Session 5: Introduction to Learner-centered teaching, pair

and group work

British Council 2014

Learner centred classrooms and Pair and Group workLearning outcomes

By the end of Session 1, Formadores will be better able to:• Use their own experiences as a learner to inform their teaching.• Identify the characteristics of a “good teacher”.• Discuss the differences between typical and ideal student behaviour.• Identify the relative advantages of pair, group, individual and whole class work and how to integrate it into lesson planning.• Understand learner-centred methodology and how different factors may influence this.

Which person from my past am I describing?

• Write the name of your favourite teacher here.

• Write the name of your least favourite teacher here.

What do you agree with?

• Observe the table “What makes a good teacher?” in your Workbook and say:1. What you strongly agree with2. What you agree with3. What you are undecided on4. What you disagree with5. What you totally disagree with

• Which two statements do you most agree with and which two do you most disagree with?

Peep through the keyhole

• Draw a large keyhole in the centre of a piece of paper.

• Your trainer will tell you what to draw in the middle of the keyhole.

What have you learnt from this exercise?

Possible answers• Move desks around so students can communicate more

easily.• Use group and pair work so that lessons are more student-

centred.• Encourage students to correct themselves and each other so

it is less teacher-focused.• Encourage students to discuss things and work things out for

themselves.• The teacher will need to move around the classroom helping

students as they work, rather than just standing at the front.• Bring in/create materials or realia to bring the coursebook

material you are using to life and make connections between it and the outside world.

Do you agree with this statement?

“A good teacher lets students

work in pairs/groups”

What do you think?

Read the material given to you

by the trainer and discuss.

What are the advantages of individual, pair, group and

whole class work? ADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF WORKING

Individual Pair Group Whole class

Can concentrate better on some tasks (reading/writing)

Can check ideas and get other …..

Can share ideas with a number of people

Maryellen Weimer’s seven "Do" principles for teachers/faculty

• Teachers do learning tasks less (let the students do more)

• Teachers do less telling; students do more discovering• Teachers do more (instructional) design work• Faculty do more modelling (of the learning process -- for

student benefit)• Faculty do more to get students learning from and with

each other (collaborative)• Faculty work to create climates for learning (conditions

conducive to learning)• Faculty do more with feedback (formative 'along-the-way'

and summative assessments; grades and comments)

Maryellen Weimer’s seven "Do" principles for teachers/faculty

• Which of the 7 principles would you find easiest to put into practice and how would you do it?

• Which of the 7 principles would you find hardest to put into practice and how do you think you would do it?

• How will you persuade your teaching centre to put the 7 principles into practice?

The NEPBE and the Learner Centred Classroom

• Read these extracts from the PNIEB– Reconozcan semejanzas y diferencias en la

forma y el uso social que hay entre su lengua materna y el inglés. (Ciclo 3)

– Utilicen estrategias para reconocer la forma y comprender el contenido de una variedad de textos literarios sencillos. (Ciclo 3)

– Editen sus propios escritos o los de sus compañeros. (Ciclo 4)

The NEPBE and the Learner Centred Classroom… continued

• How do these principles from the NEPBE relate to learner Centred Classroom?

• Why is this principle part of the NEPBE ?• What can you do in your

training/teaching to ensure that you follow this principle?

Possible answers• They are about discovery and students working out their

own strategies for recognition of the differences and patterns that exist in English. They also encourage independent learning through self editing.

• This principle is part of the NCF because to successfully learn a language it is vital that students discover the patterns themselves rather than being presented with them and also that they are able to independently edit their work rather than depending on a teacher.

• One way that we can make sure we follow this principle is by allowing students to have the space to discover and ensure that our role is scaffolding learning rather than presenting fully formed ideas.