mathematics achievement.


Application to higher education

Student-centered
learning environment The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to ...
s have been shown to be effective in higher education. They have been defined specifically within higher education as both a mindset and a culture within a given educational institution and as a learning approach broadly related to, and supported by, constructivist theories of learning. They are characterised by innovative methods of teaching which aim to promote learning in communication with teachers and other learners and which take students seriously as active participants in their own learning and foster transferable skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and reflective thinking. The revised European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance, due to be approved by the ministers of European higher education in May 2015, include the following passage on student-centred learning: "Institutions should ensure that programmes are delivered in a way that encourages students to take an active role in creating the learning process and hould ensurethat the assessment of students reflects this approach." A research university in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
sought to promote student-centered learning across the entire university by employing the following methods: * Analysis of good practice by award-winning teachers, in all faculties, to show how they made use of active forms of student learning. * Subsequent use of the analysis to promote wider use of good practice. * A compulsory teacher training course for new junior teachers, which encouraged student-centered learning. * Projects funded through teaching development grants, of which 16 were concerned with the introduction of active learning experiences. * A program-level quality enhancement initiative that utilized a student survey to identify strengths and potential areas for improvement. * Development of a model of a broadly based teaching and learning environment influencing the development of generic capabilities to provide evidence of the need for an interactive learning environment. * The introduction of program reviews as a quality assurance measure. The success of this initiative was evaluated by surveying the students. After two years, the mean ratings indicating the students' perception of the quality of the teaching and learning environment at the university all rose significantly. The study is one of many examining the process of implementing student-centered pedagogies in large institutions of higher education.


See also

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Constructivism (learning theory) Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s ...
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Educational progressivism Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...
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Experiential education Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experientia ...
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Inquiry-based learning Inquiry-based learning (also spelled as enquiry-based learning in British English) is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teache ...
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Learning environment The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to ...
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Personal learning environment Personalized learning, individualized instruction, personal learning environment and direct instruction all refer to efforts to tailor education to meet the different needs of students. Overview The use of the term "personalized learning" dates ba ...
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Phenomenon-based learning Phenomenon-based learning (PhBL, PhenoBL or PBL) is a multidisciplinary, constructivist form of learning or pedagogy where students study a topic or concept in a holistic approach instead of in a subject-based approach. PhBL includes both topi ...
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Problem-based learning Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defi ...
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Project-based learning Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students le ...
* Public sphere pedagogy * Purpose-centered education *
Reggio Emilia approach The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy and pedagogy focused on preschool and primary education. This approach is a student-centered and constructivist self-guided curriculum that uses self-directed, experiential learning in rel ...
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SCALE-UP SCALE-UP, Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-Down Pedagogies, is a classroom specifically created to facilitate active, collaborative learning in a classroom. The spaces are carefully designed to facilitate interactions betwe ...


Notes


References

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External links


A paper from the Teaching and Learning Forum 2000 titled: "Student-centred learning: Is it possible?"

"Student-Centered Learning Environments: How and Why"

"Helping You Talk to the World: Student-Centered Teaching"
{{Authority control Curricula Philosophy of education Pedagogy Education reform Progressive education Critical pedagogy